Dolphin Express enables users of MySQL and MySQL Cluster to transparently achieve superior database performance on multicore servers or clusters from two to hundreds of nodes. MySQL and Dolphin Express together create a powerful platform ideal for running large databases on multicore or cluster architectures. The key to achieving overall superior performance is maximizing the efficiency of the underlying server architecture. Dolphin has perfected the Dolphin Express technology with Dolphin SuperSockets Software to deliver the fastest memory-to memory data transfers that are critical to database performance.
Individual database records and queries are relatively small entities of data and for multicore servers and clusters to be efficient and scalable, these data items need to be moved between processors with the lowest possible latency and overhead. This is why performance and scalability of MySQL Cluster improve significantly with Dolphin Express.
Recent versions of the Dolphin Express SuperSocket library includes local socket acceleration through the standard loopback device. Applications running on SMP systems will experience up to 10 times better latency and 6 times better throughput.
Researchers at MySQL have been working with Dolphin Express technology to document the performance and scalability improvements for MySQL Cluster. A series of tests to compare the performance of Dolphin Express SCI Sockets and the Dolphin Express SCI transporter, with both compared to the TCP/IP transporter, concluded that overall for most benchmarks Dophin Express SuperSockets improves performance around 100% compared to TCP/IP. In a DBT2 test we have seen up to 292% improvement in response time and in a recent LAMP benchmark, Dolphin Express provided response time improvements of up to 712% compared to Gigabit Ethernet. MySQL recommends Dolphin Express (SCI) on their web site as the solution for efficient scaling of MySQL Cluster.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/performance-figures.html
The use of Dolphin SuperSockets only requires installation of the Dolphin Express hardware, device driver and the Dolphin SuperSockets Library leaving applications and MySQL software totally untouched. The Dolphin SuperSockets library ensures full transparency for all applications using socket communication, meaning that all versions of MySQL and MySQL Cluster can be used with Dolphin SuperSockets.
Redundant Dolphin Express networks are supported for High Availability applications demanding immediate failover capabilities. The SuperSockets software will do channel bonding for increased performance while both redundant networks are available. SuperSockets will transparently switch to Ethernet if all available Dolphin Express networks becomes unavailable. More information about SCI and High Availabilty.
The solution is scalable from two to several hundred computers, all connected using a low-cost Dolphin Express ring (SCI), the two or three dimensional Dolphin Express topology (SCI) or a Dolphin Express DXS-switch (currently supporting up to 10 ports).
The software comes with an installer that in most cases will be able to automatically install and configure your cluster after answering a few questions. Manual installation is also possible. Please visit the installation pages for more information. The software supports live installations and rolling upgrades ensuring continued applications operations.
Dolphin Express SuperSockets are currently available for most Linux distributions running AMD or Intel x86 or x86_64. (Currently being ported to Windows and Solaris).
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