MariaDB started life as a database to host the Maria storage engine in 2009. Not long after its inception, the MySQL community went through yet another change in ownership, and it was deemed that MariaDB will be a complete database branch developed to extend MySQL, but with constant merging of upstream changes. The goal of the MariaDB project is to ensure that everyone is part of the community, including employees of the major steering companies. MariaDB also features enhanced features, some of which are common with the Percona Performance Server. Most importantly, MariaDB is a drop-in replacement and is completely backward compatible with MySQL. In 2010, MariaDB released 5.1 in February, and 5.2 in November – two major releases in a span of one calendar year is a feat that was achieved! DBAs and developers alike will gain an introduction to MariaDB, what is different with MySQL, how to make use of the feature enhancements, and more.

1. A Beginner’s Guide to
MariaDB
Colin Charles, Monty Program Ab
colin@montyprogram.com
http://montyprogram.com / http://mariadb.org/
http://bytebot.net/blog / @bytebot on Twitter
O’Reilly MySQL Conference & Expo - 12 April 2011

2. Aims
• Give you an update of what we’ve done in
the past year (plus since project inception)
• Discuss the broader MySQL ecosystem

3. What is it?
• A branch of MySQL with more features?
• A branch of MySQL with better features?
• A fork?

4. MariaDB is...
• Community Developed
• Feature Enhanced
• Backward Compatible

5. Who’s behind it?
• MySQL (database) owned by MySQL AB
(company)
• Monty Program is just a sponsor of
MariaDB
• MariaDB: Open Database Alliance, Percona,
PrimeBase, Open Query, etc.

6. When did this begin?
• Sun buys MySQL AB in January 2008
• Oracle proposes acquisition of Sun
Microsystems in April 2009
• Monty decides that beyond the engine
(Febuary 2009), focus on MariaDB, a
complete database solution

7. Why MariaDB?
• MySQL - an open source product or
project?
• MariaDB is an open source project

8. Aims of MariaDB
• 100% compatible, drop-in replacement to
MySQL
• Stable (bug-free) releases
• GPLv2

9. Compatibility with
MySQL
• There is no NDB cluster • Tools are similar (some
storage engine additional tools for Aria,
PBXT)
• Client libraries, client-
server protocol, SQL • XtraDB enabled by default;
dialect, replication master- InnoDB and InnoDB plugin
slave all similar are included, but not
enabled by default
• Data files are supported as
long as its similar between • http://kb.askmonty.org/v/
versions mariadb-versus-mysql-
compatibility

10. What’s in MariaDB 5.1
• Released February 2010 • Croatian collations
• Create external • Numerous bug fixes
buildsystem using
Buildbot + VMs for test • Test cases and coverage
+builds improvements
• Release filled with • Removal of mutexes
storage engines
• Compiler warnings gone!
• XtraDB, PBXT,
FederatedX, (M)Aria

11. What’s in MariaDB 5.1
• Percona XtraDB • See InnoDB & XtraDB
(ENGINE=InnoDB) Architecture &
Performance
• enhanced InnoDB Optimization slides from
Peter Zaitsev at tutorial
designed to better
scale on modern on Monday
hardware; backward
compatible, scale • http://
better on many www.percona.com/docs/
cores, use memory wiki/percona-
more efficiently xtradb:start

12. What’s in MariaDB 5.1
• PrimeBase PBXT • Write once w/log-based
storage; write data to
• Transactional, foreign DB, without first writing
in transaction log
keys, ACID, MVCC (read
w/o locking)
• http://kb.askmonty.org/v/
• Row-level locking during about-pbxt
(SELECT FOR) UPDATE
• Wednesday, 04/13/2011 -
• Rollback transactions, Ballroom D - 10.50am -
Update on the PBXT
recovery after restart
very fast (identifies Storage Engine by Paul
garbage making undo McCullagh
unnecessary)

13. What’s in MariaDB 5.1
• Extended statistics for slow query log • Query highly normalised data,
it is sometimes possible to
• based on microslow from resolve a query without
Percona http://kb.askmonty.org/ accessing some tables the
v/slow-query-log-extended- query refers to e.g. http://
statistics kb.askmonty.org/v/what-is-
table-elimination
• PROCESSLIST with microsecond
precision • Pool of threads (MySQL 6
backport)
• TIME_MS in
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PR • Use a limited set of threads to
OCESSLIST http:// handle all queries vs one-
kb.askmonty.org/v/time_ms- thread-per-connection http://
column-in- kb.askmonty.org/v/pool-of-
information_schemaprocesslist threads
• Table elimination

