Dang, I think the mini USB mouse I use with my laptop is a bit sick. From its behaviour on my desktop, I think it keeps reporting the left button as pressed, even though it isn’t… had to unplug it and just use the internal stuff.
Last time I had a dead computer mouse, I found that our cat had chewed the cable. Go figure!
I don’t even see any teethmarks so I reckon the dude’s innocent this time.
It’s just such a bad idea…
When tuning your database server, make sure you leave enough memory free for the operating system’s filesystem cache (particularly if you’re using MyISAM tables!)
If it’s not a dedicated server (like sharing a system with Apache), be even more careful. Apache 1.3 loves memory.
Some MySQL server settings are global, some are local (per connection thread). If you make the local ones too big in the default server config, then you’re eating way too much memory. It’s much wiser to keep those particular buffers (such as read_buffer_size) fairly small by default, and using SET LOCAL varname = # inside the connection when doing a query that has higher requirements.
If you have a dedicated db server, just make sure it doesn’t swap at all. Well I do believe linux always swaps a bit, but you don’t want to see any activity there once the system is up and running.
I would just like to note on public record that I only take edible bribes in the form of milk chocolate with hazelnuts (preferably Milka, but Cadbury is ok). Or TimTams (double coat), of course.
Wow, MySQL Cluster (part of MySQL 4.1-Max) is really a hot topic with MySQL users. I did that talk for a local group last night, but I’ve already noticed this at various conferences.
There is lots of interest in the general concepts, but I am also getting plenty of questions about intricate details. Since it’s open source (GPL) just like all other MySQL Server code, you can just download the stuff and take a look. It’s also very easy to set up. In my recent Docs days, I wrote a little section on this in the manual: Quick Test Setup of MySQL Cluster gets you through the entire basic setup (including MySQL Server itself!) in less than 15 minutes. Now I don’t know about you, but I think that’s funky! The configuration is not yet as easy as it should be, so work is being done on that.
I think these aspects (and the fact that it can run just fine on cheapo hardware) have actually opened up the technology to a whole new group of users, as many not-so-huge installations also have high demands on availability (and performance). I expected some shift, but not this far in this short space of time… the world has changed!
It’s cool to see all these people now “playing” with the cluster stuff. Excellent.
The SAGE-AU QLD venue was groovy too. This time their meeting was in the Access Grid Room at the university. The room was full. That is, with interested sysadmins as well as with AV gizmos. I understand they often do SAGE meetings live with Rockhampton (that’s 700km North of Brisbane), Canberra, Adelaide. Australia is a bit place, so it’s excellent to see this use of technology to bridge the distances!
So tomorrow night (Thursday 14 October) I’ll be doing a talk for the Queensland chapter of SAGE-AU.
James Lever contacted me, and the concensus is that a talk about MySQL Cluster would be most interesting. So that’s what it’ll be (I’ll have to prepare some specifics).
If you’re in the area, the meeting is at the University of Queensland St.Lucia Campus, General Purpose South (building 78), Level 6 in the Access Grid Room.
Starts at 7pm.
For a distributed company like MySQL, finding new people is interesting as well as challenging.
Basically, someone just needs to be capable, and have a decent (usually broadband) Internet connection. So you can live on Antarctica or somewhere in Siberia, and still get hired.
I think that’s pretty cool. By the way, we actually have various people working from Siberia, they’re based in Izhevsk (you can actually find it on a good map!). MySQL’s support of GIS, character sets, and various other nifty things comes from there.
The challenge is, how do you get to know the person you’re hiring? We have these weird stories, internally, about people getting hired without anyone meeting them beforehand. I was actually hired over email myself, not even a phonecall was spent on it. Turned out ok, I suppose 😉
So what we tend to do now is try to meet people at events somewhere, or actually fly them in to whereever there’s a departmental meeting going on… right now we’re looking to recruit a new person for Docs, my old job basically. As it turns out, the top pick so far is someone who lives in Brisbane also. And I wasn’t involved in this, really! Anyway, so the Docs manager already talked with the person over phone and email, but has asked me to meet up with this person live. I’ll try to find out whether they’ll fit into the company.
Hey if you’re interested in a job at MySQL, check it your options: http://www.mysql.com/jobs/
If your dream job is not listed there, don’t be discouraged. Skilled/experienced people get hired all the time, why let such people go to waste by having them work for other companies 😉
Do read Finding an open source programming job at NewsForge: a discussion with Brian “krow” Aker, a cool frood who happens to be Director of Architecture for MySQL AB. He gives some insights into the process.
For those of you in Germany, or at least in the European region, this is the must-be-there event for MySQL as the year nears its end…
Some of the coolest people will be there:
– Mark Matthews, Java expert and author of Connector/J.
– Georg Richter, he wrote the new mysqli extension for PHP!
– and various other MySQL code developers!
You want to be there, chat, have a beer.
Here’s the recipe for MySQL ComCon Europe 2004:
1) Take equal parts kick-ass MySQL community event
and MySQL mission-critical business event.
2) Add key MySQL community members and developers.
3) Drop in three days in November (8th to 10th).
4) Shake well.
5) Serve ice cold at http://mysqlcomconeurope.com/.
If you’ve ever wanted to share your knowledge and help spread the word about the power and versatility of MySQL, now’s your chance. The Call for Participation is now open, and you’re invited to submit a proposal to speak at the next MySQL Users Conference, April 18-21, 2005, in Santa Clara, California.
The theme of this year’s conference is “MySQL Everywhere”
Proposals will be considered in two classes: 45-minute session presentations and 3-hour pre-conference tutorials. The deadline to submit a proposal is Midnight (PST), November 1, 2004. Registration will open in December 2004.
For more details and submit a proposal, go to:
http://www.mysqluc.com/cs/mysqluc2005/create/e_sess
I am the program chair for this conf.
Now go, put your thinking cap on, and come up with something cool and creative!
And please, don’t wait till the last minute? 😉
Good fun: tonight I went to a PHP Meetup here in Brisbane. It’s nice to meet up with developers and share ideas in a casual setting.
There are also MySQL meetups around the world – and if there isn’t one in your area, perhaps you would like to start one? It generally just needs one person and a bit of initiative.
I just returned home from Europe…
First a staff developer meeting in Malta. Meeting up with all of them always rocks. They’re the ones implementing all the funky new features! Currently most are focused on the upcoming 4.1 production release though, like fixing bugs.
SANE 2004 in Amsterdam was cool in a different way. I always love talking with users, as it’s straight from the real world. I did a couple of MySQL tutorials and a talk at the main conference about current and upcoming features. Visiting in Amsterdam is always funny as I was born there, speak the language, and always run into friends from long ago (also at the conf).
But back home… we should think about inventing a new word, related to jetlag. Here’s the thing:
MySQL AB is, as you may know, a global virtual company. That is, there are now over 170 people around the globe, mostly working from home. This is an excellent setup as we can find the best people no matter where they happen to live. But it creates some interesting challenges.
I live in Brisbane (Australia), and now have VoIP with a phone number in California. Somehow it all makes sense, trust me!
Anyway, some arranged conference calls end up at odd hours of the day for me, since most participants are in either Europe or North America. In this case I had to be up at 1am. And that’s a killer. I do have a life and a wife, too… ohwell, it’s all part of the job. There aren’t many negative sides.
Hey, if you do come up with good word for this kind of jetlag, drop me a note!
