ACADEMIA

New Flash-Aware NVM Compression Interface to Reduce Latency and Boost Usable Flash Memory Capacity by Up to 50% in the MySQL Database

Fusion-io has announced collaboration with Oracle on the development of flash-aware interfaces for MySQL. These interfaces include NVM Compression, a flash-aware interface that can double the usable capacity of Fusion ioMemory flash while eliminating the performance impact associated with disk-era compression and Atomic Writes, an interface that enables more efficient database commits when running on flash memory. Together, these flash-aware interfaces allow MySQL to deliver up to 4x more flash endurance by streamlining commands to help optimize databases for persistent flash memory architectures.

Unlike disk-era compression techniques, flash-optimized NVM Compression shares the vast majority of the application code with the traditional uncompressed database logic. By leveraging the underlying architecture of flash as a memory tier, NVM Compression significantly reduces the complexity of storage engines, which allows for improved scalability and higher efficiency.

In addition, the well-defined interface of NVM Compression allows developers to quickly introduce flash-aware compression to their applications using versatile workload-optimized compression algorithms. Once integrated into an application, NVM Compression enables developers to help enterprises scale their IT infrastructure to meet increasing data demands by effectively balancing storage efficiency with customer workload performance requirements.

"Flash-aware interfaces like NVM Compression and Atomic Writes underline the significant divide between flash as a memory and flash SSDs," said Fusion-io Chief Technology Officer Pankaj Mehra. "The value of enterprise flash memory is maximized as a memory tier that enables unique optimizations for cloud computing, big data, in-memory databases and high volume transactions. Fusion-io is pleased to collaborate with Oracle to make these interfaces available to the businesses that use MySQL database every day."

"Oracle continues to lead MySQL innovation and is working with Fusion-io to deliver flash-aware application performance," said Tomas Ulin, vice president of MySQL Engineering, Oracle. "The flash aware interfaces introduced by Fusion-io update disk-era commands with code streamlined for flash memory operations, significantly reducing latency and accelerating performance for modern web, cloud and embedded applications. Solutions like the flash-aware NVM Compression and Atomic Writes interfaces continue to push the boundaries of performance and efficiency for MySQL deployments around the world."

The NVM Compression and Atomic Writes interfaces are now available in the MySQL 5.7.4 Development Milestone Release (for Atomic Writes) and as early access feature at labs.mysql.com for NVM Compression. Fusion ioMemory platforms for MySQL database acceleration are available from server vendors including HP, Cisco, Dell, IBM, and Supermicro.