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All White Papers

  • MySQL Cluster for Presence & Location-Based Servicese With revenue from Location-Based Services forecast to reach $12bn by 2013, and nearly 1/3rd of all new mobile handsets expected to ship with GPS this year, mobile network operators and "Over The Top" web services providers are looking to rapidly develop and launch enriched mobile services that take advantage of location and presence capabilities.
    This whitepaper explores the different types of services that can take advantage of location and presence awareness, and considers their unique requirements for data management. A solution is then presented, based on MySQL Cluster, that allows operators to fully leverage the market opportunity and differentiation presented by these new services.    Read more »
  • A Technical Overview of the InfiniDB Analytic Database If you're struggling to develop cost effective data warehouses, data marts, reporting databases, or BI/analytic applications, but aren't getting the performance you want, maybe you need a new approach. Learn how Calpont's InfiniDB handles all query and read-intensive application needs by supplying an architecture that both scales up and out using massive parallel processing, but with the ease-of-use of MySQL.Read more »
  • Virtualization for MySQL on the VMware® Platform: Using VMotion, DRS, HA, and FT In this paper, we explore using MySQL with advanced VMware features that support live migration, high availability, recovery, and load balancing. Specifically, we discuss how we set up and performed a live migration of a MySQL 5.1 Enterprise Server environment under sustained Sysbench load using VMware VMotionTM. Also included is an example that demonstrates dynamic load balancing for a MySQL server using VMware DRS, again while under sustained Sysbench load.Read more »
  • A Guide to MySQL for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering In this paper we present a guide for setting up a development environment in order to leverage MySQL with Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering feature. Although, not intended to be a guide for production deployments, it should give Windows developers, DBAs and system administrators a fundamental understanding of how to configure MySQL to use this feature.Read more »
  • Using MySQL Cluster for Web & eCommerce Applications As your on-line services expand, so too can the demands on your web infrastructure.

    Challenges include:
    • Growing revenue streams and customer loyalty from your web and eCommerce applications
    • The need for continuous application availability and real time responsiveness to ensure a quality customer experience
    • Constant pace of innovation to quickly deliver compelling new services to market
    MySQL Cluster is a proven key component of web infrastructure that can help you cost-effectively deploy online applications to generate new revenue streams and build vibrant user communities.
    Read the white paper to learn how deploying MySQL Cluster with your web and eCommerce services enables you to grow revenue and enhance customer loyalty.

    Read more »
  • MySQL Enterprise for Small and Mid-sized Business This paper explores the database, monitoring and support components of MySQL Enterprise and how Small and Mid-Sized businesses under pressure to “do more with less” can confidently deploy it as part of a cost-effective and low-maintenance platform ideal for delivering internet-based applications for fast-growing businesses.Read more »
  • A Visual Guide to Installing MySQL on Windows The following guide is meant to make getting started with MySQL easily for Windows developers, system administrators and Microsoft SQL Server DBAs that are new to MySQL. This paper will guide you through the steps and tools needed to get up and running quickly with MySQL on Windows using familiar terms, comparisons, and language. Its goal is to put in place basic knowledge and building blocks you will need in conjunction with added references to resources as you continue to drill down further into the more advanced features of MySQL.Read more »
  • A Visual Guide to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services and MySQL For many years, Microsoft Windows has been the most popular development platform and second most popular production platform for organizations developing MySQL applications. In early 2009 we conducted our annual survey in which we found that 66% percent of those surveyed used Windows for development and 48% ultimately deployed into production on Windows. For some, this fact may come as a surprise given MySQL is the "M" in the open source Linux, Apache, PHP, Perl and Python (LAMP) stack. We also found that roughly one in three MySQL Enterprise shops also made use of Microsoft SQL Server. When we asked what motivated an organizations interest in MySQL, we found that cost savings, performance and freedom from vendor lock in to be the most compelling reasons to deploy MySQL in conjunction with SQL Server. In this paper we will visually show you how to connect MySQL into some of the existing tools that the SQL Server DBA will already be familiar with. Specifically in this paper we will look at how configure connectivity to MySQL with your existing reporting infrastructure based on SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.Read more »
  • Open Databases White Paper: MySQL Provides Scalability, Reliability & Enterprise Support at a Lower Cost Enterprises are looking for the best, most cost-effective way to manage the ever-increasing amount of data, an ever-growing pool of users, and unrelenting demands for high availability. Database administrators must ensure their database system can handle this level of growth with limited downtime—and without a high cost. As proprietary database systems have grown increasingly complex with features that many companies don’t need, they have also become harder to manage and more expensive in terms of upgrades and staffing, training, and support. The Sun MySQL™ database delivers the scalability and features that companies need but with less complexity and lower costs than proprietary systems. The world’s widely used open-source database, MySQL has more than 12 million installations.Read more »
  • A Guide to using OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE to develop web applications As enterprises struggle to develop and deliver new and more dynamic services to more people, they must do so with severe budget constraints. They need a Web infrastructure that can enable higher developer productivity at a lower cost. While many enterprises are looking to open-source software to meet these complex requirements, managing and supporting a range of disparate software solutions is a huge challenge for the IT staff. The Sun GlassFish Portfolio offers proven, integrated open-source software and enterprise-class support in the most complete, cost-efficient, open Web platform available.Read more »
  • Delivering Scalable & Highly Available Authentication & Accounting Services This whitepaper discusses the concepts of current data storage solutions for Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) environments and their potential limitations as network use grows and services become more dynamic.
    The paper then presents an alternative deployment scenario based on the FreeRADIUS Server and MySQL Cluster serving as the back-end AAA database, providing an infrastructure for high growth and availability, with low complexity. A sizing study and user case study are presented to demonstrate how the solution performs in real-world AAA environments    Read more »
  • Deploying FreeRADIUS with the MySQL Cluster Database This Guide documents a best-practice approach to configuring and testing a FreeRADIUS server deployed with the MySQL Cluster database storage engine serving as the back-end data store for user and accounting data. Deployment topologies and configurations are presented, enabling users to quickly and simply replicate the solution in their own environment.Read more »
  • A Guide to MySQL for Microsoft Windows For many years, Microsoft Windows has been the most popular development platform and second most popular production platform for organizations developing MySQL applications. In early 2009 we conducted our annual survey and what we found is that 66% percent of those surveyed used Windows for development and 48% ultimately deployed into production on Windows. For some, this fact may come as a surprise given MySQL's ubiquity as the “M” in the open source Linux, Apache, PHP, Perl and Python (LAMP) stack. However, as we will discover over the course of this paper, MySQL on Windows continues to be a popular choice for independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, hosting providers and organizations developing custom web, departmental and enterprise applications.Read more »
  • MySQL Storage Engine Comparison Guide The MySQL Server is unique among database management systems in that it offers the ability to use many different types of database engines via its storage engine architecture. Not only are these engines developed by MySQL/Sun, but a number come from MySQL partners and ISV\'s as well.  The end result is a very flexible and innovative environment that offers many benefits including higher performance and more efficient usage of hardware resources.

