Reliable, widely used, and easy to manage, but not ideal for heavy write workloads
What do you like best about the product?
I have used MySQL for both personal projects and production environments, and it has consistently proven to be a reliable option. One of its main strengths is its widespread adoption, which makes it easy to find resources, community support, and experienced developers. The installation and setup process is straightforward, making it accessible even for individuals or smaller teams.
Currently, I am running MySQL on AWS RDS, where maintenance, performance monitoring, and automated backup setup are all simple tasks. The platform streamlines database management and keeps overhead to a minimum.
What do you dislike about the product?
MySQL may not be the ideal choice for applications that require handling extremely high volumes of intensive write operations, as its performance can decline under such conditions. In these scenarios, other databases might be more suitable. However, for the vast majority of use cases—about 90% of the time—it remains a reliable and dependable solution.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
MySQL addresses the need for a dependable and user-friendly relational database, suitable for both personal and production projects. It offers an accessible approach to storing, querying, and managing structured data, all without requiring extensive prior knowledge. When I use it on AWS RDS, tasks like backups, maintenance, and performance monitoring become much simpler, allowing me to avoid spending unnecessary time on database administration. In general, MySQL enables me to maintain stable applications and keep my data secure, all while minimizing administrative overhead.
Scalable Powerfull database engine
What do you like best about the product?
normalized relational database engine, Good structured components
Creating database is easy and integrate it with .net applications is good and stable. you don't need to be an expert to implement it you can easily connect to customer support to get answers to your inquiries, I use it frequently for developing my applications
What do you dislike about the product?
Need to specify the code page at the beginning of creating the connection string in the application code
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Some applications need server operating server rather than Microsoft Windows, Linux to be exact. deploying MySQL in Linux is very easy, so I use it to develop such applications
MySQL- The most flexible DBMS!
What do you like best about the product?
Very simple to get started with and take advantage from a vast set of features. It requires a low learning curve to master it as well. In my experience, it is reliable and very efficient. It enables efficient database management and also provides a very high level of security.
What do you dislike about the product?
MySQL has it limits when it comes to very advanced functions, or instances wherein load is very high. The SQL dependant system also does not support certain languages.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
The biggest benefit I see using MySQL is that it supports addition of columns to the desired position (using BEFORE and AFTER keyword), this very basic functionality is not provided with premier tools like PostgreSQL, In addition, its flexibility and reliability makes it a solid choice for both small and large projects.
Offers robust security and availability with impressive replication capabilities
What is most valuable?
My opinion on MySQL is that it is the second most popular database after Oracle, and we are using MySQL for several of our customers. So far, my experience with MySQL is very good for organizations that consider database security and availability as priorities. These features are already available with MySQL. Security is inbuilt with the database, and clusters are also possible using MySQL. Availability and sharding features are present, which is why this is a larger database.
I think its replication capabilities are very good.
MySQL has helped my customers' database management by providing better RTO and RPO. The RPO can be less, RTO can be less, using this replication software. It's an inbuilt feature of the database itself, and you don't have to purchase an additional license for the replication.
What needs improvement?
Regarding their documentation and interface, there is room for improvement. Documentation is definitely required when running multiple databases on a cluster system. The load balancer, MySQL LB, which is used to connect to the application, lacks clear documentation. When there are multiple application servers connecting to the MySQL cluster and going through the MySQL load balancer, the documentation is not user-friendly. It's there, but only technical persons with deep knowledge of the MySQL database can implement it. Most of the community users or ISVs who use MySQL don't have many technical persons or DBA experts, so they face some challenges for the high availability of connecting high available databases from high available applications. That documentation should be simplified.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When we talk about their performance, I never hear from any of my customers about bugs, problems with stability, or updates.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support for MySQL as very limited since normally everything is available on the blog post. I have never reached out to the support team or Oracle support team for MySQL-related support, so I cannot comment on this.
How would you rate customer service and support?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In my opinion, this is not a pretty expensive tool. It is reasonable because it does not base on different components. Oracle has different components, so if you need security, you have to procure a different license, but here everything is inbuilt and it's not costly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
From their competitors, they could learn from PostgreSQL. Recently there was a discussion where a customer was planning MySQL to PostgreSQL migrations, but finally, they decided to stop moving out from MySQL because of benefits such as sharding features, availability, and clusters. These are not apple-to-apple comparisons between both products. There are some other similar options such as MariaDB, but it's not that popular. Though the base is the same for MySQL and MariaDB, it is not as widely used.
What other advice do I have?
I would assess the value of ACID compliant transactions in MySQL as good, pretty good.
When it comes to spatial extensions, I haven't used spatial extensions for MySQL database, so I cannot comment at this stage.
It's difficult to say how many user transactions MySQL handles for my customers who have applications. I don't have that figure at this stage, but I know big organizations are using MySQL where up to 10 to 20,000 transactions per five to six hours are processed.
The main weaknesses of MySQL depend on the context. For critical workload and financial transactions, customers don't use MySQL; they use Oracle. Talking about our customers, I don't get any complaints that they are facing challenges with MySQL that make them want to move to other databases.
