It’s no surprise, MySQL users want more scalability and better manageability. Heavy use of Web, e-commerce and other applications calls for higher availability and capability, according to a recent survey sponsored by MySQL storage engine provider Solid Information Technology. We covered MySQL AB’s efforts to improve scalability in our February 2007 report on Falcon, the company’s own storage engine for high-end customers needing transactional speed and reliability. Thanks to open source, MySQL is not alone in responding, and all MySQL database users should eventually benefit from Google enhancements for better manageability and reliability. These patches are free and open source, available from Google, and will eventually make their way into official MySQL releases. As we wrote in an April 2007 report, being good enough for Google bodes well for MySQL in larger, enterprise deployments.

What was somewhat surprising in Solid’s survey was that more than 70 percent of respondents preferred out-of-the-box availability functionality over custom solutions made from different components. This does not mean that the flexibility and customization benefits of open source are not still important drivers. However, it does indicate MySQL users are ready and willing to put the open source database directly to work in mission critical parts of their operations. Not only are they comfortable using the open source software, they want more. That’s a good challenge for both MySQL and its partner Solid to have.