Yahoo! signs up for Oracle Linux

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced the company's first prominent Linux customer Tuesday: Yahoo! But Red Hat hasn't been pushed aside at the internet company.

Ellison cited the Yahoo! deal as the first real evidence of progress from Oracle's high-profile attack on Linux leader Red Hat that began in October. Oracle is cloning Red Hat Enterprise Linux, selling support for less than Red Hat's list prices.

On a conference call after announcing the company's quarterly financial results, Ellison said: "We've already signed a number of support contracts, some for over half a million dollars. And Oracle has displaced Red Hat at Yahoo! and numerous other customer sites as their Linux support supplier." According to a Thomson Financial transcript, Ellison used even bolder terms, saying Oracle "replaced" Red Hat at Yahoo!

Red Hat and Yahoo! both said that Red Hat hasn't been kicked out of the account, though.

Laurie Mann, Yahoo!'s vice president of engineering, said in a statement: "Our current infrastructure leverages both Red Hat and Oracle Linux products." And a Red Hat spokeswoman added: "Red Hat and Yahoo! continue to enjoy a fruitful relationship."

Oracle didn't respond to requests for comment.

Stephen Shankland writes for CNET News.com