Sun Packages MySQL Database With GlassFish App Server

Sun Microsystems wants to take on commercial software providers, including IBM, BEA and Oracle, with a new offering that bundles its MySQL open-source database with its GlassFish application server.The $65,000 per year, flat-fee combo buys an unlimited number of servers across companies with fewer than 1,000 employees -- in other words, those businesses that don't want to invest heavy IT resources to implement an application server and database, according to a Sun VP. The price includes tech support and updates.

The bundle, Sun states, is also a lot less expensive than competitors' offerings over a three-year period. In an apples-to-apples configuration comparison, the vendor says its solution would cost about $240,000, while commercial database/application server offerings would run customers $3 million in licensing fees and maintenance costs.InformationWeek