Galera Cluster Remains An Integral Part of MariaDB Server

As we reach the final release of the MySQL version of Galera Cluster, we want to provide clarity around the long-term options for Galera Cluster users.

In May 2025, MariaDB acquired Codership and its Galera Cluster technology. Galera Cluster, at the time, existed across two primary distributions:

• MariaDB Galera Cluster: This version of Galera Cluster will remain a part of MariaDB Server, fully open source and available long-term in both the community and enterprise versions.
• MySQL Galera Cluster: Given innovation in the MySQL ecosystem has stalled, we are sunsetting MySQL Galera Cluster. The last MySQL Galera Cluster release shipped this month and will be the last supported version. MariaDB has provided well-documented migration paths to move to MariaDB Galera Cluster, including a near-zero-downtime migration path to make the move with confidence.

Galera Cluster Remains in MariaDB Community Server Long-Term

We are committed to maintaining  MariaDB Galera Cluster within MariaDB Community Server. We recognize the immense value that open-source synchronous clustering provides to developers, administrators, and the broader database community.

As announced in February, MariaDB Community Server will continue to include MariaDB Galera Cluster, ensuring open-source users have access to proven multi-master synchronous replication. Alongside our investments in standard asynchronous and semi-synchronous replication, MariaDB Community Server remains a comprehensive open-source database for high availability. 

Enterprise-Grade Clustering: MariaDB Enterprise Galera Cluster

For organizations managing mission-critical, high-concurrency commercial workloads with stringent SLAs, we continue to offer full support for MariaDB Enterprise Galera Cluster (part of the MariaDB Enterprise Platform).

MariaDB Enterprise Galera Cluster combines the core power of Galera with enterprise-grade capabilities, including:

• Data-at-rest encryption for the Galera transaction buffer and InnoDB.
• SSL/TLS Encryption between Galera nodes is enabled by default.
• Running schema changes online without locking the cluster.
• Support for transactions distributed over multiple systems, through XA transactions.
• Supports transactions across distributed systems using the XA standard.
• Deep-dive Galera monitoring via the performance schema.  
• Advanced monitoring and management tooling via MaxScale and MariaDB Enterprise Manager.
• Hardened security, stability optimizations, and guaranteed regular maintenance patches.
• 24/7 world-class technical support from MariaDB database experts.
• Available as self-managed or fully managed in MariaDB Cloud.

In addition, for enterprise environments requiring multi-region, active-active scalability across wide-area networks, our next-generation MariaDB Raft Cluster (formerly MariaDB Advanced Cluster) currently in Beta, provides an upgraded path for extreme performance, cross-region disaster recovery, and active-active availability across wide-area networks. 

Sunsetting MySQL Galera Cluster

As previously announced, we have now reached the final scheduled maintenance release for the MySQL Galera Cluster product, formally sunsetting MySQL Galera Cluster.

With the original Galera engineering team now unified under MariaDB, we are concentrating our development and security investment where it delivers the most for users: a single, tightly integrated platform where new clustering capabilities, performance improvements, and security hardening reach you faster—and with deeper integration—than maintaining parallel standalone builds ever allowed. This is an investment in Galera’s future, not a step back from it, and existing MySQL Galera users move forward on a clear, fully supported path rather than losing access to the technology.

Seamless Migration Options for Existing MySQL Galera Users

For current users of MySQL Galera Cluster, we recommend migrating to MariaDB Galera Cluster to ensure continued security updates, performance improvements, and feature innovation, delivered by the same engineering team that created Galera. MariaDB’s high level of MySQL compatibility means workloads migrate with minimal application changes, and our experts and partners are on hand to help you plan, test, and validate each step. We offer comprehensive, well-documented migration paths designed to minimize operational impact:

• In-Place Migration (Near-Zero Downtime): Node-by-node transition designed to upgrade your cluster with minimal interruption to running services. (Read Migration Guide)
• Replication Migration Method: Utilize standard replication setups to execute a controlled failover to MariaDB. (Read Replication Migration Guide)

Summary & Looking Ahead

MariaDB remains dedicated to advancing synchronous clustering technology for both our community and enterprise users. By consolidating our engineering efforts within MariaDB Galera Cluster, MariaDB Enterprise Cluster, and MariaDB Raft Cluster, we ensure that your database infrastructure remains resilient, performant, and future-proof with a proven open-source clustering option that stays available to the community alongside our commercial offerings. 

If you have questions about your high availability setup or need assistance planning your migration to MariaDB Galera Cluster, please contact our team.

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