Does mysql support vertical partitioning?

MySQL support and consulting

• What is the market for MySQL support and consulting services, defined as programming and support services aimed at users of the MySQL database? a) What are current hot topics related to MySQL that require professional services and support? (e.g. specific issues with the database; corporate deoployments of MySQL requiring custom application development and support contracts; cite examples) b) What is the profile of several typical successful provider of such services in the US and abroad (including an assessment of MySQL's own services and support)? c) How are services and support costs viewed by users given that the software license is free, e.g. are MySQL-related professional services similarly low-cost, e.g. via off-shoring to India? d) What is the worldwide deployment and growth rate of MySQL in the enterprise market and how is it structured (e.g. web services, CRM, ERP, etc)? e) What pricing structure is emerging for MySQL-related services and support (e.g. which all-inclusive fees for an entire project, or what kind of day rates), and how does it compare to Oracle-related services and support costs?

• Answer:

  Hi, Good list of questions here. I?m going to try to address each individually for you. On my side of the fence, I?m DB2, Informix and AS/400 certified for Data Base Administration. Started working with MySQL about 5 years ago, and have a total of 15 years of DBA work history. About 70% of my DBA work these days is with MySQL. a) What are current hot topics related to MySQL that require professional services and support? (e.g. specific issues with the database; corporate deoployments of MySQL requiring custom application development and support contracts; cite examples) Jabber comes to mind here first, but that is probably because I?m working with it great deal these days. Almost any new Internet communication system, which starts out, begins the development on MySQL. The reason here is the cost of startup. MySQL as you are aware, is basically free, and a stable system at any level. The number of ISP?s, which don?t use MySQL, is dwindling fast. Many still have the MS SQL system, and a few still have Oracle or DB2, but even those are switching over. When MySQL got the transaction system working, the greatest reason for not using it was obsolete. Yahoo Finance, the Census Bureau and Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA), just to name a few, have found using this database to be not only cost effective, but support effective. The range of features, such as regex select statements, and simple speed are enough to bring any knowing eye looking at this database as a solution. The greatest area in need of expertise, I have found, is related to moving a dataset, from MS SQL or Oracle, or any other system, over to MySQL. I?m running into these calls more often lately, though the trend started about 2 years ago. Posts and calls like this fellow here, are being seen much more often. http://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/Q_20827934.html But to be quite honest, I don?t think there have been any ?hot topics? for any database in quite a while. It holds data, and it gives it to you when you ask for it. What else is there really?, on the database side anyway. The only hot topics that come out are when databases don?t work, which is rarely the case with MySQL. Installations, Optimizations, Administration and Upgrades, are the bread and butter. Jabber is new, growing in popularity and use, (and quite remarkable by the way), but it is not adding, or implementing MySQL in any ?hot? way, it is just using it as the base, because it is the best base for it. I feel I may be lacking something here for you, in the understanding are of this portion of the question, and if you feel that way, please use the clarification button to explain what you are trying to get out of this in another way, and I?ll follow up for you. b) What is the profile of several typical successful provider of such services in the US and abroad (including an assessment of MySQL's own services and support)? This is a bit of a bane for MySQL support services. Since the base is free, and it runs on Windows, and Unix/Linux, with ports to Mac now, and the setup of this database is the easiest out there, just about anyone with any skill on a database can figure it out pretty fast. The amount of supporting literature is astonishing, to say the least, and the willingness of the community to help fledglings is huge, the average profile is a range from ?just got it working and can set it up for you?, to ?real live dba?. To setup and use Informix (for instance) you really have to know what you are doing with that package, and there is very little in the way of support or literature, for someone to grab one of the free versions and start learning. This is also a major reason for the system?s slow drop into obscurity. I had to take the class to get enough understanding about the engine to work with it. The classes were good, very informative, and pack full of information, but very expensive. And while this did keep the market of guys out there able to support the system down to ?the few and proud? it also limited the number of companies, which wanted to buy in. Thus decreasing my market of customers as well. The market of customers for MySQL support is huge, from small companies with a single server and three computers in the shop to large ISP?s and major software developers. http://www.mysql.com/portal/partners/support-consult/index.html That link shows MySQL?s Partner?s for support and consulting, and they do offer a certification, which