I manage /etc/my.cnf from a template id. Since I use servers in pairs, all master-master setups, I need to ensure that the server id is unique and consistent for the server mysql is running on. Managing the id's is a pain in the ass, especially when servers change roles. For instance rotating a server in from another cluster, or recovering a server from backup.

So, I create a my.cnf.tmpl file and that is deployed to all database instances.

The /etc/init.d/mysql script executes a perl script to generate my.cnf from my.cnf.tmpl right before a start executes.

!/usr/bin/perl -w 
#
#

use strict;


my $HOSTNAME = `hostname`;
chomp($HOSTNAME);

my ($name,$alias,$addrtype,$length,@addrs) = gethostbyname($HOSTNAME);

my ($a,$b,$c,$d) = unpack('C4',$addrs[0]);

my $cnfContents ='';
while(<>) {
    $cnfContents .= $_; …

Just a quick reminder for those of you located near Hamburg, Germany: on Monday, June 4th at 19:00 there will be our 7th MySQL Meetup. As usual, we will gather at the Chinese Restaurant "Ni Hao". This time, Sönke Ruempler will give a talk about the PHP-ORM-Framework "Propel". If you'd like to join, don't hesitate to RSVP via meetup.com or Xing.com right away! Thanks - see you there!

Since my last post I have been working on Pre-fetching relay binlogs to speed up MySQL replication. While I will be writing more and eventually posting my script, I wanted to mention that I am extremely satisfied with the results I am seeing. Very soon I will be posting a before and after graph so stay tuned.

I recently had the opportunity to return and speak at the Brisbane MySQL Users Group. I spent some time talking about MySQL User Conference 2007 Summary and Life as a Consultant. My summary of included:

• Overview
• Keynotes
• Marten Mickos - MySQL
• Guy Kawasaki
• Michael Evans - OLPC
• Rasmus Lerdorf - PHP
• Paul Tuckfield ? YouTube
• Community Awards
• Product Road Map
• Google
• Storage Engines
• Dorsal Source
• What’s Next

One question was posed to me. “What new did MySQL do this year?” being from the last User Conference. …

"But what happens if Microsoft sues us?"

"What if they shutdown the Internet?"

Both are examples of statements that have been IM'ed to me today.

Guess what, Microsoft is bluffing.

They say these things, and then hope people either people will switch
to Suse, or more likely question everything they are doing with open
source.

The Suse angle is new, and frankly I don't believe its very thought
out either.

Basically though, this is a shakedown.

I've been in several companies where we have gotten the MS form
letter that states "you are in violation!".

One company actually did ante up some cash to them. Paid the fee and
agreed to some IO audit every X number of years. It was pretty silly,
since once we admitted to the IP they had to spend a few weeks to
determine if we were even …

Microsoft speaks out on sotware patents and Linux. MySQL Conference survey shows scalability as top concern. Sybase and Red Hat partner for database appliance. (and more)

Scalability, Manageability Top Priorities for MySQL Users, Solid Information Technology (Press Release)

Sybase and Red Hat Announce Plans for Expanded Alliance to Unlock Customer Value, Sybase / Red Hat (Press Release)

Black Duck Software Extends Software Governance Leadership at Third Anniversary of Flagship Product’s Debut, Black Duck Software (Press Release)

OpenSEA Alliance …

MySQL AB today announced that Quantel, a UK-based company behind one of the world's most popular server-based newsroom systems, has selected the MySQL database server as a critical component in its ?Enterprise sQ? product line.

I promised to write little articles about all storage engines which sessions I attended during MySQL Users Conference but I did not get too far yet, too busy. So today it is time for PBXT.

I was very interested about session about PBXT because this is storage engine does not target the same general purpose transactional storage engine market a lot of other people targeting. It also has number of unusual design decisions which will position it further away.

Paul was for a while comparing PBXT to MyISAM with multi versioning and transactions and this is valid comparison for good and for bad. At its current state (as of the conference) PBXT does not offer Durable transactions (meaning you can lose committed transactions if power goes down) furthermore in case of crash database may become corrupted, just as with MyISAM, and you might need to repair tables. This is of course something which is scheduled to be fixed before stable release …

One thing that Statcounter provides me is how often certain keywords are found in my blog. Some of the more popular are:

• ORA-27054: I assume this is by people trying to backup using RMAN over NFS. I hope they found my problem and most importantly, my solution.
• Some combination of DB Links and ORA-01017: I'm sure people found my distributed issues with 9i and 10g working together. But that's not always the issue. If you are using what I call "unauthenticated" database links (no password in the definition) then the user authentication on both the source and …

While going thru the process of putting the presentation for my China trip (and describing it to a friend part way through the process), it occurred to me that I have a specific method that I seem to follow each time.

Before I describe it, I should point out that there are really two types of presentations I've had to create over the last few years: new and derived.

As I thought about this, it occurred to me that I seem to find myself presenting over and over on subjects in the same specific topic area for roughly 9 to 24 months before I move on to something newer and different. Those phases, unsurprisingly, coincide with my role at work at the time.

Past phases were roughly:

• MySQL, Perl, and Open Source in general
…