    Because the different storage engines have distinct characteristics and use cases where they excel, questions sometimes arise as to which storage engine(s) are best for various types of application scenarios. This paper compares and contrasts in detail all the current internal and external storage engines so MySQL professionals will have a better understanding of the different features of each engine and when to employ the different engines in their database architectures.    Read more »
  • IDC Analysis of Open Source Adoption in Telecommunications Service Delivery Infrastructure Reducing cost, accelerating time to market and enhancing subscriber experience are key drivers for investment by Communications Service Providers (CSPs) today, and open source technologies are playing a transformational role in enabling CSPs to meet these strategic goals.

    Get the latest research from IDC and MySQL and learn where and why CSPs and technology providers are adopting open source technologies to power the next generation of network service infrastructure.    Read more »
  • Best Practices for MySQL on Amazon EC2 Currently, the most popular cloud computing platform is Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the most popular database in the cloud is MySQL. Although Amazon originally launched AWS in 2002 and since has made available many new computing services including infrastructure, e-commerce and Web information services. For the purposes of this paper we will focus on those most relevant to deploying MySQL - specifically Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2), Simple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Block Store (EBS). These are services which developers can access using web services, specifically REST and SOAP protocols.Read more »
  • MySQL Enterprise Technical and Consultative Support Services Mitigate Risk, Minimize Downtime, Meet SLAs Whether you are building and supporting commercial websites, distributing enterprise applications or engineering advanced communications networks, the technologies used to run your organization must be readily adaptable for you to remain competitive. This paper explores how you can confidently deploy MySQL, the “M” in the open source LAMP stack, as part of an innovative and cost-effective platform ideal for delivering low cost, high-performing, always on, internet-based applications. It provides an overview of MySQL Enterprise, which is comprised of MySQL database and advanced monitoring software that ensures you are running the most up to date version of MySQL at the highest levels of security, performance, and availability. It also provides a deeper dive into the MySQL Enterprise Technical and Consultative support services that are designed to mitigate risk, minimize downtime, and ensure you meet revenue, customer, and end-user Service Level Agreements.Read more »
  • Virtualization for MySQL on VMware®: Best Practices and Performance Guide In a nutshell, performance variance is minimal on a properly configured system, as shown in tests on a typical small to medium business level server with MySQL running in a VMware virtualized environment. This document explains how we reached this conclusion by describing the setup, configuration, and results from our testing. This information should be invaluable to anyone running or considering running MySQL Server on VMware Infrastructure.Read more »
  • Server Virtualization and MySQL: Your Options Virtualization technology has now gone main stream, and its footprint within IT infrastructures continues to accelerate. If you are responsible for MySQL within your enterprise you need a firm understanding of these technologies and offerings and how they work when combined with MySQL deployments. This paper will explain virtualization technologies and how they work with MySQL to help optimize you infrastructure investment while at the same time increasing the performance and availability of your business-critical applications. Read more »
  • CIO Guide: The Strategic Value of MySQL This white paper examines a model whereby CIOs can reduce their database costs significantly by adopting a heterogeneous database architecture and implement MySQL for a large part of their business critical and operational applications.Read more »
  • A Guide for Migrating From Sybase to MySQL With the rapid growth of MySQL in the database market, many corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and others have begun to migrate away from their expensive and proprietary databases. Of course, a migration from any database is not something to be taken lightly, and so countless organizations are considering their options for migrating to MySQL.

    In particular, many MySQL customers are migrating or have migrated from Sybase because they have reached the conclusion that the combination of cost-savings, platform freedom, and feature set of MySQL make for a compelling business case to offload some or all their database-driven applications to the MySQL database server.Read more »

  • Web2.0 Lessons for Communications Service Providers Actors in the Communications Industry the Service Providers as well as Equipment Manufacturers today are facing multiple challenges due to the convergence that is occurring.

    In this two part whitepaper we compare the approaches and attitudes of the Web2.0 industry and the Communications industry, as well as outline the changes that the Communications Service Providers and Telecom Equipment Manufacturers must embrace if they want to stay competitive and relevant in the new converged marketplace.

    The first part is titled "Web2.0 lessons for Communications Service Providers" and is a business whitepaper exploring the differences and similarities of the Web2.0 and Communications industries, highlighting the challenges this sets for the Communications industry today.    Read more »
  • Agile and Converged Data Management Solutions for Communications Service Providers In the first part of this two part whitepaper, "Web2.0 lessons for Communications Service Providers", we explored the challenges that Communications Service Providers face due to the convergence of the traditional Communications industry with the Web2.0 industry. We also outline a strategy for success in the Web2.0 world that Communications Service Providers must adapt if they intend to stay successful in a converged world.

    In this second part we will present a MySQL based architecture that well meets the challenges we have previously outlined. We ended the first part with a conclusion that recommendation engines are a crucial vehicle in increasing conversion rates.    Read more »
  • A Guide to Open Source Data Warehousing for Communications Service Providers Download this joint whitepaper from Infobright and MySQL to learn how open source data warehousing enables Communications Service Providers to gain greater subscriber insight, with lower cost and risk than ever before.