I?ve never bothered with. With the setup/installation as smooth as it is, an the administration of the database as straight forward as it is, what it comes down to in the field is; an understanding of relational database structures, and indexing strategies. I know what you are getting at with this question, but the playing field when working with MySQL is much different than Oracle, Informix, DB2, MS SQL or any of them. With those systems, you need to know exactly what that engine is expecting from you, and there are very few intuitive footholds. I?ve been working with databases for 15 years now, and when I first saw MS SQL, I had no idea where to even start. Hunt and peck was not an option (I quickly figured out), and the differences in how the engine used queries, and what it would accept (for instance, no date field) was enough to send me home with two new books and a pound of coffee beans. The theory, if that is the word for it, is ?keep the kiddies out?, which I suppose is a good way to go if you are in the market to keep only your professionals working on your software. MySQL doesn?t have this ?theory? and is developed accordingly. In fact, if you spend some time reading the history of MySQL, the birth of its structure is to go against this exact stigma of the database industry. I would guess that 70% of the professional level Perl, PHP, and C++ programmers on the market today, know MySQL enough to install, administer and develop against the engine. With the amount of on-line support and literature available, about half of those could fix a bad install, create a backup and recovery system, and could even optimize a database if they had too, and probably %75 of those, already have. The learning curve is very shallow, and anyone with a good grip on relational database theory, is going to pick it up and run with it in a very short amount of time. c) How are services and support costs viewed by users given that the software license is free, e.g. are MySQL-related professional services similarly low-cost, e.g. via off-shoring to India? The cost of support is not reflected in the cost of the package. I charge the same amount for MySQL support and development as I do for Informix or AS/400 support. Every other DBA I?ve talked to, does the same thing. Software costs: There are no free kittens http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2003/0224kearns.html Skill level and needed experience for a DBA of MySQL is the same for Oracle, Informix or MS SQL, despite what I?ve said about the amount of information and intuitive learning curve. Just because the information is out there for anyone to grab and learn, doesn?t mean that the person is able to learn or use that information effectively. The DBA is still a DBA. The company?s buy-in was much less, but that doesn?t equate to the skill level of the professional needed to operate the software. Many fledglings into the OpenSource area feel it should be this way (I?m talking about companies here as customers, and typically these are the small business owner), for a short amount of time. But that changes quickly, and my phone rings in a month or so, when the guy next door failed to grasp real database needs, and the accounting system isn?t working now. NASA?s comments along these lines are as follows: http://www.mysql.com/press/user_stories/nasa.html ?Asked what aspects of MySQL were most appealing, NAIS director Jim Bradford responded with three, paraphrased here: Cost: Because the total cost of MySQL is limited to the cost of technical support, given that MySQL is available for free download and use in most cases. Support: Due to the large developer community which can be found on the Internet. Although NASA has used direct support from the MySQL developers infrequently, he stated that "they were very helpful and responsive when needed". Furthermore, NAIS developer John Sudderth stated in an article discussing the switch that the cost for official support was about 1 percent of the technical support expenditure for Oracle (http://www.gcn.com/vol19_no33/enterprise/3275-1.html). Compatibility: MySQL can easily interface with most SQL-compliant applications through ODBC. ? Since Oracle will only support your software warranty if you have an Oracle Certified DBA working on it, this brings the ?need for support? down a great deal. But I?ll bet that none of the DBA?s working for NASA took a pay cut (or those working for Yahoo Finance) because the software costs were less now. Very few companies I?ve worked with, or read about, use far-away support for databases. There are security risks evolved for one thing, and another is, it?s not a web page or a piece of software, it is your database. When a database doesn?t function right, a company wants to feel the DBA support person is there, and I mean ?there?. No matter what engine you are working on, the data is what is important. Any company knows this. So while it is true that Internet access can support MySQL from a distance about 90% of the time, very few companies like the idea. Local support is always preferred. A personal note here, I had several companies I worked with for years up in Seattle, which found local support when I moved down to California. They had no doubts regarding my ability, it was simply the fact that they wanted someone who could show up that day, and look them in the eye. d) What is the worldwide deployment and growth rate of MySQL in the enterprise market and how is it structured (e.g. web services, CRM, ERP, etc)? According to the fact sheet on their website: http://www.mysql.com/press/MySQL_backgrounder.pdf ?MySQL?s current market penetration and aggressive growth