As analysts debate just how the open-source MySQL
database will fit into the Oracle portfolio, Sun Microsystems offered a
sneak peak at MySQL 5.4, which brings a series of improvements around
performance and scalability.
Sun talked up the database April 21 at the seventh annual MySQL
Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, Calif.
Enhancements in the new version include improvements designed to
enable the InnoDB storage engine to scale up to 16-way x86 servers and 64-way CMT
servers. Also touted were new subquery optimizations and JOIN
improvements aimed at speeding query response times.
"Without any modifications to your applications, MySQL 5.4 will transparently
increase the performance and scalability of your applications to enable them to
scale under more demanding user and data processing loads," Karen Tegan
Padir, vice president of Sun's MySQL and Software Infrastructure Group, said in
a statement. "MySQL 5.4 is also better suited for scale-up deployments on SMP
[symmetric multiprocessing] systems."
To speed queries, Sun is utilizing new query algorithms that leverage
main memory to improve the execution time of multiway joins. This
is particularly true for MySQL Cluster, since it reduces the number
of round trips between the server and cluster nodes, Sun officials said. Other
enhancements included more metadata access to parameters and data returns types
that stored procedures use, which allows much more information to be made
available for developers using connectors such as ODBC and JDBC (Java Database
Connectivity).
It has been an eventful 24 hours for MySQL fans, as the news that Oracle
would acquire Sun triggered speculation about Oracle's plans for its
open-source rival.
If Oracle plays its cards right, the acquisition could be a great move since
it has struggled against Microsoft SQL Server in the small and midsize database
market, opined Forrester Research analyst Noel Yuhanna. A combination of MySQL
and Oracle DBMS can cover all bases and make MySQL more competitive against
Microsoft SQL Server, he added.
"Also, we see that as databases become more automated, which is already
happening, the need for tighter integration with hardware and bundling will
further grow—therefore having a database appliance will become critical. Oracle
has already started such an initiative with HP partnership under Exadata
offering, and the SUN deal would further
commoditize such offering," Yuhanna said.
As for MySQL 5.4, the database remains a work in progress. According to Sun,
the database is slated to be generally available later in 2009. A preview
version can be downloaded at http://www.mysql.com/5.4
for 64-bit versions of the Linux and Solaris 10 Operating Systems.
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