    CSPs depend on business analytics to provide competitive advantage, reduce customer churn, and adhere to regulatory requirements. At the same time, they must be able to quickly query data to gain new levels of insight to their customers. With continuing downward pressure on margins, they have to be able to do this in the most cost efficient manner they can.    Read more »
  • Designing and Implementing Scalable Applications with Memcached and MySQL Memached is an open-source, distributed memory caching system designed to tackle today's web-scale performance and scalability challenges. Many of the largest and most heavily trafficked web properties on the Internet like Facebook, Fotolog, YouTube, Mixi.jp, Yahoo, and Wikipedia deploy Memcached and MySQL to satisfy the demands of millions of users and billions of page views every month. By integrating a caching tier into their web- scale architectures, these organizations have improved their application performance while minimizing database load. In doing so, they manage to increase their scalability to accommodate more concurrent users and spikes in traffic while at the same time making the most efficient use of their existing computing infrastructure.Read more »
  • Database Driven Development for Carrier Grade Systems Over the last several years, NEPs and CSPs have been replacing their proprietary databases, which were expensive to extend and maintain, with third-party databases, which reduce development, maintenance, integration and running costs.

    MySQL Cluster CGE provides a complete set of carrier grade features that platform developers can leverage, thus reducing develop time and time to market (TTM). Plus, MySQL Cluster CGE has an ever increasing number of self-management and self-healing features, that reduce the amount of system administration required for the database, thus, reducing its TCO.    Read more »
  • MySQL Workbench: A Data Modeling Guide for Developers and DBAs This paper looks at the various types of data that modern businesses need to manage, examines the reasons why a model-driven approach to data management is necessary, and outlines the benefits such an approach provides. It also highlights how the MySQL Workbench product from MySQL can be an indispensable aid in the hands of experienced data modelers, developers, and DBAs who are tasked with managing the complex data management infrastructure of a dynamic and growing business.Read more »
  • Enabling Enterprise 2.0 with MySQL Enterprise 2.0 is a term which has come into recent usage to describe organizations leveraging Web 2.0 technologies, applications, architectures, and business models, to deliver online, data-driven applications to their end-users. In this paper we explore the technical and business components that make up Web 2.0 and its effect on the modern enterprise.Read more »
  • ZRM: Guide to MySQL Backup & Recovery Database backup and recovery are a primary responsibility of every enterprise DBA. This white paper is a guide to the requirements, challenges, and solutions available to the MySQL DBA. You will learn about Logical/Raw backups, Hot/Warm backups, Full/Incremental backups, Snapshots, Point-in-Time Recovery, Retention Policies, Compliance, Access Control, Scheduling, Monitoring and Administration.Read more »
  • MySQL Enterprise for Managed Hosting and SaaS Providers Whether a SaaS provider chooses to host their applications in-house or remotely at either a collocation or a managed hosting facility, a subscription to MySQL Enterprise helps ensure that the databases comprising the core elements of their technology platform meet or exceed the expected Service Level Agreements (SLAs) concerning performance, scalability and uptime. In this paper we explore the SaaS marketplace, its associated business and technical challenges, and offer some solutions in the process. Finally, we will present several case studies concerning how existing SaaS providers and transitioning ISVs, leverage MySQL Enterprise to deliver a new class of scalable, high performance online business applications.Read more »
  • Enterprise Data Warehousing with MySQL Although the MySQL database server has been the proven leader in database management for online businesses, many have wondered if it has the capabilities to also lead in the area of data warehousing and business intelligence. This paper examines the MySQL strategy for data warehousing and showcases the unique abilities and advantages that come with choosing MySQL as a provider for data warehousing and business intelligence needs.Read more »
  • Oracle Users Indicate Increase in Use of Open Source The Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) has released its second major research study focusing on open source adoption trends, "Open Source in the Enterprise: New Software Disrupts the Technology Stack." Conducted for the IOUG by Unisphere Research, the study builds on a similar report issued in mid-2006 covering open source adoption trends in the enterprise stack. The findings point to ongoing interest in open source software solutions for operating systems, databases and middleware with most organizations reporting that they intend to increase their use of open source in general over the coming year.Read more »
  • Customizing and Rebranding the JasperServer for MySQL User Interface This white paper shows how Jasper is architected and designed with the needs of ISVs, OEMs, software integrators, and enterprises in mind. Jasper for MySQL: OEM Edition works out of the box to allow you to design, run, and manage business intelligence through a web browser and via Web Services, as well as providing an environment that can be extended, integrated, and customized for your environment, applications, and needs.Read more »
  • An SMB Guide to Developing an Open Source Strategy Not only is open source ready for the world's largest enterprises, it's ideal for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB's) as well. With many SMB's expanding their operations on a limited budget, the open source option delivers a scalable, reliable and high performance platform that keeps total cost of ownership extremely low. Many SMB's are realizing significant cost savings by using open source products to power web sites, business-critical enterprise applications and packaged software. This paper is your guide to developing an open source strategy.Read more »
  • An SMB Guide to Lower Database TCO: How the Open Source Database MySQL® Reduces Costs by as Much as 90% In this white paper, you will learn how SMB's such as Pivex, NetQoS and Friendster.com have improved database reliability, performance and TCO using MySQL. You'll also see how these techniques can apply to your organization.Read more »
  • High Performance Database Solutions for Multiplay Service Architectures What are multiplay services and what do they mean from an architectural perspective? Service oriented architectures for multiplay entail challenging database requirements. How can they deliver the necessary performance while maintaining the flexibility to support new features? This article answers these questions and explains how intelligent database design and tuning can improve performance many times over, using the high performance MySQL Cluster relational database as an example.Read more »
  • Jasper for MySQL: OEM Edition
    2.0 Release     Jasper for MySQL: OEM Edition 2.0 builds on earlier releases to provide significant enhancements to this high-performance interactive report server optimized for MySQL users. This white paper includes details on many of these enhancements to better assist you in understanding what 2.0 provides.Read more »
  • MySQL Cluster Evaluation Guide Designing, Evaluating and Benchmarking MySQL ClusterRead more »
  • Embedding Open Source BI in Mission Critical Applications: Dos and Don'ts Enterprise adoption of Open Source Business Intelligence (BI) is on the upswing. A 2006 study conducted by Ventana Research shows that Open Source BI is preferred for many mission-critical applications, even when a proprietary BI solution is already deployed enterprise-wide. And while initial implementations are small, very large deployments of 20,000 users or more are in the works.

