In this month’s Database Journal piece we look at the spectrum of MySQL storage engines available, and examine what some of their strengths and weaknesses are.
I recently presented a webcast hosted by O’Reilly and Webex. In it I take you on a step-by-step installation of DRBD and MySQL. I start by using Sun’s Virtualbox to create to virtual machines running CentOS. I then explain how to configure them with virtual external drives to use for DRBD. I next configure the network interfaces to support routed packets into and out of the boxes. Then I install various packages with yum, configure drbd and finally install MySQL as the last step. You can follow along at the command line and do it yourself on a Windows, Mac or Linux box.
DBJ – Heartbeat Setup
Feb 12
In the last of our three part series on MySQL high availability we discuss the Linux Heartbeat project, and how it can be used to automate failover between two MySQL databases.
Heartbeat exposes a virtual IP address for use by the database, and manages it as well. In the event that one server becomes unavailable, Heartbeat will revoke primary control of DRBD from that node, hand over the IP address to the alternate node, mount the DRBD device, and start MySQL. MySQL’s InnoDB engine will then perform crash recovery, rollback uncommitted transactions, and startup.
Read the full article at Database Journal – DRBD & MySQL, Heartbeat Setup
Our 64th newsletter issue is just out. In it we discuss different perspectives, and how they shape what we value as important. Understanding how each person, each client, each party at the table sees things, and values things differently is the first step in being able to deliver and speak directly to their needs.
Everyone has experienced the phenomenon of dealing with their savings or checking account banks. When they deposit a check, the bank is quick to credit, while when they write a check, they are slow to debit. This is a phenomenon of accounting, ie take in money as quickly as possible, but dole it out as slowly as possible. At root it is at the heart of cash flow. In this month’s newsletter we discuss some of the challenges inherent in business as belts are tightened and budgets constrict.
In part two of our article on DRBD and High Availability, we take you step-by-step through setting up Sun’s Virtualbox software, creating a couple of VMs, and then installing CentOS on those. These two virtual Linux boxes then serve as two nodes in our DRBD mirrored disk setup which we use as a platform to install MySQL.
DRBD, MySQL and the Virtualbox Setup – Database Journal
Keep on the lookout for our third part in the series next month. In that issue we’ll explain how the Linux Heartbeat project can be used to control the whole setup, and provide automatic failover in the event that one node goes down.
With all the trouble keeping MySQLs built-in replication running, some folks are looking for alternatives. DRBD provides a distributed block level device, which can provide the sort of database mirroring we need, below the filesystem. That makes it transparent to MySQL, but nevertheless a great complimentary solution. In this article we’ll discuss the pros and cons, and then part two will take you step by step through a basic setup.
Read the article on Database Journal – DRBD and MySQL – Excellent Low-cost HA Solution
In our last newsletter of the decade we discuss the importance of context. Whether it is in user interface design such as priorities in the iphone and feature development, or the numbering of apartments in a new building complex, the perspective or context within which designers, architects and engineers see things, is often quite different from the day-t0-day experiences of so-called end-users. Stepping into their shoes, and being able to see things from their perspective, ie your customers perspective, is an ever present challenge in business.
webcast – DRBD and MySQL
Nov 24
I’ve teamed up with O’Reilly once again to do another webcast this coming January. In it, I’ll provide a step-by-step live tutorial of setting up DRBD with MySQL on a couple of virtual servers. After the live demo there will be time for Q&A as well, so hope you all can tune in.
DBJ: More MySQL Scaling
Nov 11
In this second part of our piece on scaling, we talk about running more instances of MySQL either on a single server or multiple servers, to get faster overall response for your queries. This will require some work with your application making decisions about where it will find its data or where it should make changes, but with some work you can drastically improve overall response for your applications.