It's interesting to note that Oracle's contributions to the Linux kernel are such that every one made gets a press release and media attention.
Looking at all the code contributed by IBM, Intel, Novell, Red Hat etc on a daily basis (that includes data integrity) work it amazes me that the media gets excited about an Oracle submitted patch.
Amusingly in the last kernel release Sun submitted more kernel changes than Oracle
http://lwn.net/Articles/302061/
Shame on the media for publishing Oracle's propaganda without investigation.
Oracle adds data-integrity code to Linux kernel
Summary
The enterprise-software company has collaborated with networking-hardware company Emulex to produce Linux kernel data-integrity code.
Topics
Oracle has announced that it has contributed data-integrity code to the Linux kernel.
The open-source code, which has been accepted into the Linux 2.6.27 kernel, is designed to reduce data corruption by decreasing the potential for incorrect data to be written to disk, and decreasing application and database errors, Oracle said in a statement on Tuesday. According to the enterprise-software maker, the code helps maintain integrity as data moves from application to database, and from Linux operating system to disk storage.
The code adds metadata to data at rest or in transit, to monitor whether that data has been corrupted. It helps make sure that I/O operations are valid by looking at that metadata — which acts as verification information — exchanged during data transmissions.
Oracle said it worked in conjunction with enterprise-network company Emulex to produce the code. Scott McIntyre, Emulex vice president of product marketing, said that the code contribution was a "significant milestone" for data-integrity development.
"Data integrity is vital to any business that relies on critical records and information to function successfully," McIntyre said in a statement. "Our work with Oracle is designed to help datacenter administrators quickly identify and remediate corrupted data, thereby protecting their business' assets, while also helping prevent lengthy server downtime and associated costs."
The code contribution includes generic support for data integrity at the block and file-system layers, Oracle added. Oracle and Emulex are also running an early-adopter program to allow customers to test the data-integrity features of the code. In 2007, Oracle, Emulex, Seagate and LSI formed the Data Integrity Initiative, designed to improve the integrity of data in transit and at rest. The initiative seeks to build on the data integrity field (DIF), now known as the T10 Protection Information Model, within the SCSI standard.
Talkback Most Recent of 3 Talkback(s)
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ian.woodstock5th Dec 2008 -
RE: Oracle adds data-integrity code to Linux kernel
How is this different from ZFS?
DavidGerard11th Dec 2008 -
RE: Oracle adds data-integrity code to Linux kernel
It is interesting to read press release and Oracle information that makes this look like a new capability. Mainframe architecture has included this for more than a decade. It's so baked into the mainframe mindset that users should not be exposed to data integrity issues that it has been difficult for mainframe people to understand why SAN/SCSI users have been willing to live with these exposures. It is good to see that now that Oracle and others are coming up with solutions that they are pointing out the issues that have not exactly been highlighted in their marketing materials.
mainframe interested party16th Dec 2008
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