Sun Microsystems recently announced the pending general availability of MySQL 5.1, a new version of the world's most popular open source database, designed to improve performance and simplify management of large database applications. A near-final release candidate of the GPL software is available for download now here.

The announcement was made this morning at the sixth annual MySQL Conference and Expo . With nearly 2,000 attendees, it is the world's largest community event for open source database developers, users, DBAs, vendors and corporate IT managers.

"If our users initially choose MySQL because of its low cost, they continue to use MySQL for its high performance, scalability and broad platform support," said Marten Mickos, SVP, Database Group, Sun Microsystems. "MySQL 5.1 continues this tradition by performing up to 15 percent faster than previous versions in our own internal tests - making it a compelling solution for demanding Web-based enterprise applications."

"We're using MySQL 5.1 in production for a Weblog discovery code database which indexes approximately 18 million URLs per day," said Kevin Burton, founder and CEO of Spinn3r.com. "The new features in 5.1 extend the ease-of-use, scalability, and performance that MySQL is already famous for, so it can continue to meet the increasingly-demanding requirements of today's database applications."

MySQL 5.1 features a number of new enterprise enhancements, including:

• Table and Index Partitioning - MySQL 5.1 supports five forms of horizontal data partitioning: range, hash, key, list, and composite (sub-partitioning). By partitioning table and index data, faster query response times can be achieved as only the relevant partitions of data need to be scanned, instead of the entire table or index. Further, various storage and other maintenance operations are made much easier and accomplished more quickly via partitioning.
• Row-Based and Hybrid Replication - Two new replication options are now available in MySQL 5.1. Row-based replication replicates the data changes (rather than the actual SQL statements) between a master server and its slave servers, and hybrid replication uses either statement-based or row-based replication depending on the individual SQL operations - these achieve and maintain the most efficient and safest replication scheme for the application.
• Event Scheduler - This new tool allows developers and DBAs to automatically schedule common recurring SQL-based tasks to execute on the database server. It provides greater support for database-specific tasks than is available through CRON in Linux or Unix(R) or the Microsoft Windows task scheduler.
  New Upgrade Advisor in MySQL Enterprise Monitor - Available to MySQL Enterprise subscribers, the new Upgrade Advisor provides automated rules that monitor and advise DBAs about specific bugs that can might impact their deployed versions of MySQL 5.1. When potential issues are detected, subscribers are given recommendations how to upgrade their database servers to correct the problem.

Platforms & Availability
MySQL 5.1 is scheduled to be generally available this quarter for a wide variety of hardware and software platforms, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SuSE Enterprise Linux Server, Microsoft Windows, Solaris 10 Operating System, Macintosh OS X, Free BSD, HP-UX, IBM AIX, IBM i5/OS and other popular Linux distributions.

The MySQL 5.1 GA release will be available in three ways to serve different audiences:

• The MySQL Community Server - The freely-available, open source version of Sun's MySQL database. Licensed under the GPL, this full-function software is targeted to a technical, do-it-yourself audience, who does not require commercial support or premium add-on services.
• The MySQL Enterprise Server - Available as part of a MySQL Enterprise subscription, this is the most reliable, secure, and up-to-date version of the MySQL database, targeted to corporate IT users. Subscribers receive monthly rapid software updates and quarterly service packs with the latest fixes -- along with access to proactive monitoring tools and 24x7 production technical support.
• The MySQL Embedded Server - This commercially-licensed version of the MySQL software allows ISVs and OEMs to embed or bundle a high-speed, small-footprint database with their own products, without the free-distribution requirements of the GPL license.

For downloads and more information on MySQL 5.1, please visit dev.mysql.com/downloads/.