Choosing Which Mysql Distribution To Install - Oracle 5.0 Reference Manual

• SGI Irix 6.x with native threads. See
• Solaris 2.5 and above with native threads on SPARC and x86. See
• Tru64 Unix. See
• Windows 2000, XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. See
Section 2.10, "Installing MySQL on Microsoft
MySQL has also been known to run on other systems in the past. See
System-Specific
systems.
Not all platforms are equally well suited for running MySQL. How well a certain platform is suited for a
high-load mission-critical MySQL server is determined by the following factors:
• General stability of the thread library.
but MySQL is only as stable as the thread library it calls, even if everything else is perfect.
• The capability of the kernel and the thread library to take advantage of symmetric multi-
processor (SMP) systems.
thread to run on a CPU different from the original process.
• Multi-threading and handling of mutexes.
to run many threads that acquire and release a mutex over a short critical region frequently without
excessive context switches. If the implementation of
yield CPU time, this hurts MySQL tremendously. If this issue is not taken care of, adding extra CPUs
actually makes MySQL slower.
• File system stability and performance.
affected by those of the operating platform's file system. In particular, where large tables are in use,
performance is affected by the ability of the file system to deal with large files at all and to deal with
them efficiently.
• Expertise with the platform.
optimizations and fixes at compile time. We can also provide advice on configuring your system
optimally for MySQL. This is also affected by the amount of testing we have done internally for
similar configurations, as well as by the number of users that have run MySQL successfully on the
platform in similar configurations. If these figures are high, the likelihood of encountering platform-
specific surprises is much smaller.

2.4.3. Choosing Which MySQL Distribution to Install

When preparing to install MySQL, you should decide which version to use. MySQL development
occurs in several release series, and you can pick the one that best fits your needs. After deciding
which version to install, you can choose a distribution format. Releases are available in binary or
source format.
2.4.3.1. Choosing Which Version of MySQL to Install
The first decision to make is whether you want to use a production (stable) release or a development
release. In the MySQL development process, multiple release series co-exist, each at a different stage
of maturity.
Production Releases
• MySQL 5.6: Latest General Availability (Production) release
• MySQL 5.5: Previous General Availability (Production) release
• MySQL 5.1: Older General Availability (Production) release

Choosing Which MySQL Distribution to Install

Section 2.20.5.7, "SGI Irix
Section 2.20.5.5, "Alpha-DEC-UNIX Notes
Notes". Some porting effort might be required for current versions of MySQL on these
When a process creates a thread, it should be possible for that
If we know a platform well, we enable platform-specific
Notes".
(Tru64)".
Windows".
A platform may have an excellent reputation otherwise,
The capability of the kernel and the thread library
pthread_mutex_lock()
MySQL's stability and performance are directly
46
Section 2.20.3, "Solaris
Section 2.20, "Operating
does not easily
Notes".