Say this about Oracle, the company still knows how to make a big splash.

The introduction of the HP Oracle Database Machine is more than just the company's first foray into hardware. It marks a combination of grid technology, high-speed networking and a new form of data transfer in a powerful new warehousing platform that will very likely take the IT industry by storm.

The system unites a grid of Oracle database servers with a grid of HP Exabyte storage servers into a single 42-unit enclosure. The grids are connected via Infiniband, while intelligent storage software breaks queries into separate components to take advantage of the parallel processing capabilities of multicore Xeons.

The scheme allows only the results of queries of be transferred from storage to server, rather than full data blocks. With Oracle databases now reaching into the 200 TB realm, the system could deliver a 30-fold increase in performance, according to Oracle.

The system can contain up to eight database servers with up to 64 cores, plus 14 storage servers providing upwards of 168 TB of raw storage.

The database machine will sell for $650,000. Oracle says it can deliver immediately.