    Why are enterprises adopting Open Source - particularly when proprietary BI solutions are already in place? Lower cost of ownership is clearly the primary attraction. The Ventana Research study also shows that Open Source BI solutions now provide the functionality that most organizations require, which is also driving adoption.

    This paper describes the "Dos" and "Don'ts" of embedding open source business intelligence in mission critical applications.    Read more »
  • MySQL: The Best Choice for Modern Online Database Applications This paper examines both the business and technical reasons that MySQL is used by the vast majority of successful online enterprises and helps clarify why anyone considering a database for busy, always-online applications, should first consider MySQL.Read more »
  • Scale-Out with MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition and AdvancedTCA® The Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture hardware standard, also known as AdvancedTCA® is the telecom industry's first specification for carrier-grade equipment which enables the integration of highly available computing power and switched fabric networking components. In this paper we explore how the leading opensource, shared-nothing cluster database, MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition is well positioned to take advantage of this open, multi-vendor standard.Read more »
  • MySQL: Embedded Database for ISVs Embedded relational database management systems (RDBMS's) are databases that ISV's (Independent Software Vendors) and OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers) bundle with their software products. These embedded databases are normally "invisible" to the end user of the software with standard database management functions being automatically handled either by the database itself or through an application interface exposed through the ISV's own software.

    The technology-centric analyst group IDC forecasts a growing dependence on embedded databases. Reasons cited for this trend include an increasing emphasis on self-contained packaged applications, the need of small businesses for robust but lower-priced data-driven systems, and a shortage of complex database technical expertise in the overall market. The Forrester Group, another IT analyst group, has found that open source databases are quickly becoming a leading force in the embedded application market, being found at all levels of applications - from large network embedded systems to very small appliances.

    The MySQL server, the world's most popular open source database, has been named a leader in the overall and embedded database management market by Forrester and other analyst groups. The reasons for this include the benefits that the open source paradigm brings to OEM's and ISV's, numerous technical advantages of the MySQL database, strong ease-of use, complete technical support, a dual-licensing model, and a very low total cost of ownership.

    This paper explores these benefits in detail and showcases why MySQL is the ideal choice for OEM's and ISV's when it comes to selecting an embedded database for their application.    Read more »
  • MySQL and DRBD High Availability Architectures DRBD leverages synchronous replication transparent to the application, database or file system. Which, when used in conjunction with the open-source Linux Heartbeat package, enables solution architects to design a MySQL database which can leverage automated resource fail over after a failure, in a fully transaction-safe "hot standby" configuration. This white paper details how MySQL, DRBD and Linux Heartbeat can be combined to create highly available clustered systems.Read more »
  • Building Subscriber Databases with MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition is a clustered real-time database based on the Network Database (NDB) storage engine, which is deployed in some of the most demanding subscriber database systems found in the telecommunications industry. In this paper we describe how MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition can be used to build a scalable, highly available, geographically replicated Subscriber Database. We show how user-defined partitioning and distribution keys help a subscriber database to scale its performance near-linearly with cluster size, while maintaining the benefits of a relational database, with a SQL API.Read more »
  • MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition for Telecom In this paper we explore how MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition is able to cost-effectively meet the telecommunication industry's high availability, scalability and real-time performance requirements. At the same time we will explore the issues of cost and interoperability with established and emerging technology standards. We also examine the unique architecture and features of MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition and how they can help telecom organizations overcome some of the biggest challenges facing their industry today.Read more »
  • MySQL Pluggable Storage Engine Series - Falcon One of the reasons MySQL is the most popular open source database is that is offers the type of flexibility and freedom that proprietary database management systems simply do not provide. No database vendor but MySQL offers a series of database 'engines' that can be mixed and matched to exactly support the needs of critical production applications. The end result is exceptional performance, reduced overhead, and the type of reliability that modern businesses demand.

    This paper first provides a brief overview of the MySQL pluggable storage engine architecture, with attention then being focused on one specific transactional MySQL engine, code named "Falcon". The paper then highlights the reasons why those needing a transactional database to support their modern business requirements should turn to Falcon for managing their key production systems.    Read more »
  • MySQL Falcon - Getting Started Guide One of the benefits of working with the MySQL Server is the unique architecture that MySQL offers. The MySQL pluggable storage engine architecture allows a database professional to select a specialized storage engine for a particular application necessity while being completely shielded from the need to manage any specific application coding requirements as they relate to database access. The pluggable storage engine architecture provides a standard set of management and support services that are common among all underlying storage engines. The storage engines themselves are the components of the database server that actually perform actions on the underlying data that is maintained at the physical server level.

