Energy analytics views have transformed how our team stores and analyzes device data
What is our primary use case?
In my current role as a software developer, we are using MySQL in one of our old projects and in the new project as well, specifically for storing the device data from energy meters that send voltage, current, and other related information.
Basically, in our project, we have some APIs that our device calls. Once the data is received by the API server, we put it in BullMQ, and from BullMQ, we have set up the consumer that consumes the data and puts it in MySQL. Over MySQL, we built a dashboard to show the energy trend, users, and load averages both device-wise and in groups based on averages. We have created an analytics dashboard for the energy meters using MySQL.
In my work, we use materialized views by running a cron job over the server, utilizing it in two ways: one is from the application server that inserts data into another table for analysis, and the second is for making materialized views where we aggregate data such as daily averages for devices and groups of devices. Inside those views, we store group-wise metrics such as average current, average voltage, peak load, and average kilowatt usage per hour. We also present these views on our dashboard, providing users the flexibility to select devices and create views for real-time rendering.
We use Tata Communications as our cloud provider for this hybrid cloud deployment.
We have used MySQL from the start, as we had experience with it, and it is straightforward to set up and easy to manage with fewer people.
What is most valuable?
One of the best features MySQL offers is the materialized view that I use. Additionally, as it acts as a transactional database, its transactional properties are useful, although they are not much of a concern in our use case since we focus on device data.
The main feature we utilize in MySQL is the view, and I can say that it is the most valuable feature for our needs.
My organization has experienced positive impacts from MySQL, as it provides exceptional capabilities.
What needs improvement?
MySQL can be improved. While I do not see any significant improvements needed for MySQL in my use cases, I would consider it if any arise in the future.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MySQL in the industry for two and a half years, and I used it for approximately three years during my college time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
MySQL's scalability is currently adequate, as we have increased operations from ten thousand to twelve thousand devices, and it is working fine for us, but we will monitor for any future issues.
How are customer service and support?
We have not needed to reach out for MySQL's customer support, as the community provides solutions for any issues we face.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have evaluated other options such as PostgreSQL, as it is better for analytics queries, but its primary and secondary index concept makes updates slower compared to MySQL, which leads us to use MySQL.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for MySQL is straightforward and easy to manage with fewer people.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment with MySQL, as it allows us to manage with fewer employees, focusing on business logic rather than database management.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for MySQL has been good.
What other advice do I have?
I rate MySQL a nine out of ten. I choose nine out of ten because while there should always be room for improvement, I do not see any necessary adjustments in my use case since it is working fine.
I advise others considering MySQL to start with it if they have small teams and are undecided about which database to use. It is easy to set up and allows you to focus on your business logic initially without going for more complicated databases.
MySQL meets our expectations for our use case so far. We will see what the future holds. My overall rating for MySQL is nine out of ten.
Learning projects have benefited from open source flexibility and strong documentation support
What is our primary use case?
I used MySQL mostly for college projects. I have used Postgres, but for the use case that I utilized it for, I do not think it was interchangeable with MySQL. To be frank, I do not really know the nuances.
What is most valuable?
The best features with MySQL are the fact that it is open source and a relational database. The best part about using MySQL was that it was open source, so it was pretty easy to understand and get materials to learn.
MySQL has good documentation and online support. It is pretty good in terms of integrations, continuous integrations with different tools, and customization options.
What needs improvement?
MySQL was not scaled up, so I did not use the replication capabilities. I do not think MySQL's data security features were at an industrial level for my project, so I did not make use of them. I was mostly using indexes.
I would advise people thinking about using MySQL to look up if the indexing mechanism is useful for their needs and then accordingly select the right database, and also consider if relational databases make sense for their use case. MySQL uses B-trees, so indexing could not be relevant to some use cases.
I did not use any ACID compliant transactions with MySQL.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
From my experience, MySQL was pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I know MySQL has been used in industries by a lot of companies, which means that it is scalable. That is the extent of my knowledge. It should be good because MySQL has been used by industries. I know Facebook uses it.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the documentation and online support a 10 out of 10.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I do not deal with Oracle products anymore. That was just a one-time thing that I had for college.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Unfortunately, I do not deal with AWS, Google products, or Azure products because they are usually paid.
What other advice do I have?
MySQL is a very useful database which is used by a lot of companies, so it should be really good. I mostly dealt with MySQL in the last 12 months. My experience with MySQL overall was pretty good. I would rate this review a 10 out of 10.
Powerful Querying and Performance Monitoring Features
What do you like best about the product?
This software offers impressive querying and indexing capabilities, and it supports modern features such as CTEs. Its performance monitoring tools are also quite robust. Additionally, the replication features and speed stand out as significant advantages.
What do you dislike about the product?
Limited debugging capabilities and case sensitivity can often be a cause for unwanted issues. Transaction management is often questionable and can cause data integrity issues.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
At our organization, we rely extensively on MySql to address complex pricing algorithms. We have been able to use it to organize huge volumes of data by platform and integrate it nicely together to provide cohesive financial outputs.
Robust, Feature-Rich Database with Seamless Integration
What do you like best about the product?
MySQL is a solid relational database that offers features like auto-generated primary keys, foreign keys, and indexes. Its support for DDM and DDL queries is excellent. The database also includes an explain command, which helps you understand the details of your queries.
Integrating MySQL with various programming languages is straightforward. Personally, I have used it with both JAVA and PHP.
What do you dislike about the product?
I don't have anything to dislike about MySQL at the moment.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I have used MySQL in numerous web applications to store user data and retrieve it for display through REST APIs. MySQL offers pagination support with the limit keyword, making it straightforward to manage large datasets. Sorting records by a specific field in either ascending or descending order is also simple.
Joins are particularly helpful for retrieving data from multiple tables. Filtering results is easy as well, simply by specifying the desired fields in the WHERE clause.
Reliable, Easy-to-Learn Database Solution for Over 20 Years
What do you like best about the product?
I have been using MySQL for more than 20 years. What I appreciate most about MySQL is that it is easy to learn and functions reliably. It is a lightweight SQL solution that delivers good performance. I have primarily used it for website backend databases.
What do you dislike about the product?
I honestly can't think of anything I dislike about MySQL.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
MySQL solves the problem of storing, organizing, and retrieving structured data reliably. It provides fast queries, strong data integrity, multi-user access, and security. This benefits you by making your applications more stable, scalable, and efficient, while reducing development effort and ensuring your data is safe and easy to manage.
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.
Good and Reliable Database
What do you like best about the product?
It is easy to use, stable, and works well for small and large projects. I like that it is widely used and has good community support.
What do you dislike about the product?
Some advanced queries can be slow and need extra tuning. The tools for beginners could also be better.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
MySQL helps me store and manage data in an organized way. It makes it easy to handle multiple records, run queries, and keep data secure, which saves time and makes my work more efficient.
This DBMS extremely aligned with Transaction management and ACID property.
What do you like best about the product?
I like the most about my sql is that it is easy to handle, implement and integrate with other technology. It has amazing support and lot of features like transaction management, lots of data type support. At last it is super easy to use so i use it multiple times in a day.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes I face while scaling issues while increasing performance.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I am working professional with fintech domain dealing with high transactions in a day and my organization using 60% mysql for this. For us security and ACID property is main concern and MYSQL is best in that.
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.
