MariaDB coming soon

At MijnHostingPartner.nl we have a long history with hosting MySQL databases and hosting MS- SQL databases. Soon we will also launch the possibility to host MariaDB databases on our total packages.

After many requests from customers to make these databases available and also our own interest in this, we have been working in the background for a while to realize this and make it available. MariaDB has a number of major advantages over MySQL and we are therefore pleased to add it to our arsenal.

History of MySQL and MariaDB

MySQL started in 1995 to provide a solution for storing data in many situations. After the acquisition of Oracle in 2009, a lot of the original developers were dissatisfied with how the company set up the rest. Because of this, a few decided to part ways and this became MariaDB. With the ground rule for the company that is will always remain Open Source and free to use for everyone. So also for the web hosting within MijnHostingPartner.nl.

MariaDB databases originated as a fork of MySQL. MySQL has long been owned by Oracle and is not entirely open source since it has a dual license. So that the services of the database can still be provided commercially. MariaDB is completely open source and free to use by anyone. This of course makes it a more obvious choice for operating systems within Linux. This is why you see Linux distrubutions shipping more often with MariaDB instead of MySQL databases.

What are MariaDB databases suitable for?

MariaDB is designed to be a drop-in replacement for MySQL databases. So MySQL databases can be imported and henceforth run with MariaDB. So switching between the two different architectures is designed to be easy out of the box. This brings many advantages for a variety of reasons. We are going to explain these reasons in more detail below.

What advantages do MariaDB databases bring?

MariaDB brings with it some great advantages. First of all, it is a completely Open Source project. So there are no extra costs involved with hosting this database, like you have with the extra costs of MS-SQL databases for example. With our.NET Core hosting packages you do not pay extra for hosting these databases. In addition, the databases are in many situations faster to use and can handle more users on the website at the same time. This is evident from figures we compared in our test environment and the other sources we find on the subject.

MariaDB is also almost identical to the Syntax and organization for MySQL and is therefore easy to use if you already have experience with this for MySQL. Developers can thus switch effortlessly between the two.

Furthermore, MariaDB is more stable thanks to its improved infrastructure and the way queries are executed. Thus, fewer requests are rejected or dropped and multiple requests can be handled simultaneously. This translates to the more visitors there are to your website. There will be less errors on the final website. Which also translates into a faster website. And finally, it is also supported to use JSON within MariaDB, something that is not yet possible with the current latest version of MySQL.

Faster updates and more frequent updates

One of MySQL's tricky points is that it often takes a long time for security patches and updates to be released. MariaDB released an update just over a week ago that not only fixes old problems or bugs, but also adds new functionality. But also released new functionality.

Faster results within WordPress

We are going to test this a bit more ourselves, but the first signs indicate that a WordPress website can again benefit from a MariaDB as opposed to a MySQL database. Since this is a drop in replacement the installation can be followed as normal. Only the database data will be different. Of course we as a team already have plans to make a complete manual in our knowledge base on how to migrate an existing website. Or how to start with a bare installation with WordPress and MariaDB. So look out for this in our knowledge base how you can switch this too to enjoy all the benefits of MariaDB!

Upcoming documentation within MijnHostingPartner.nl

As with almost every other technology we offer within our hosting, manuals will be made for MariaDB as well. We do this to offer a quick start for both the new customers that want to use MariaDB right away. As well as for the customers that want to switch from MySQL to MariaDB.

Keep an eye on the announcements and blog posts for the latest developments in your hosting package!