    For those needing transaction support in their applications, MySQL offers a number of internal and third-party supplied storage engines. Falcon is MySQL's new cutting-edge transactional engine that is designed to support high-volume user traffic in tandem with very fast and secure transaction management. Falcon supplies data management professionals with all the right features needed to support critical transaction-based systems that manage key needs in their business.    Read more »
  • What's New in MySQL 5.1 MySQL 5.1 provides more enterprise-caliber enhancements that greatly assist those wanting to use MySQL for data warehousing and business intelligence, applications having extreme high-availability requirements, and systems needing a powerful but autonomous-running database that requires little attention to continually service thousands of user requests per second. This white paper covers these enhancements in detail.Read more »
  • MySQL 5.1 for ISV/OEM Solutions The MySQL 5.1 server continues to move MySQL and Sun ahead in its mission to make sophisticated database management available and affordable to all. With the release of MySQL 5.1, the MySQL database server provides more enterprise-caliber enhancements that greatly assist those wanting to use MySQL for:
    • Managing larger volumes of data
    • Applications that have high-availability requirements
    • Systems needing a powerful but autonomous-running database that requires little attention and continually services anywhere from one to thousands of user requests per second.
    MySQL 5.1 is particularly appealing to ISV (Independent Software Vendors) and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) solution providers who need to embed a database within the application that they either sell in traditional manner or use in a software-as-a-service fashion. Of course, product managers and other decision makers will be pleased from a business standpoint with the lower total cost of ownership that MySQL supplies, with costs being traditionally only 10-15% of what proprietary database vendors charge.    Read more »
  • Guide to MySQL 5.1 Partitioning Partitioning is a physical database design technique that many data modelers and DBAs are quite familiar with. Partitioning allows large objects within a database to be split into small, more manageable pieces. There are a number of benefits that come with partitioning, but the two main advantages are:
    • Increased performance - during scan operations, the MySQL optimizer knows what partitions contain the data that will satisfy a particular query and will access only those necessary partitions during query execution.
    • Simplified data management - partitioning allows a DBA to have more control over how data is managed inside of the database. By intelligently creating partitions, a DBA can simplify how certain data operations are performed.
    Learn more about how MySQL 5.1 supports all the major forms of partitioning; Range, Hash, Key, List and Composite.    Read more »
  • MySQL 5.1 for ISV/OEM Solutions The MySQL 5.1 server continues to move MySQL and Sun ahead in its mission to make sophisticated database management available and affordable to all. With the release of MySQL 5.1, the MySQL database server provides more enterprise-caliber enhancements that greatly assist those wanting to use MySQL for:
    • Managing larger volumes of data
    • Applications that have high-availability requirements
    • Systems needing a powerful but autonomous-running database that requires little attention and continually services anywhere from one to thousands of user requests per second.
    MySQL 5.1 is particularly appealing to ISV (Independent Software Vendors) and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) solution providers who need to embed a database within the application that they either sell in traditional manner or use in a software-as-a-service fashion. Of course, product managers and other decision makers will be pleased from a business standpoint with the lower total cost of ownership that MySQL supplies, with costs being traditionally only 10-15% of what proprietary database vendors charge.    Read more »
  • MySQL Enterprise—Enterprise-Class Open Source Software MySQL Enterprise is an absolute must-have for serious users of MySQL who want to ensure their enterprise-wide deployments of the MySQL Enterprise server are up-to-date, backed by the excellent support staff at MySQL AB, and kept running well through a set of key database services that make the DBA's and system administrator's lives much easier.

    This white paper discusses why MySQL Enterprise is the recommended solution for handling production-level applications that support key functions in today's modern business. The MySQL Enterprise server is designed and tested to support enterprise workloads that consist of thousands of concurrent connections, thousands of transactions per second, and extreme degrees of database uptime.

    Supporting the MySQL Enterprise server is MySQL Enterprise - a suite of enterprise-ready services and production-level support that is designed to maximize the capabilities of those using the MySQL Enterprise server. Customers of MySQL Enterprise enjoy the following features and services:
    • Monitoring and Advisory Service - offers automated uptime protection and best practice enforcement for all MySQL Enterprise servers through smart advisors that constantly monitor systems, notify personnel of found problems, and provide advice on how to fix identified issues.
    • Production Support - around the clock protection and error resolution for the MySQL Enterprise server from the experts at MySQL.
    • Scheduled Service Packs - ensures the most up-to-date and stable version of MySQL software is available.
    • Emergency Hot Fix Support - guards against a critical bug from interrupting key business processes.
    • Software and Security Update Service - custom notifications that keep you informed of critical technical and security updates.
    • Online Knowledge Base - supplies a robust online library of technical articles and how-to's that help MySQL professionals gain key knowledge and insight into how best to maximize the MySQL Enterprise server and related components.
    • Legal Protection - provides worry-free deployment of open source software.
    Read more »
  • MySQL Enterprise Monitoring and Advisory Services MySQL Enterprise provides the MySQL Enterprise Monitoring and Advisory Service. Whether they are working for large companies who are scaling out on MySQL, or for small businesses with only a handful of MySQL servers, the MySQL Enterprise Monitoring and Advisory Services are designed to scale DBA resources to include MySQL expertise by providing a unified, informed view into the health, security, performance and availability of the entire MySQL server environment. This paper explores the MySQL Enterprise Monitoring and Advisory Service in detail and explains how it can be leveraged as a "Virtual MySQL DBA" assistant to help over-extended DBAs proactively manage more MySQL servers with less time and effort.Read more »
  • The Forrester Wave: Open Source Projects, Q2 2006 Forrester evaluated 13 leading open source software projects across approximately 40 criteria and found that six of the projects stand out as examples of excellence. The strongest Leaders are MySQL, Eclipse IDE, Apache HTTP Server, Apache Tomcat, JBoss Application Server, and PHP - thanks to their strong governance, well-defined road maps and release plans, and large and active communities.Read more »
  • MySQL Is A Strong Leader In Open Source Projects MySQL is one of the four components of the popular LAMP stack and is widely used on the Internet as well as on other applications. As a result, there are many developers skilled in using MySQL, and a lot of training material is available. The most recent release, MySQL 5.0, has added key features that make it more attractive for mission-critical applications. The software is available under both General Public License (GPL) and commercial licenses. MySQL is best used by developers who are looking for a basic relational database that is well-proven for Web applications, low cost, and easy to learn and implement.Read more »
  • Analyst Report: The Ovum view MySQL AB has a strong position as the first mover in the open-source relational database (OSRDB) market. Although still a small company, it has become a serious challenger to the Oracle, IBM and Microsoft dominance of the relational database market. It has not done so with a better and cheaper product, but rather by redefining what a relational database is; in doing so, it has found new uses and new users for this technology.Read more »
  • A Guide to Database High Availability It is no secret that "data" has become the most important, and valuable component of almost every modern application. It is precisely what is driving some of the most revolutionary developments we currently see in computing and the internet, including Web 2.0 applications. In this paper of the high availability white paper series, we introduce high availability and the concepts around the subject and explore the consideration when selecting a high availability database solution.Read more »
  • MySQL High Availability Solutions High availability solutions from MySQL and its certified partners should appeal to organizations interested in making their applications more highly available, and in some cases, available to the point where they approach mainframe reliability. MySQL offers a wide array of options when selecting a high availability solution. In this paper, we will examine in greater detail MySQL Replication, MySQL Cluster, free and open-source solutions, as well as, products from our network of certified partners.Read more »
  • How MySQL Powers Web 2.0 Web 2.0 can be thought of as the technologies and web sites that leverage users and developers in a socially collaborative manner in order to rapidly develop data and applications with a high level of integration across platforms and other services.

