Sybase is claiming to be the first company to ship a free enterprise-class Linux database for development and production use.

The company said that its Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) Express Edition for Linux would help developers and small businesses build, test and deploy Linux applications with no licence fee.

Sybase senior vice president Dr Raj Nathan said in a statement: "With Sybase ASE Express Edition for Linux, we open up these benefits to a vast new ecosystem of enterprises, developers, software vendors and systems integrators and share the risk with our customers and partners as they develop and test experimental concepts and exciting new applications."

Sybase said that its ASE offering has demonstrated its performance on Linux, particularly in transaction-heavy environments such as financial services.

The company added that the offering is free from complex licensing issues and will not pose "unexpected integration problems".

Companies including Anvil, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Reuters and Veritas are currently using Sybase ASE on Linux, according to Sybase.

Sybase ASE Express Edition for Linux is available immediately at no cost. Support plans, including telephone support and named support contacts, are available starting at $2,200 per year.

The software can be downloaded here.