The move sees MySQL’s Network subscription offering renamed MySQL Enterprise, but it is more than just a re-branding exercise as the Uppsala, Sweden-based company has begun to roll out new services that make the database more enterprise-friendly.
People have come to us and said ‘we want to use you more’ but there’s some things that are missing, admitted MySQL director of product management, Robin Schumacher. One of these things was being able to easily identify and fix potential database problems.
MySQL has responded to that requirement with the launch of MySQL Network Monitoring and Advisory Services, which sits alongside the core MySQL Enterprise Server database engine and production support to make up the MySQL Enterprise offering.
Schumacher explained that the new monitoring functionality will run behind the firewall and monitor the health of any networked MySQL databases. Not only is it not a black box anymore, but I can get a window into everything that’s running, he said.
As well as alerting users to potential problems the new functionality also provides them with potential solutions based on 65 best practice Advisor Rules in areas such as schema design, administration, replication, performance, and security.
This set of software either exonerates the database or implicates the database, but even if it implicates the database, it doesn’t leave the customer by the side of the road, Schumacher said.
The MySQL Network Monitoring and Advisory Services are due to be available in mid-November, while the MySQL Enterprise Server software and production support area available today.
While MySQL Enterprise Server is essentially a re-branding of the extant MySQL Database 5.0 it does feature a new install and configuration wizard to get the database up and running and tuned for popular usage cases, as well as new update capabilities.
We used to have a very infrequent release schedule, admitted Schumacher, noting that the company believed its customers did not want to keep updating production deployments. They educated us and told us ‘we want more frequent releases’.
In response MySQL is now offering monthly or quarterly update programs, as well as emergency hotfix builds and a bug escalation program that allows a customer to escalate a bug that specifically impacts them, even if few others.
The MySQL database technology is still available free of charge for individuals in the form of MySQL Community, which features the latest technology developments, but is officially unsupported.
Looking ahead, the company is also planning further new services to respond to customer requirements in areas such as backup, capacity planning, security and auditing, change management and patch management. These are many years down the road, but we have a roadmap in place, said Schumacher.
Some of these services, such as security and auditing, may see the company start to step on some of its business intelligence partner toes, but Schumacher maintained that the company is only interested in the database part of the equation. We’re very happy being the database behind it. We’re not looking to move into the reporting space.
While the services and core database functionality might move MySQL toward business intelligence, particularly with version 5.1 delivering partitioning technology for data warehousing, Schumacher maintained that the company will stick to what it knows best.
MySQL is expecting the new functionality to drive a ramp up in deployments, however. A lot of customers have used us on a small scale already, and a lot of where we’ve seen interest is at the departmental level, he said. That’s where we saw initial SQL Server success, and it’s happening all over again.