    MySQL enables up-and-coming Web 2.0 sites like Wikipedia, FeedBurner and digg, - as well as established web properties like Craigslist, Google and Yahoo! - to scale out and meet the ever-increasing volume of users, transactions and data.

    The information presented here will be valuable to entrepreneurs about to create their own Web 2.0 business, existing web properties wishing to bring their applications to the next level, but also to the large number of enterprises interested in leveraging Web 2.0 technologies. You will also gain an understanding of how MySQL can be used in conjunction with other open source components to deliver low-cost, reliable, scalable, high performance Web 2.0 applications.    Read more »
  • A Look at MySQL 5.0 Performance Benchmarks There is little doubt that two of the top requirements for any serious database management system are availability and performance. Not coincidentally, two of the three MySQL AB software priorities are reliability and performance (with the third being ease-of-use). MySQL makes it a mission to produce high-performance database software that more than meets the needs of today's most demanding enterprise-class applications. The reputation that MySQL has earned as a fastperforming database is one that has come from both independent performance tests as well as daily serving as the backend database for high-volume applications at large customer installations.

    MySQL continues its tradition of being a high-performance RDBMS with version 5.0, which was released in October, 2005. The adoption rate of version 5.0 has been extremely high, with polls showing that many have already moved to version 5.0 for production systems. One of the reasons cited for making the move was to take advantage of a number of the performance enhancements and new features made available in version 5.0.

    This paper takes a look at how MySQL provides the exceptional performance that it is known for and showcases a number of internal and external benchmarks that provide proof that MySQL continues to be one of the fastest databases on the market today.    Read more »

Session Management with MySQL

As the web continues to provide one of the most cost-effective ways for businesses to market and sell their goods & services, we will continue to see the investment in web-based applications rise. An inherent characteristic about the web and one of the most common technical issues businesses face when designing and maintaining their web infrastructure, is addressing the stateless interaction between the user's browser and the web server from which the pages are requested. This stateless interaction may be excellent for viewing pages at random or clicking through hyper links, however, many web applications require knowledge of a user's interactions and current state on the website, as in online banking or ecommerce. In this paper we explore how MySQL and MySQL Cluster can be used as part of a cost-effective, high-performance, open-source solution for database-centric session management.

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A Practical Guide to Migrating From Microsoft SQL Server to MySQL

With the rapid growth of MySQL in the database market, many corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and others have begun to migrate away from their expensive and proprietary databases. Of course, a migration from any database is not something to be taken lightly, and so countless organizations are considering their options for migrating to MySQL.

In particular, many MySQL customers are migrating from SQL Server because they have reached the conclusion that the combination of cost-savings, platform freedom, and feature set of MySQL make for a compelling business case to offload some or all their database-driven applications to the MySQL database server.

This paper provides insight into what is needed for considering a move from SQL Server to MySQL, and presents a number of options that help make the transition easy. Both the business and technical sides of migrating to MySQL will be dealt with, so whether you are a manager or a seasoned DBA, you will find the needed answers to questions that revolve around migrating to the world\'s most popular open source database - MySQL.

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A Practical Guide to Migrating From Oracle to MySQL

With the rapid growth of MySQL in the database market, many corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and others have begun to migrate away from their expensive and proprietary databases. Of course, a migration from any database is not something to be taken lightly, and so countless organizations are considering their options for migrating to MySQL.

In particular, many MySQL customers are migrating from Oracle because they have reached the conclusion that the combination of cost-savings and feature set of MySQL make for a compelling business case to offload some or all their database-driven applications to the MySQL database server.

This paper provides insight into what is needed for considering a move from Oracle to MySQL, and presents a number of options that help make the transition easy. Both the business and technical sides of migrating to MySQL will be dealt with, so whether you are a manager or a seasoned DBA, you will find the needed answers to questions that revolve around migrating to the world\'s most popular open source database - MySQL.

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A Guide to High Availability VoIP
How MySQL Cluster Enables High Availability VoIP Platforms

VoIP is a much more cost-effective way to make and receive phone calls using your broadband Internet connection instead of your standard phone line. Both new and existing players in this market must be able to provide VoIP solutions that are cost-effective, scalable and reliable.

New entrants quickly find that their VoIP subscriber rate adoption quickly grows from a handful of users to hundreds of thousands of customers. MySQL Cluster is a proven database that enables scalable VoIP platforms like iptelorg's SIP Express Router to cost-effectively provide non-stop, always-available VoIP services to millions of customers.

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Look to Book: A Guide for Online Retailers

Online travel is the largest segment of e-commerce, but a lot more people 'Look' than 'Book'. The majority of visitors are 'Lookers' who are researching fares and schedules for flights, hotels, vacation packages, and more. Organizations that are building-out their IT infrastructure using high-cost proprietary software and hardware to serve the growing population of 'Lookers' are feeling the pain of soaring costs. On the other hand, leading online travel retailers such as Sabre Holdings who have taken the initiative to migrate to MySQL and the open source LAMP stack have been able to save millions of dollars.

This paper will explore techniques for helping Online Retailers cost-effectively manage their "Look to Book" ratios.