There is no problem with their marketing strategy, as they have been very active for the last two to three years. Initially when Oracle took over this database, there was no dedicated team. Now there is a dedicated team, and they are doing very well with their marketing strategy for MySQL.
Their implementation is very easy.
I believe they have all the features which the segment of customers using this database requires. All the features are available, and MySQL is releasing new features regularly, such as enhancing the security postures. I don't think any new features are required at this stage.
I rate MySQL a nine out of 10, and there is no limit to what they could do to make it even better. Whatever performance or new features you're going to add, somebody else will ask for different features.
Easy to use and open source with almost endless community support
What do you like best about the product?
With Endless online community support and easy of use its a global standard and built in to many web applications. The cost is essentially free and if your purpose is for something like an internal intranet or portal page its perfect. I use it every day for our internal holiday and CRM system as well as for business reporting and it just chugs along with little attention needed.
What do you dislike about the product?
Not as robust and business critical as something like MSSQL but also a hell of a lot cheaper and I still run my companies business analytics and internal intranet pages 24/7 on it with no issues
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It offers a cheap alternative for not critical business database needs
Analysis of customer purchasing patterns and user actions has been effectively facilitated
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case for me is mainly to identify patterns. I am part of a data science team, and our job is to interpret user actions, such as when customers place orders on platforms like Amazon or eBay. We analyze patterns such as how many products are being quickly purchased, what additional items customers are buying, and where demand is surging.
What is most valuable?
Both
MSSQL and Oracle are versatile tools in their own ways. If we compare
MSSQL and Oracle, MSSQL is very handy for accessing data through SQL Server Management Studio. It allows programming, writing stored procedures, creating views, constraints, and triggers easily. There is some parity between SQL Server and Oracle, but Oracle is tightly coupled to its applications.
PostgreSQL is better for handling JSON files and database migrations.
What needs improvement?
Oracle could improve on scalability. Currently, to meet scalability requirements, utilizing cloud computing is necessary, which is costly. Especially as
PostgreSQL, an open source solution, is gaining popularity in the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I started using these solutions since 2008 and continue to use them as part of my work domain.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
MySQL solution is overall stable. I did not see any challenges.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is a concern. While both solutions are good regarding scalability, open sources like PostgreSQL are competing well. Meeting scalability requirements through cloud computing is an expensive affair.
How are customer service and support?
Regarding
MySQL and Oracle support, I hardly use it much.
How would you rate customer service and support?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not involved in purchasing the tools. Someone buys them for me, and I work on them. I hardly care about the cost.
What other advice do I have?
For MySQL, I hardly used it, but I can rate MSSQL and Oracle. I rate both nine out of ten. They are robust enough, though JSON handling could be improved. Meeting JSON handling needs would reduce the reliance on NoSQL solutions. I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
Most Popular Relational Database Solution Businesses
What do you like best about the product?
The minimal UI with all the function doc
Easy to use & convenient
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes my queries won't auto-save - or query recovery issue
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Scapaing the data in a meaningful format.
Making database entries is very simple and seamless.
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
What is our primary use case?
We are using two or three types of databases in our organization, such as Oracle and MySQL. We usually use the MySQL database for the business applications that we develop in-house.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases.
With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.
What needs improvement?
The data masking functionality should be improved as well as the native encryption functionality in the MySQL database. It could be more beneficial if MySQL can enhance its data masking functionality in the same way it has improved data encryption.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for around ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We face certain integration issues, especially when we integrate the database with security solutions like IBM QRadar, which affects database performance.
How are customer service and support?
We have a local vendor available here in Pakistan, who provides service. As far as the principal is concerned, we do not directly communicate with them. We have a vendor here, so we have no issues and usually receive timely responses. I would rate customer service nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are working with Oracle, and we also use a file database called GT.M.
How was the initial setup?
It is a pretty simple deployment process that can take around two to three hours.
What about the implementation team?
We have a dedicated database administration team responsible for implementation. We have around five to ten people in the team.
What was our ROI?
We estimate the ROI to be around 40%.
What other advice do I have?
With respect to BAM, database activity monitoring, when we integrate BAM solutions, we face certain integration challenges. These are mainly compatibility issues, like when IBM Guardian is integrated with MySQL for database monitoring. Despite these challenges, the availability of support from IBM helps us to overcome them.
The product is highly recommended for its compatibility with other platforms like dot net framework. It easily integrates with in-house development functionalities and provides excellent relational database functionality.
Overall, I give it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
MySQL database review
What do you like best about the product?
MySQL is a tool used to manage databases and servers. While it's not a database itself, it's widely used for organizing and handling data within databases. It's popular because it helps with efficiently managing and organizing data, making it a great tool for this purpose.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes the website got 503 DB error so we need to repair the DB but it is improving day by day.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It is helpful for managing databases and servers, providing significant assistance.
Powerfull DB engine easy to integrate with many tools
What do you like best about the product?
Easy to use and integrate with other tools
What do you dislike about the product?
Might be slow depending on the use case and for big applications in production
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Persisteng data storage for web applications
