Oracle exec defends mySQL deal, shows off "much faster" version
Oracle today showed off the beta of a "much faster" MySQL and insisted that the company will continue to invest in the open source database.
At the annual MySQL conference, Edward Screven, Oracle's Chief Corporate Architect and leader of the MySQL business, said the beta delivery of MySQL 5.5 along with the SQL Workbench 5.2, mySQL Cluster 7.1 and mySQL Enterprise Monitor 2.2 upgrades demonstrates the company's commitment to an open source database that some believed could threaten Oracle's stronghold in the database market.
mySQL 5.5, for instance, uses InnoDB as the default storage engine and offers a performance improvement of more than 200 percent and more than 10 times improvement in recovery times, Screven said.
What else? Semi-synch replication and more partitioning will be integrated into 5.5.
He also promised that Oracle will maintain mySQL Server's pluggable storage engine architecture and will continue to ship the same code for the community and enterprise editions.
Oracle purchased mySQL indirectly by purchasing Sun. The mega merger was completed in January.
It's clear that Screven objects to the characterization of the deal as a proprietary database software giant gobbling up a potential open source threat. Buying the M in the Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP/perl stack is a natural addition for Oracle, Screven claimed.
"Oracle has the most complete LAMP stack ... [Unbreakable]Linux, Apache, Glassfish, mySQL ... even before the Sun [acquisition], we used Apache, Java and delivered developer plug-ins for Eclipse. Our virtualization is based on Xen," Screven said. "Open source is an integral part of our integrated stack, even before we bought Sun. By using and supporting open source, we speed up the time to innovation."
Screven emphasized that mySQL a nice complement to the Oracle database because it is lightweight, small, easy to install and offers improved performance on some web applications.
He also hinted at another key reason why Oracle bought the M in the LAMP stack: he noted that more customers deploy mySQL on Windows than on any other platform. That certainly gives Microsoft SQL Server a run for its money.
But it's clear that mySQL will know its place in the Oracle universe.
"It's a very good product ... it's a good technology and a good product but we'll invest to make it better," he said.
The Oracle exec also pointed to the newly-improved mySQL Workbench 5.2, which offers a better SQL editor, multi-pane results view, database adminstration including start and stop and data modeling.
mySQL Cluster 7.1, announced at the conference today, offers improved administration, new Java connectors and carrier grade performance.
mySQL Enterprise Monitor 2.2, another product in the post merger era, will offer improved performance monitoring and faster problem resolution.
Oracle will continue to support the community edition but tossed a carrot at mySQL enthusiasts to pay for the enterprise version. Oracle will offer free online backup for subscribers of the enterprise edition. Of course, free is a relative term and depends on the cost for that enterprise support.