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MySQL Enterprise and the Dell PowerEdge 2800

The MySQL open source database has gained attention over the last few years as a low cost database option. The feature set of MySQL has increased during this time to include many of the things that enterprise class applications require including transactional integrity, foreign keys, and support for large database sizes. Utilizing the powerful Dell PowerEdge 2800, a two-processor tower server with ample internal disk capacity, to run MySQL provides a high value solution for customers.

In order to simulate how a small or medium sized business might utilize such a solution, a PowerEdge 2800 configured with only internal disks was used to run an online DVD store test database application. The results show that a server with software configured at a price of less than $9000 is able to handle over 1900 orders per minute, a transaction rate much higher than what many small or medium sized businesses require.

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A Practical Guide to Migrating to MySQL 5.0

With the recent release and rapid growth of MySQL 5.0 in the market, many corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and others to think about migrating away from their expensive and proprietary database vendors to an open source platform. Of course, a migration from any database is not something to be taken lightly, and so countless organizations are asking what they need to take into consideration when migrating to MySQL. Questions such as "Is the open source model really less expensive in the long run?" and "Can MySQL handle the demanding needs of my critical applications?" are just some of the questions being asked.

This paper attempts to address these and all other major questions that naturally occur when one thinks about migrating a key database-driven system to MySQL. Both the business and technical sides of migrating to MySQL will be dealt with, so whether you are a manager or a seasoned DBA, you will find the needed answers to your questions that revolve around migrating to the world\'s most popular open source database - MySQL.

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MySQL 5.0's Pluggable Storage Engine Architecture

Many large enterprises are choosing MySQL because it offers a new and different paradigm of database management. Perhaps the one key differentiator between MySQL and other database platforms - whether they are proprietary or open source - is the pluggable storage engine architecture of MySQL.

What exactly is the MySQL pluggable storage engine architecture and what benefits does it offer to today's modern enterprises? This paper addresses these questions and more by outlining what the MySQL pluggable storage engine architecture is, giving practical examples of how it works, and showcasing the many benefits that come from using it.

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Inside MySQL 5.0

A DBA's Perspective

MySQL 5.0 represents a huge leap forward for the world's most popular open source database management system. While MySQL has been the database of choice for managing high-volume web sites and embedded database applications for years, version 5.0 provides exceptional new functionality that paves the way for larger adoption at the enterprise level. Advancements in the areas of application development, transactional processing, data integrity, and manageability put the MySQL database server on par with proprietary database vendors whose costs are many times more.

This paper first provides a technical overview of MySQL from the DBAs perspective, and then focuses on new features in 5.0 that demonstrate how the latest version of MySQL builds upon an already award-winning database engine to provide more industrial-strength capabilities that help to manage the needs of demanding transactional processing systems, large data warehouse applications, and high-traffic web sites.

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Database Scale-Out Using Open Source Software

Achieving Infrastructure Agility

Industry analyst Charles Garry says, "To achieve a modern IT infrastructure, an organization must adapt through innovation, while maintaining stability. That is agility. I suggest that open source software is a key technology for driving and achieving this type of infrastructure agility."

In this report from Charles Garry, you'll learn that as society's dependence on information technology becomes increasingly pervasive, IT planners must continually adapt themselves to the challenges of living in an information driven economy. Access to information is now global. Always on, always in demand.

It's time every organization takes a new look at how open source software can assist in solving the scalability needs of today's economy without impacting the stability of mission-critical infrastructure. Planners must begin to look at the infrastructure as not simply a collection of technology components but instead think of it as an architecture -- a meta-level set of open standards and protocols in much the same manner as the Internet itself. Open source software promotes this approach at the component layer and is therefore a wonderful tool for building out an organization's agile infrastructure.

Scaling the database infrastructure with open source software may not only be innovative in itself, but can also encourage further innovation at the application level. A worthy goal indeed for any infrastructure planner.

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Three Approaches to MySQL Applications on Dell PowerEdge Servers

Dell Inc.'s line of industry standards-based PowerEdge servers are a natural platform for open source software such as the MySQL Database from MySQL AB. In a recently announced partnership, MySQL Enterprise is now available direct from Dell. Dell does not force its customers into a single operating system. Windows Server™ 2003 and both Red Hat® Linux® and Novell's SUSE® Linux are available, factory installed, on Dell servers. MySQL runs well and is fully supported on all of these operating systems.

In this paper, which is based on a presentation given by the authors at the MySQL Users Conference in Santa Clara, California in April 2005, three different methods of building web applications with a MySQL backend are described.

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Guide to Open Source Software in Government
Open Source and MySQL @ Work in Applications

Open source technology, though not new to government, is playing an increasingly important role in helping develop the next generation of highly scalable information applications. Many such applications are built on the LAMP open source software stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Python / Perl) which provides the main infrastructure for cost-effective application development and deployment.

Key elements of open source software that make it attractive to government include:

  • Greater interoperability
  • Eliminates lock-in
  • Higher level of security
  • Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

In this white paper, we review some of the reasons why open source software is ideally suited to government. We also provide examples of where open source software in general, and the MySQL open source database in particular, have enabled government organizations to develop and deploy highly scalable applications at a fraction of the total cost of traditional, closed source software.

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Database Tiering
Achieving Scale-Out by Combining MySQL
with your Existing Database

Many organizations are facing a double threat of increasing volumes of data and transactions while at the same time needing to reduce their IT organizations' resources. As a result, many are turning to a new, modern scale-out architecture that is built on using low-cost commodity Intel / Opteron hardware running an open source LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python) stack.

While many might advocate migrating existing database applications to an open source solution, there may be practical reasons to not undertake such migration projects. Is there an architecture that enables organizations to keep their current database systems running as-is while adding open source to the solution? Yes, in fact the notion of "database tiering" has become a common way for many IT organizations to add open source software to provide greater cost-effective scale-out while minimizing change to existing systems.

