Oracle has started to pitch Oracle Linux and Oracle VM at the massive Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. The big question: Are Oracle OpenWorld attendees willing to shift their focus from Red Hat Enterprise Linux and VMware to Oracle’s alternatives?  Hmmm…

Among Oracle’s claims at Oracle OpenWorld:

Oracle Linux: Oracle new Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 runs “even faster at scale” and offers a virtual switch capabilities to enhance quality of service.

For Linux systems administrators, Oracle noted that some managers suffer from kernel patching problems that require application server and database server shut-downs. That problem is solved with Oracle Linux, the company asserted, because of Ksplice technology. Oracle claims Ksplice eliminates the need for taking down servers during patch management. Eight thousand customers are now running Oracle Linux, the company added.

Oracle VM: Meanwhile, Oracle VM runs guest operating systems like Oracle Linux, Oracle Solaris and Microsoft Windows. It runs on x86 and SPARC. In Oracle VM 3.0, announced in August, Oracle enhanced VM’s network and storage configruation. And Oracle VM 3.0 can run 128 vCPUs and 1 terabye of memory per VM, according to Oracle.

The biggest Oracle claim of all: For equally configured systems, Oracle VM costs about one-sixth as much as VMware over a three year period. The VAR Guy needs to check in with VMware for a reply to that Oracle claim.

Ultimately, The VAR Guy wonders if Oracle can really gain ground on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and VMware. Red Hat and VMware seem to be entrenched in corporate data centers — precisely the reason why Larry Ellison seems preoccupied with Red Hat and VMware.