Competitive environments may bring out the best in companies. Businesses like Accenture, Bagelcode, and Paralect are preoccupied with outdoing one another while the consumer gets the benefits. We will discuss another situation in which competition has resulted in innovation; we are talking about MySQL and its fork MariaDB.
This post aims to compare and contrast the MySQL Server Database with the MariaDB Server Database. We’ll discuss their performance, security, and critical features, and we’ll outline all factors to consider when selecting a database that is best suitable for your needs.
What is MariaDB?
MariaDB is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) and is a MySQL fork. This RDBMS enables data processing for both minor and large-scale operations.
This system is an improved version of MySQL data management. It has a slew of sophisticated built-in capabilities and various usability, security, and performance enhancements that are not found in MySQL.
Brands like DBS, Redhat, 1&1, Ubuntu, Ingenico, Suse, Ingenico, Gaming Innovation Group, and BlaBlaCar are associated with MariaDB.
What is MySQL?
Developed in the mid-1990s, MySQL is one of the earliest open-source databases. There are several MySQL alternatives available nowadays. However, the variations are minimal since they share the same syntax and have the same fundamental functionality.
MySQL is a database management system that allows you to store your information in a database. It is also an RDBMS. It is used in conjunction with PHP and the Apache Web Server. MySQL is based on a Linux package distribution and queries the database using the SQL language.
We see some big names like PayPal, Facebook, GitHub, Twitter, YouTube, Nokia, Netflix, and Spotify that use MySQL databases.
How MariaDB offers Better Performance than MySQL
MariaDB has several enhancements that allow it to offer superior performance than MySQL. Indeed, Michael Widenius, the original inventor of both MySQL and MariaDB, had this aim in mind when he founded MariaDB.
Here are some key points that support the fact that MariaDB’s performance is way better than MySQL.
1. ColumnStore
MariaDB delivers a significant speed boost in the form of “ColumnStore”, which is a distributed data architecture that enables massive scalability of MariaDB. It is linearly scalable, allowing for storing petabytes of data over several servers in a database cluster.
2. Segmented Key Cache
MariaDB adds another speed boost with the Segmented Key Cache. In a typical cache, many threads vie for control of the cached item. Mutexes are the term used to refer to these locks. When many threads compete for the same mutex, only one of them may get it, while the rest must wait for the lock to be released before proceeding.
As a result of the execution delays in these threads, the database performance is slowed. In the case of Segmented Key Cache, the thread is not required to lock the whole page but simply the segment to which the page belongs. This enables many threads to run in parallel, enhancing the program’s parallelism and improving database performance.
3. Database Views
There is a significant speed improvement concerning database “views.” “Views” are virtual database tables that may be queried in the same way as standard database tables.
Whenever you query a view in MySQL, you are querying all of the tables associated with the view, irrespective of whether the query needs all views or not. This has been streamlined in MariaDB such that just the tables requested by the question are queried.
4. Execution of Queries in Parallel
MariaDB’s most recent version – 10.0 – supports concurrent execution of many queries. The notion is that parts of the Master’s questions may be reproduced in the slave and processed concurrently. MariaDB undoubtedly has an advantage over MySQL due to this parallelism in query execution.
5. Storage Engines
MariaDB has numerous sophisticated storage engines that are not included in MySQL. For instance, XtraDB, Aria, and so on. To configure these storage engines for MySQL, you must do a manual installation, which may not be the most convenient option.
6. Consistency
The MariaDB team is ensuring that MariaDB may be used instead of MySQL in existing applications. Indeed, they issue the same version number of MariaDB for each version of MySQL to signal that MariaDB is typically compatible with the corresponding MySQL version. It enables easy migration to MariaDB without requiring any changes to the application’s source base.
7. Databases: Open Source vs. Commercial
MySQL is a massive project that is administered by one of the world’s foremost companies – Oracle. This offers several advantages and disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages is that introducing new features in such large enterprises takes a long time. On the other hand, MariaDB is wholly open-sourced, and they are swift to incorporate external contributions and provide new features and upgrades. This is another thing to consider while picking between MySQL and MariaDB.
8. Pooling of Threads
Additionally, MariaDB includes a new concept known as “Thread Pooling.” Previously, when many connections to a database where required, a thread was launched for each link, resulting in a “one thread per connection” design. With “Thread Pooling,” a pool of open threads is created that a new connection may use to query the database. This avoids creating a new thread for each new connection request, resulting in quicker query responses. This capability is available in MySQL Enterprise but not in MySQL Community.
Google Trends Analytics for MariaDB vs. MySQL
It seems like when it comes to Google search, it is MySQL that is more popular across the globe. It looks like there isn’t a competition in MariaDB vs. MySQL.
MariaDB vs MySQL: Tabular comparison
| Criterion | MariaDB | MySQL |
| Developer | Set up by the MariaDB enterprise and their community server. | Set up by the Oracle Corporation. |
| Open Source | MariaDB offers all of its features in its open-source package for users who can use the most favorable features of MariaDB for free. | MySQL offers an open-source community edition for free. If one needs enterprise-level features, they would have to purchase the enterprise edition. |
| Licensing | Fully GPL licensed. | Under GPL and Proprietary licensing. |
| Agreement | MariaDB Contributor Agreement. | Oracle Contributor Agreement. |
| Data Masking and Dynamic Columns | It does not support data masking and dynamic columns. | It supports data masking and dynamic columns. |
| Speed and Performance | When it comes to performing queries or replication, MariaDB is faster than MySQL. | MySQL is slower compared to MariaDB. |
| Storage Engines | It supports multiple storage engines that are comparatively more than what MySQL supports. | It supports storage engines like Blackhole, Merge, Memory, Archive, etc. |
| Troubleshooting | Since it is relatively more recent than MySQL, the time required to resolve issues would be more. | Since it is an older database system, there are a large variety of community resources that developers and administrators can use to troubleshoot most issues quickly. |
Which Database Should You Select for Your Business?
MySQL is a well-established database management system with a sizable global user base. Oracle Corporation continues to support, maintain, and improve the product.
MariaDB is a drop-in alternative for businesses that already use MySQL. It is administered by the MariaDB Foundation, which enables community members to contribute to the open-source product’s development and documentation.
Both MySQL and MariaDB differ in nature but the main question is which one do you prefer and what are your needs? However, integrating your databases will benefit the company in the long run.
Conclusion
MariaDB is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) and is a MySQL fork. MySQL is a database management system that allows you to store your information in a database and is an RDBMS. Here in this post, we have explained the difference between both database management systems.
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