MySQL tunes for enterprises

MySQL tools add monitoring and service automation

Open-source database leader MySQL has released a new version aimed at satisfying the needs of corporate users.

The database lets corporate users monitor, tune and troubleshoot databases through a series of diagnostic and automated advisory tools.

“It’s a response to customers who say, ‘We like your database but we need to have certain other things if we’re going to support a database in mission-critical areas’,” said Robin Schumacher, director of product management at MySQL.

“MySQL has been criticised as something of a black box where if it begins to run slowly, customers don’t know why. [The new tools provide] understanding and expert advice.”

MySQL cited Forrester Research data suggesting automated DBA assistance can save about 15 percent in administration costs, and hopes it will help it add to its roster of large customers that includes Bank of America and on-demand software company RightNow Technologies.

Separately, Schumacher said MySQL will release its Falcon high-performance database engine project into alpha-testing next month, with general availability targeted for next year. Falcon is designed to cope with modern requirements such as online data, analytics, binary large objects, 64bit processors with multiple threads, and scale-out architectures.

MySQL 5.1 and a plug-in for Visual Studio are also in testing, with availability scheduled for early in 2007.