Oracle plans first Sun database computer

BOSTON: Oracle Corp  has developed a computer with Sun Microsystems Corp, the hardware company it is buying for $7 billion, under a brand that it has exclusively sold with Hewlett-Packard Co.

The specialized database machine, which chief executive Larry Ellison plans to unveil on Tuesday, is the first major partnership the two companies have announced since the No. 3 software agreed to buy Sun in April.

When Oracle agreed to buy Sun, Ellison said that he planned to sell specialized computers that would come pre-loaded with his company's database and business management software.

Exadata is the only major computer product that Oracle currently sells.

Oracle provided little information about the new Sun computer in a brief announcement to customers inviting them to listen to Ellison's webcast on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether it would compete head-to-head with the Oracle-HP Exadata database, which was launched about a year ago.