By using a database tiering methodology, MySQL can complement existing database infrastructures and allow IT organizations to scale-out their data processing capabilities effectively at a low cost. When placed at the front-end of legacy systems, the MySQL database co-exists with existing databases by means of data synchronization.

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Guide to Financial Services Whitepaper

The financial services industry has gone through a series of major evolutions over the past 10 years, including:

  • Extensive consolidation through mergers & acquisitions
  • Wide-reaching customer service and self-service applications available over the Internet
  • A strong focus on maximizing ROI for IT investments

To help overcome the challenges created by these industry changes, financial services companies were among the first to widely adopt Linux for mission-critical uses, helping them more easily integrate disparate systems from mergers, provide web-based applications to better serve customers, and achieve dramatic cost savings.

Financial services companies now have taken the lead in adopting a more comprehensive open source middleware stack known as LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python. Because the price of software increases as one moves up the stack from operating system to middleware to databases, the cost savings of adopting an open source software stack are even more dramatic than with just the operating system alone.

The paper will illustrate how MySQL can help lower financial services organizations' total cost of ownership (TCO) in deploying an open software stack while allowing them to expand existing businesses, develop new products, and comply with an ever-growing number of regulatory and statutory requirements.

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Guide to Cost-effective Database Scale-Out using MySQL

The current economic environment is forcing CIOs and IT Managers to focus on supporting key business requirements with less expensive IT infrastructure. Specifically, as more and more organizations rely on the Internet, they must be able to cost-effectively increase capacity of their infrastructure without sacrificing performance in order to grow their business.

For example, online companies such as Friendster, Citysearch, and Yahoo must be able to accommodate the exponential grow in their online community and the data being delivered. In addition, traditional companies in telecom, retail, and financial industries are building more self-service applications to improve efficiencies and cut costs. These applications must also scale in order for these organizations to increase their revenues and improve customer satisfaction. No businesses are unaffected by the growing volume of online data and the need for greater analysis and faster responsiveness. What will separate the strong companies from the weak is their ability to meet the growing demands in a cost-effective fashion.

For growing organizations, adding more infrastructure capacity using a proprietary solution requires large up front software and hardware investments. Many companies find that with a proprietary solution they will not be able to execute on their business plan because the cost of software alone is prohibitive. When you factor in the cost of large Symmetrical Multiprocessing (SMP) hardware, the cost problem is further exacerbated. MySQL enables organizations to eliminate the "database tax" associated with proprietary closed source software and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) enabling them to more readily accommodate growing demands for database capacity.

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META Group Report: The End of Database Licensing?

As the competition for open source heats up, it is the support (e.g., technical, implementation, ISV) that will decide how soon adoption takes place and show will win. MySQL Enterprise is an innovative support offering that threatens traditional commercial software licensing models. MySQL Network is an offering that should increase the velocity of MySQL within the enterprise market and mark the "beginning of the end" for software licensing fees as a separately charged line item.

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Hurwitz Report: So Much Database, So Little Money
MySQL Plays Ball with the Majors

Are there good reasons to pay hefty license fees for an enterprise database? Well, it depends on the circumstances, but in most situations the answers is "No".

Are there good reasons for using a completely free database within the Enterprise? Well, that depends upon the circumstances too. After all, many companies use a free browser (Firefox), a free web server (Apache) and a free operating system (Linux). However, with database the situation is likely to be more complex. Support can and should be a major consideration, and 24 x 7 support with a guaranteed response is never free.

Now that comprehensive support is provided with MySQL Enterprise, the MySQL value proposition is simple - it provides excellent value for the money.

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MySQL Performance Benchmarks

To meet the service levels demanded by your users, your database-based application needs to deliver high performance and scalability. In addition, it requires complete data availability, which includes fault tolerance, service uptime, and throughput. In short, performance and service uptime are the two most important criteria to ensure an application operates at expected levels.

This paper discusses the performance of MySQL. It highlights the database elements that can be measured and adjusted during a benchmark. In addition it delivers a set of benchmark results obtained from third parties and internal tests run at the MySQL Test Labs that demonstrate MySQL's ability to meet the most demanding service levels.

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Guide to Data Integrity, Availability and Security

DBAs, architects, developers and business managers who are building business-critical applications need to be sure that their database systems have complete data integrity, availability and security. These three factors determine the overall level of "data assurance" that your data is accurate, available at required service levels and safe from human and technology threats. This paper discusses the three areas of data integrity, availability and security and outlines the features and capabilities of MySQL that help to improve data assurance and eliminate risks.

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A Guide to Developing an Enterprise Open Source Strategy

Not only is open source ready for the enterprise, it's also proven there. In this white paper, you.ll learn how both large and small organizations have successfully implemented open source strategies.

In addition, to help you develop an open source strategy, this white paper provides:

  • An overview of open source products
  • An Open Source Scorecard to help you evaluate if your organization is ready for open source
  • Tips on getting started with open source

In this white paper we'll show you how. More »

A Guide to Lower Database TCO

A recent Computerworld article, "MySQL Breaks Into the Data Center" revealed how MySQL has become the world's most popular open source database and why corporations intent on lowering their cost of operations are using it to further commoditize their IT infrastructure.

MySQL reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of database software by:

  • Reducing database licensing costs by over 90%
  • Cutting systems downtime by 60%
  • Lowering hardware expenditure by 70%
  • Reducing administration, engineering and support costs by up to 50%

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Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database

MySQL is the most popular database for ISVs, VARs, hardware vendors, and network appliance manufactures who want to cost-effectively embed or bundle a reliable, high-performance relational database.

To help you better understand the issues surrounding embedding a relational database, MySQL has developed this Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database. In it you'll learn the key considerations for the top 10 issues about embedding a relational database:

  1. Delivering a Better "Out-of-the Box" Experience
  2. Full Relational Database Functionality
  3. Lower Price & Total Cost of Ownership
  4. Cross-platform Portability
  5. Shorter Time to Market
  6. Shorter Sales Cycle
  7. Superior Performance, Scalability and Reliability
  8. Small Footprint
  9. Ease of Use
  10. Administration

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