trajectory are creating a transition from a database market dominated by the ?Big Three? database companies: Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle, to the ?Big Four,? with MySQL leanding the market segment that requires a high-speed, high-value, easy-to-use data management system? NewsForge ? Database Deathmatch? http://www.newsforge.com/software/04/01/13/1858230.shtml?tid=72&tid=82 ? a just-published Evans study survey of 550 database developers that shows Microsoft Access and SQL Server use increased by 6% last year. At the same time, MySQL use increased by 30% among the same group Survey: More Developers OK with Linux http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=8800 "About 10% to 15% of developers said they used MySQL the first time we asked them in early 2001," McKendrick said. "Now, about three years later, we find four out of 10 [40%] developers now use MySQL. That number is expected to grow to about six out of 10 [60%] a year from now [based on] their plans for the next year." Oracle ships 10g database, cuts price http://news.com.com/2100-7344-5152672.html Oracle released the Unix and Linux versions of its Oracle 10g database and dropped the price of its entry-level database to about $5,000 per processor, matching the cost of Microsoft's SQL Server 2000 database. A Windows version of Oracle 10g is slated for completion in a "few weeks," according to company executives. IBM Wants Developers to Feel the Stinger http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3306631 The database market, a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, has become even more competitive recently, with Oracle, (Quote, Chart) IBM, Microsoft (Quote, Chart) and open-source concern MySQL unveiling or planning a number of improvements and advancements to their products. Economist.com http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2413720 ?Oracle must deal with Microsoft and MySQL, a Swedish firm whose ?open source? software could win database sales just as Linux is doing in computer-operating systems. Among the firm's wealthier customers, meanwhile, Oracle is battling against a re-invigorated IBM. In 2000-02, according to Gartner, a research firm, Oracle's share of new database-software sales fell from 33.5% to 26.9%, as both IBM and Microsoft picked up extra business, with IBM outselling Oracle in both 2001 and 2002.? Studies Show the Benefits of Open Source http://www.linuxworld.com/story/39217.htm?DE=1 e) What pricing structure is emerging for MySQL-related services and support (e.g. which all-inclusive fees for an entire project, or what kind of day rates), and how does it compare to Oracle-related services and support costs? Again, a DBA is a DBA, though with the structure and easy of use which MySQL provides, Perl programmers, PHP programmers and others are able to perform most of the needed tasks on a MySQL system, without the requirement of a ?specialist? to come in and take care of that area for them. Security, and Backup/Recovery systems (real ones, not just saving to CD every once in a while) is not in the tool chest of these folks typically, and in fact, they are the root cause of insecure databases on the web. So a DBA is needed periodically. Personal Notes: I get the idea from your questions here that you are trying to figure out where to go in your certifications and efforts. Stop. If you have the means and desire to go with Oracle, go, because everything you learn there, will directly apply to a MySQL shop as well. This way, you have both. You are going to need the training on Oracle, there is no way around that, it just has to happen to get into the market for an Oracle support person, however, it doesn?t have to happen for a MySQL support person. Double the bang for you buck. On the other hand, if you don?t have any certification, and step into the MySQL arena, then you are just another one in a large crowd. MySQL, with the rate of growth they are experiencing, will probably over take Oracle, and perhaps even Microsoft in the near future, but we are not talking about software, or even OS?s, we are talking about databases. Databases, in any company, very rarely change. It is a costly, and profound change to move from one database system, to another. Informix has all but ceased to exist, and I still get calls for it, and I still get jobs for programming in 4GL. This is true because even with the company gone, and IBM not pushing it, there is still a large footprint of owners out there, who simply can not move to another database, and in many cases, even upgrading is impossible. So you are not wasting any time at all, getting an Oracle certification and throwing all your efforts into that system. Like many a DBA before you, if you are put in the position where you have to deal with a MySQL installation, you will find it fast and easy to come up to speed with, having a good, solid history behind you with Oracle. Homepage http://www.mysql.com Features/Docs http://www.mysql.com/doc/index.html Notable projects/companies where each DB is used Prominent examples http://www.sourceforge.net http://www.slashdot.org http://www.mp3.com http://finance.yahoo.com/?u MySQL Powers Yahoo Finance http://www.mysql.com/articles/us/yahoo_finance.html U.S. Census Bureau Reaps Awards from MySQL-based Web Sites http://www.mysql.com/articles/us/us_census.html MySQL Matters to Slashdot http://www.mysql.com/articles/us/slashdot.html If you need anything further, or I didn?t address your question fully, just use the Clarification Button and I?ll get an email. I may not get back to you quickly this weekend, but I will get back to you as soon as I am able. thanks, webadept-ga