Sybase and HP work on database for Itanium 2

NEWS Sybase and Hewlett-Packard said on Monday they intend to jointly develop a version of Sybase's Adapter Server Enterprise database software for HP's Itanium 2-based servers. The company's Itanium 2-optimised database, which is slated for completion some time in 2003, will run on the HP-UX Unix operating system and Red Hat Linux. Intel's Itanium 2 chip is a 64-bit processor and is most suited for computer-intensive applications that store large amounts of data in a server's memory. Sybase executives said demand for the 64-bit version of Adaptive Server Enterprise is coming primarily from its clients in the financial industry and from makers of high-tech equipment. The software company is also considering whether to modify its database server for Advanced Micro Devices' 64-bit Opteron processor but has not announced definite plans, executives said. Sybase joins other database makers, such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, that have voiced plans to build versions of their databases for the Itanium 2. Martin LaMonica writes for CNET News.com.