> -----Original Message-----
> From: chas [mailto:panda@stripped]
> Sent: Monday, June 28, 1999 5:12 PM
> To: mysql@stripped
> Subject: concerns running MySQL on FreeBSD ?
>
>
> I've noticed a number of posts pertaining to problems
> running MySQL on FreeBSD and am not sure whether these
> were general MySQL-on-FBSD problems or just particular to
> individual users. I'm about to buy a new server and
> would like to move our MySQL db's (and apache, mail etc)
> from our current Linux box to FreeBSD on this new server.
> (simply b/c I've had less trouble with FreeBSD as an OS).
>
> Leaving the wider FreeBSD vs Linux argument aside,
> and just looking at the server's role in running MySQL,
> is there any reason why FreeBSD would not be a good
> choice for running MySQL ?
>
> It's easier if I get this right from the start than try
> to patch a production machine later in the day so input
> from experienced users is much appreciated,
>
> chas
>
I've been running mysql on FreeBSD 3.2-stable for a couple of different
applications. Admittingly, neither have *huge* tables (not yet at least),
but it has really been good to me. One application is a CGI written in C
(thus usingt he mysql C interface) that serves banner ads for
http://www.vaweddings.com and really smokes (it is running on a Celeron/333,
IDE hard drives...nothing fancy); that one is optimized such that most
operations are SELECTs (the UPDATEs are pooled and written at once to
prevent multiple updates to the same record). The other is the database that
the collects data and produces stats at
http://www.posi.net/freebsd/Team-FreeBSD/graphs/; it contains considerably
more records and performs more INSERTs than anything else.
The same machine is also a mail server for 40 domains (over 600 mailboxes)
and it runs apache+php3 (however ,I haven't gotten a chance to play with PHP
yet). So it sounds like my setup isn't really that different from
yours...and on this (somewhat low-end hardware) FreeBSD doesn't break a
sweat. The average system load is 0.00, however I have seen it spike at 0.88
when people were checking their mail (poppers).
I should mention, though, that the machine has *plenty* of RAM (384meg
physical + 768meg swap).
I have seen the same comments on this mail list that I believe you are
alluding to. I would like to add to the record, that I have *never* had any
problem with MySQL. I installed it from the FreeBSD ports collection and it
has served me reliably ever since.
I know of others who have had "problems" with MySQL on FreeBSD using SMP.
Apparently the way that FreeBSD does kernel locking and the way the MySQL
does it's own locking is redundanct and can actually cause MySQL to run
slower when you have multiple processors rather than faster. This has not
been my personal experience (I've never used an SMP system), but I thought I
would pass it along.
Kelly
~kbyanc@stripped~
FreeBSD - The Power To Serve - http://www.freebsd.org/
Join Team FreeBSD - http://www.posi.net/freebsd/Team-FreeBSD