High Performance MySQL, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1. MySQL Architecture and History

MySQL is very different from other database servers, and its architectural characteristics make it useful for a wide range of purposes as well as making it a poor choice for others. MySQL is not perfect, but it is flexible enough to work well in very demanding environments, such as web applications. At the same time, MySQL can power embedded applications, data warehouses, content indexing and delivery software, highly available redundant systems, online transaction processing (OLTP), and much more.

To get the most from MySQL, you need to understand its design so that you can work with it, not against it. MySQL is flexible in many ways. For example, you can configure it to run well on a wide range of hardware, and it supports a variety of data types. However, MySQL’s most unusual and important feature is its storage-engine architecture, whose design separates query processing and other server tasks from data storage and retrieval. This separation of concerns lets you choose how your data is stored and what performance, features, and other characteristics you want.

This chapter provides a high-level overview of the MySQL server architecture, the major differences between the storage engines, and why those differences are important. We’ll finish with some historical context and benchmarks. We’ve tried to explain MySQL by simplifying the details and showing examples. This discussion will be useful for those new to database servers as well as readers ...