Oracle has ended MySQL support for a number of operating system versions that have reached end-of-life or were in low demand.
In an announcement, Oracle notified users of the end of support for all MySQL binaries for Microsoft Windows 2000 as of Jan. 6. In addition, as of Jan. 1, Oracle has stopped building MySQL binaries for the following platforms: Redhat Enterprise Linux v3, SUSE Enterprise Linux v9, OpenSUSE v9, IBM AIX 5.3, IBM i 5.4 and 6.1 and Linux Generic RPM built with icc (Intel compiler).
Support for IBM AIX 5.3, IBM i 5.4 and 6.1 and Linux Generic RPM with icc was dropped due to low demand, according to Oracle. Support for the other operating systems stopped because they had reached their respective end-of-life.
Meanwhile, Oracle announced it has added support for Fedora 12, x86 and x86_64, and FreeBSD 8, x86 and x86_64.
Old releases for many of the platforms remain available for download, and Oracle stated it would continue to provide source code and limited support for customers looking to build MySQL 5.1 and higher on those platforms.
Oracle released MySQL 5.5 in December with a number of enhancements related to performance, scalability and Microsoft Windows.
“The latest release of MySQL further exemplifies Oracle’s commitment to the MySQL community and investment in delivering rapid innovation and enhancements to the MySQL platform,” said Edward Screven, Oracle’s chief corporate architect, in a statement Dec. 15 announcing the release. “With MySQL 5.5, end users and ISVs have a high performance, reliable, scalable and cost-effective alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for building and deploying their business critical web and embedded applications.”