There was some discussion a while back to maybe make MariaDB Server follow the Ubuntu release model, i.e. having a Long Term Release (LTS) and then having a few regular fast releases with a shorter support cycle.

However its good to note that the decision now going forward is to support each and every GA release for a period of five (5) years. However, regular releases will only happen for the latest three (3) GA releases, so at this moment, you are getting updates for MariaDB Server 5.5/10.0/10.1.

Practically, we’ve not seen an update for 5.1/5.2/5.3 since 30 Jan 2013 at the time of this writing. And its clear MariaDB Server 5.5 will have an extended support policy, as it ships in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. 

At this time it’s worth …

MySQL Connector/Java 5.1.38 was released earlier this week, and it includes a notable improvement related to secure connections.  Here’s how the change log describes it:

When connecting to a MySQL server 5.7 instance that supports TLS, Connector/J now prefers a TLS over a plain TCP connection.

This mirrors changes made in 5.7 to the behavior of MySQL command-line clients and libmysql client library.  Coupled with the streamlined/automatic generation of TLS key material to ensure TLS availability in MySQL Server 5.7 deployments, this is an important step towards providing secure communication in default deployments.

…

MySQL Connector/Java supports connection attributes since version 5.1.25.  This projects useful metadata about the client environment into the database, where MySQL administrators can query PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA tables to remotely survey application deployment environments.  One useful piece of information exposed is the version and vendor of the JVM in use by the client.  This very short blog demonstrates how to get this information from PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA.

The metadata including the Java runtime environment version and vendor can be found in PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA.SESSION_CONNECT_ATTRS table.  Here’s the full contents of that table for a single connection from Connector/Java:

mysql> SELECT *
    -> FROM PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA.SESSION_CONNECT_ATTRS
    -> WHERE processlist_id = 31\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
  PROCESSLIST_ID: 31
       ATTR_NAME: _runtime_version
      ATTR_VALUE: …

High memory usage scenarios may sometimes be trivial to troubleshoot e.g. when memory parameters are explicitly set too high. Investigations into such issues may also prove to be very difficult when memory pressure is a result of specific workload patterns or better yet, engine bugs.
Advanced memory troubleshooting in MySQL was never easy but thanks to performance_schema memory instrumentation in MySQL 5.7, we finally have some tools to work with. There are still situations when performance schema will not be sufficient:

1. On servers running MyQL <5.7 (well... vast majority),
2. When the component you're interested in is not instrumented,
3. When you don't fancy reading cryptic names of performance schema instruments. While I do love performance schema, this is no joke: OS-level heap profiles are much …

On December 9th, Baron Schwartz (VividCortex founder and CEO), Michele Corvino (INetU Product Manager), and Jim DeHart (INetU Systems Engineer) joined up to discuss best practices for keeping MySQL databases at peak performance. INetU – the best customer-rated cloud hosting company in the industry – knows the importance of keeping databases running without hitch. Complexity within systems increases as applications grow, which means that as complications arise, there are more risks for end users. Leveraging a database performance tool like VividCortex allows users to take care of such issues as quickly as possible, while optimizing efficiency at the same time.

Check out a recording of the webinar embedded above, or head over to INetU to register for a recording on their site and learn more. …

Next article from the MySQL 5.7 Performance stories (if missed, see 1.6M SQL Query/sec (QPS) with MySQL 5.7, 1M SQL Query/sec on mixed OLTP_RO , true Point-Selects performance and over 100K Connect/sec Rate -- all with MySQL 5.7)..

The today's article will be about re:visited MyISAM -vs- InnoDB performance comparison within MySQL 5.7 -- in fact the main and detailed article …

The Percona Live Data Performance Conference (for MySQL and MongoDB users and more) is coming up in just a few months and talk submissions have been going strong judging by the social media activity.

As you might have seen from various communications, Percona are asking participants to vote upfront for the tutorials and talks that have been submitted for consideration in the conference programme.

We’ve been busy ourselves with submissions and we’d like to ask you to have a look at the content we submitted. If you like what you see and would like to find out more in Santa Clara, then please vote for your prefered Severalnines talks and/or tutorials below!

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in April!

Tutorials Become a MySQL DBA

This hands-on tutorial is …

I lost count of the number of times I had customers come to me for a regular MySQL performance check-up saying “no, we don’t have any performance problems right now”, just to find they do actually have them, they’re just not aware of it. It’s no big surprise this happens when you’re not using your system as actively as your users are.

So let me share with you one trick I’m using to quickly check if the system I’m on has any problems that need troubleshooting. Actually, it’s dead simple. And no, it’s not a slow query log, it’s Threads_running. Let me show you.

Wait, what’s wrong with the slow query log?

Nothing at all. MySQL’s slow query log is a great tool when you’re looking for slow queries. Or when you’re fishing for things to optimize – either to reduce the resource consumption, or to increase speed for queries you didn’t know are slow.

And it’s …

This week, the Log Buffer Edition digs deep into the world of Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL and brings you some of the best blog posts around.

Oracle:

• Regardless of what type of industry or business you are involved in, the bottom-line goal is to optimize sales; and that involves replacing any archaic tech processes with cutting-edge technology and substituting any existing chaos with results-driven clarity.
• Oracle Private Cloud Appliance 2.1.1 Released.
• Every version of the optimizer enhances existing mechanisms and introduces new features, while 12c …

At the end of my talk “Troubleshooting MySQL Performance” at the LinuxPiter conference, a user asked me a question: “What does the EXPLAIN ‘filtered’ field mean, and how do I use it?” I explained that this is the percentage of rows that were actually needed, against the equal or bigger number of resolved rows. While the user was happy with the answer, I’d like to better illustrate this. And I can do it with help of EXPLAIN FORMAT=JSON and its

rows_examined_per_scan, rows_produced_per_join

  statistics.

Let’s take a simple query that searches information about the …