14. What’s in MariaDB 5.2
• Released November 2010 • Use socket_peercred - if already
logged in via Unix credentials,
• MariaDB 5.2.5 (MariaDB 5.1.55 - MariaDB will trust it
changes up to MySQL 5.1.55)
• http://kb.askmonty.org/v/
• Pluggable authentication development-pluggable-
authentication
• authentication of users handled by
plugins • User Statistics (userstatsv2)
• mysql_native_password (20 byte) • Percona, Google, Weldon Whipple.
and mysql_old_password (8 byte) Understand server activity better,
included by default identify database loads http://
kb.askmonty.org/v/user-statistics
• CREATE USER foo IDENTIFIED VIA
mysql_native_password USING
‘pass’; == CREATE user foo
IDENTIFIED BY PASSWORD
‘pass’;

15. What’s in MariaDB 5.2
• Virtual columns • New storage engines: OQENGINE,
SphinxSE
• PERSISTENT (stored - default)
& VIRTUAL (generated-only) • INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PL
UGINS now has
• http://kb.askmonty.org/v/virtual- PLUGIN_MATURITY &
PLUGIN_AUTH_VERSION
columns
columns
• Segmented MyISAM keycache
• CREATE TABLE can be extended
• mitigates thread contention for via storage engine API
key cache lock, with notable
250% performance • Add additional attributes per
improvements http:// index, field or table
kb.askmonty.org/v/segmented-
key-cache • http://kb.askmonty.org/v/
extending-create-table

16. How open is MariaDB?
• Mailing lists: Launchpad • http://launchpad.net/
maria
• maria-
developers@lists.laun • Bugs database:
chpad.net
• https://
• maria- bugs.launchpad.net/
discuss@lists.launchp maria/
ad.net
• #maria on FreeNode
• Code hosting: IRC
Launchpad

17. Worklog
• Funding (bounties)
• Votes
• http://askmonty.org/
worklog/

18. Knowledgebase
• http://kb.askmonty.org/

19. Deployments,
deployments, deployments
“MariaDB had the same bugs that we ran into with
MySQL. However the big difference was that when
we reported these bugs, they were quickly resolved
within 48 hours!” -- Dreas van Donselaar, Chief
Technology Officer, SpamExperts
B.V. after migrating over 300 servers from MySQL
5.0 to MariaDB 5.1. “Migrating from MySQL 5.1 to MariaDB 5.2 was as
simple as removing MySQL RPMs and installing
the MariaDB packages, then running
mysql_upgrade.” - Panayot Belchev, proprietor,
Host Bulgaria on providing
MariaDB to over 7,000 of their web hosting
customers.

20. Getting MariaDB
• http://mariadb.org/ is the site + downloads
• Get it via OpenSUSE build service
• Its in Gentoo, FreeBSD
• http://kb.askmonty.org/v/distributions-which-include-
mariadb

21. The future?
• There is no “one” tree • Tonnes of optimiser features
• MySQL, Percona Performance • index condition pushdown,
Server, MariaDB multi-range-read (MRR) table
access (with keys & row ID
• GIS sorting), block nested loop for
outer joins, batched key
• HandlerSocket access, classic hash join,
numerous subquery
• Merging takes time optimisations (possible
materialisation for non-
• New config files? correleated subqueries),
merged derived tables, index
• Row based replication improvements merge enhancements
• Group commit • dynamic columns support

22. What else do we need?
• InnoDB focus
• Replication focus
• More benchmarks
• http://kb.askmonty.org/v/benchmarks
• Spreading the good word

23. Your roadmap
• (past) What are the new optimiser • Dynamic Columns - 3.05pm -
features and how can I benefit from 13/04/2011 - Ballroom G
them - Sergey Petrunya - Ballroom
G - 11.55am - 12/04/2011 • OQGRAPH Dealing with graphs
and hierarchies in plain SQL -
• (past) Plugin development tutorial Antony Curtis - 10.50am
by Sergei Golubchik 14/04/2011 - Ballroom D
• State of MariaDB keynote - Michael • A BoF on Wednesday evening to
Widenius - 9am - 13/04/2011 plan MariaDB future features
• Group commit and related • http://kb.askmonty.org/v/plans-
enhancements in the MariaDB for-56
binary log - 2pm - 13/04/2011 -
Ballroom H

24. Plugins & Storage
Engine Summit
• Interested in plugins and storage engines
for MySQL/MariaDB/Drizzle?
• Be at the summit!
• April 15 2011, 10am-4pm, The Facebook
Campus
• Sign up here: http://kb.askmonty.org/v/
storage-engine-summit-2011

25. Booth 411
• Expo Hall
• Auction for a t-shirt (signed) + dinner with
Monty - proceeds go to Japan

26. Q&A?
email: colin@montyprogram.com
http://montyprogram.com/ | http://mariadb.org/
twitter: @bytebot / url: http://bytebot.net/blog/