MariaDB Server is widely used for online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads. OLTP systems are characterized by a high volume of short, atomic transactions, such as processing payments, managing customer data or handling inventory updates.
Key Aspects of MariaDB’s Suitability for OLTP
Transactional Integrity
MariaDB Server uses ACID compliance to ensure data integrity during transactions. This is crucial for OLTP, where data accuracy and reliability are paramount.
Scalability
MariaDB Server supports various scaling strategies, including replication and clustering, to handle increasing transactional loads. This allows businesses to scale their OLTP applications as their needs evolve.
High Availability
Features like replication and failover mechanisms ensure continuous availability of the database, minimizing downtime for mission-critical OLTP applications.
Security
MariaDB Server provides robust security features, including user authentication, access control and encryption, to protect sensitive transactional data.
Performance
MariaDB Server offers various features and storage engines optimized for OLTP performance. The InnoDB storage engine, for example, provides row-level locking and multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which are essential for handling concurrent transactions efficiently.
Pluggable Storage Engines
MariaDB features pluggable storage engines to enable workload optimization on a per-table basis. Different tables on the same server may use different storage engines. Some of the most commonly used engines include:
| Engine | Target Workload | Optimization |
|---|---|---|
| Aria | Read-heavy | Read |
| ColumnStore | Analytical | Big data and analytics |
| InnoDB – default | General purpose | Mixed read and write |
| Memory | Cache and temp | Temporary data |
| MyRocks | Write heavy | I/O reduction |
| S3 | Cloud based | Read only |
| Spider | Database federation | Sharding an interlink |
The default storage engine is InnoDB, but you can set a different engine as the default. If a specific table or session specifies an engine other than the default, it overrides the default.
