Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database

With more than 5 million active installations, MySQL is proven as a high-performance, easy-to-use, and affordable database that gives you more flexibility than proprietary solutions. The embedded server library makes MySQL Server ideally suited for small footprint and embedded database needs.

Leading ISV/VARs are using this library to transparently embed MySQL into software applications, turnkey hardware/ software security appliances, network routers, telecom applications, public kiosks, high performance Internet servers, and more.

Copyright 2004, MySQL AB  Page 1  Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database             A MySQL  Business Guide  June 2004 Untitled Document Copyright 2004, MySQL AB  Page 2 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.   MySQL enables them to: "    Focus core engineering resources on their products rather than building and maintaining a proprietary database. "    Win competitive comparisons using a database that has earned respect for its superior performance and reliability. "    Keep a larger share of the customer's budget by eliminating the need for customers to purchase a separate database.  With more than 5 million active installations, MySQL is proven as a high-performance, easy-to-use, and affordable database that gives you more flexibility than proprietary solutions. The embedded server library makes MySQL Server ideally suited for small footprint and embedded database needs. Leading ISV/VARs are using this library to transparently embed MySQL into software applications, turnkey hardware/ software security appliances, network routers, telecom applications, public kiosks, high performance Internet servers, and more.  There are two scenarios for embedding MySQL:  "    Scenario 1: Deeply Embedded MySQL. The customer has no visibility into the operation of the database. The ISV/VAR is using the embedded MySQL Server Library (libmysqld) as an in-process data storage engine that provides all the features of a traditional relational database but in a size which makes it useable for application and hardware designers who need a small footprint and need a simple and easy to use toolkit.  For example, S2 Security Corporation has developed a physical security appliance called the S2 NetBox" which embeds MySQL in ROM running on an embedded version of Linux. S2 NetBox provides a highly configurable integrated security appliance featuring access control, alarm monitoring, video surveillance and a range of other applications. By embedding MySQL, S2 is able to provide a highly sophisticated reporting system that is easy to use and gives them the scalability and performance they need for demanding enterprise customers.  "    Scenario 2: Bundled MySQL. Customers have complete visibility and control over the database, enabling them to configure, tune, optimize, and administer the database. The ISV/VAR uses the MySQL Server as a standalone relational database.  For example, Sterling Commerce's popular Gentran Integration Suite is used by Global 5000 customers as a messaging gateway for Business-to-Business Integration, Electronic Data Interchange and Enterprise Application Integration. By shipping MySQL as a bundled database, Sterling Commerce customers reduce their TCO by not having to separately budget for and purchase a database. Customers have the ability to configure, tune, and administer the MySQL database for optimum performance within the Gentran application.  MySQL has developed this booklet entitled Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database to help you understand the issues surrounding an embedded database. In it, you ll learn key considerations for the following issues:  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  1.   Delivering a Better Out-of-the-Box Experience  When developing a software or hardware product, it is important that customers not only get the functionality they need, but also have a good experience using the product. With database functionality embedded into the Untitled Document Copyright 2004, MySQL AB  Page 3 product, the customer has a better experience because: "    The database is already pre-configured "    There are no manageability issues for the customer "    It reduces the time required to "go live" for the customer by eliminating the time required for the development and testing of a separate database.  2.   Full Relational Database Functionality  When embedding a database, some developers mistakenly believe that they have to sacrifice functionality. This is not the case with the right database.  CoreSense, Inc., chose MySQL as the workhorse back-end database for its fully integrated e-commerce software. Jason Jacobs, CoreSense s CEO said, With MySQL, we ve never had to compromise on functionality or performance, and we ve virtually eliminated the pass-through costs associated with proprietary databases.  MySQL supports all the key relational database features, including:  "    High-performance "    Main-memory and disk-based tables "    Single-User and Multi-User "    Multi-Threaded "    SQL-92 and SQL-99 "    ACID Transactions "    Referential Integrity "    Cascading Updates and Deletes "    Multi-table Joins "    Row-level Locking "    Replication "    Clustering "    BLOBs (Binary Large Objects) "    UDFs (User Defined Functions) "    OLTP (On-Line Transaction Processing) "    Unicode and Double-Byte character support "    Drivers for ODBC, JDBC, .NET, C++ and others  3.   Lower Price & Total Cost of Ownership  To gain competitive advantage, software and hardware vendors must be able to reduce cost and total cost of ownership of their products.  According to S2 Security s CEO John Moss, The main reason we chose open source and MySQL was cost. We re delivering an embedded product and needed a well-featured and reliable, yet low-cost, database to be competitive.  MySQL reduces the Total Cost of Ownership of database software by: "    Reducing database licensing costs by over 90% "    Cutting system downtime by 60% "    Reducing administration, engineering, and support costs by up to 50%  4.   Cross-Platform Portability  Having the ability to deploy embedded application on multiple platforms is critical for ISV/VARs to maximize their revenue potential. With this capability ISV/VARs can better accommodate diverse customer platform requirements as well as a broader range of application types.   MySQL runs on:  "    Linux (RedHat, SuSE, Mandrake, Debian) "    Embedded Linux (MontaVista, LynuxWorks BlueCat) "    Unix (Solaris, HP-UX, AIX) "    BSD (Mac OS X, FreeBSD) "    Windows (Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP) "    RTOS (QNX) In addition, MySQL has drivers for: "    ODBC "    JDBC "    .NET "    C++ "    PHP "    VB "    And others   5.   