Re: Database recommendations?

Paul Butcher
Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:02:55 -0000

Thanks for the response, Carl,

Carl Lerche wrote:
> ... are you sure that migrating
> over to another database system is the right choice?

In a word, "no" :-)

We are hitting the limits of the MySQL configuration we currently have
and would like to examine our options. Sticking with MySQL is one of
them! And we won''t move unless there is a powerful reason to do so.

> MySQL offers
> clustering packages that do work, but they aren''t free as far as I
> know.

I just reread my original message and realised that I said clustering
when I meant replication (blush).

Our issue isn''t performance - it''s reliability.

We currently have a master/slave setup, where the slave is primarily
intended for failover in the event of the master failing. We''ve had a
couple of occasions where the replication has failed recently for
reasons we are currently unable to diagnose (the master has continued to
run just fine, but the slave has crashed). Reestablishing the
master/slave relationship requires that the slave has a perfect copy of
the database, which means disabling our application in order to create a
consistent dump of the database on the master.

The last time we had to do this, it took around 10 minutes to perform
the dump, which meant 10 minutes downtime. We run a 24/7 service, and 10
minutes downtime is unacceptable. And our database is growing
exponentially - we expect that the same operation in 6 months time is
likely to take an hour - an hour''s downtime would be a complete
disaster!

So we''re examining our options, and moving to another database is one
of
them. Sticking with MySQL, if we can find a way to make it work for us,
is also an option. Spending money isn''t a problem - as long as we can
find a workable solution!

Sorry for the less-than-entirely-clear inital e-mail!

Thanks,

paul.butcher->msgCount++

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