AmyO's Blog

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Today

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Today

Most of my previous blogs have been about our Storage strategy at Sun. This past summer I moved into a similar role in Sun's Software group. What does that mean? Well even though I've got a new job, a new title, a new boss, and a new BU, it all feels pretty familiar.

While storage is all about data...keeping it, replicating it, archiving it, retrieving it, it's the software that provides the special sauce in managing data efficiently. Which is why when we talk about data integrity, scalability, and performance for unstructured data...ZFS is the answer. ZFS ROX. It must be true. There's even a license plate to prove it.

But what about structured data....how 'bout a database? How 'bout the world's most popular open source database? Last week, Sun announced we are acquiring MySQL. Rich Green blogged about how this is a good match on a company level - we're both big believers in open source, both have active contributing communities, both focused on the web economy. That's all good. Again, big changes, new stuff, but also somehow familiar.

But how do we match up on software? A good fit? ZFS and MySQL databases are a lot alike. Twins separated at birth? Well, customers use the same adjectives to describe the two: easy to use, reliable, flexible/scalable, great performance. Nice. Happily the differences between the software, and they are different, not twins but rather siblings who actually get along (does that happen?), complement each other: ZFS managing the storage of unstructured data and MySQL managing the use of structured data.

Kinda like my two teenagers - Danielle the structured just about taking over her college; Tara the unstructured defining her own home schooling plan... Absolutely love 'em both!