Shorter Time to Market  Time to market is a key consideration for any software or hardware company developing new products. When relational database functionality is required, many companies go through a buy or build analysis. When they Untitled Document Copyright 2004, MySQL AB  Page 4 look at proprietary databases, they often decide that build may be the more cost-effective solution for them; but this increases time to market dramatically.  Due to MySQL s low cost, organizations find that buy is the right solution, greatly accelerating their time to market. In fact, by embedding MySQL, one network appliance manufacturer was able go from initial design to first customer ship in only 15 months. This is a very compressed timeframe for the design and delivery of a complete hardware and software solution with full reporting and data retrieval capabilities.  6.   Shorter Sales Cycle  When ISV/VARs put the burden on their prospective customers to evaluate stand-alone databases to integrate with their products, the sales cycle begins to slow. Now, the ISV/VAR is put on hold while the prospective customer goes through the sales cycle for the database. This may include getting buy-off from a corporate-wide database standards group and reviewing the technology with already overloaded Database Administrators (DBAs).  However, when the database is embedded in the product, this whole decision process is eliminated. This is one reason why such companies as Motorola, Novell, NEC, and Hewlett Packard embed MySQL. It virtually eliminates the need for DBA approval during the buying process, but still provides all the flexibility required. 7.   Superior Performance, Scalability, and Reliability  Primary requirements of embedded databases include performance, scalability, and reliability.  Performance is always a key consideration to ensure that the ISV/VARs products perform to the level needed by their customers. When Blue World Communications was looking to embed a database in its Lasso web application server designed for high-end web developers, it chose MySQL. According to Bill Doerrfeld, CEO of Blue World, With embedded support for MySQL, Blue World not only exceeds customer demand, but we are providing an industry first in the commercial web applications server market.  eWeek s Database Benchmark Test, showed:  "    MySQL has the best overall performance and scalability (matching Oracle) "    MySQL excelled in stability, ease of tuning, and connectivity "    MySQL offered the highest throughput (600 web pages/sec to 1,000 concurrent users)  MySQL's performance advantage came from a unique feature - the ability to use different database engines on a table-by-table basis.  Scalability is required to meet the needs of growing organizations. This is very important for companies such as Nortel and Cisco that embed MySQL.  And, reliability was a key consideration for Virage, a leading provider of video and rich-media communications for such companies as CNN, CNET, The Coca Cola Company, and General Electric. Stanford Au, Virage s vice president of engineering, said, We value MySQL s dependability for managing courseware in our new VS Learning product.  In December 2003, Reasoning published the results of its Code Quality Inspection Study of MySQL, showing:  "    MySQL code quality was 6x better than that of comparable proprietary code "    MySQL benefits from the large community of programmers who "battle test" the code "    MySQL benefits from users who not only report bugs, but track down their root cause and fix them  8.   Small Footprint  In hardware products and network appliances where the database is embedded, footprint becomes a primary concern. Proprietary databases are often just too large.  That s why these companies turn to MySQL. It is their best solution to deliver full relational database functionality on a very small footprint. With MySQL s unique multiple Untitled Document Copyright 2004, MySQL AB  Page 5 storage engine architecture, they can select the particular storage engine needed for the application so that performance and footprint are optimized.  9.   Ease of Use  Users of products that have embedded database functionality are not necessarily database savvy. They are buying an application to solve a problem whether it is physical security, retail inventory, customer relationship management, anti-virus, anti-spam, collaboration, telephone switching, wireless routing, etc. The database functionality for those products needs to be easy to access and use for non- experts.  MySQL s ease of use makes it a popular choice in remote locations where having an on-site DBA is not feasible.  For example, Pason Systems is an industrial technology company that provides the design, manufacturing and rental of specialized oil drilling instrumentation systems used in oil rigs around the world. The products include data acquisition, well site reporting, remote communications and Internet information management tools.  Wing Gee, project manager of Pason said, MySQL is the easiest database to configure and it is inexpensive to run. MySQL allows us to control our own R&D.  10. Administration  MySQL provides a low/zero administration environment, lowering management costs both for the ISV/VARs and their customers. Combined with low-cost, flexible licensing terms, MySQL is the ideal database to distribute with your solutions.  MySQL has a well-earned and established reputation as an easy-to-administer database. Developers have the flexibility to configure, tune and optimize MySQL. Users typically are unaware of the existence of the database, and do not need a database administrator, since the install takes care of the configuration.  For example, MySQL is embedded in kiosks at Suzuki motorcycle dealerships. Salespeople can show potential customers how specific models of their motorcycles would look in different colors and with a variety of accessories. These salespeople are not technical; they often do not even know there is a database running. Because of MySQL s reliability and ease of use, they don t need to.  MySQL databases can be administered using popular tools, including: "    MySQL Administrator "    Quest Software Toad for MySQL "    Embarcadero ER/Studio  About MySQL AB  The MySQL database server is the world's most popular open source database. With more than five million active installations and over 100 ISVs and hardware companies that embed or bundle the database, MySQL has quickly become the core of many high-volume, business-critical applications.  ISV/VARs who have embedded MySQL include: "    Telecom: Agilent, Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, F5 Networks, Motorola, NEC, SS8 Networks "    Retail: The Gap, NCR, Suzuki "    Security: NFR Security, S2 Security Corporation "    Network Management: Aprisma "    ISV: Adobe, Brightmail, Hyperion, NetIQ, Network Associates, Novell, Proofpoint, Quest Software, Symantec  For more information on embedding MySQL, go to http://www.mysql.com/embedded/