Source: Wikipedia

Database landscape has witnessed a lot of evolution since its inception making it better by the day. There has been a massive change in terms of scale and efficiency which the databases provide now as compared to the earlier days. With every new version that hits the market, there are many changes which are introduced to keep up with the growing pace of the IT industry and its demands for a robust, secure and highly functional database management system.

Having a lot of options available in the database world with various types of databases which are meant for different data, it is very important to make wise choices for efficient operations. MySQL has been one of the widely used enterprise databases for structured data, which has successfully enjoyed a massive user base over the years. It has never failed to impress its users by offering a robust and secure database management system which could successfully handle enterprise data at scale.

MySQL has brought in several new updates with its MySQL 8.0 version aiming at better DB performance to be able to match up with the lightning pace of growth in the IT. Let us explore the new features which are added in MySQL 8.0 and understand how it will affect the Database performance in order to plan ahead for better database optimization.

New Features in MySQL 8.0

MySQL 8.0 came with a lot of new features to suit the advanced requirements and enhance database performance. Here are a few noteworthy new features introduced in MySQL 8.0:

  • Data Dictionary is now Transactional

While in the earlier versions of MySQL, the Data dictionary formed a part of either metadata, non-transactional tables or as storage engine specific data dictionaries, but with the latest MySQL 8.0, the data dictionary is now kept as transactional data for the database.

This data dictionary stores the information about the database objects, keeping it centralized in the transactional form helps in keeping it simple with a uniform data storage.

The data dictionary is vital for the database due to the information it holds regarding the database objects making it crucial for the database performance. Keeping it transactional enhances database optimization by providing crash-free storage to the data dictionary.

  • Resource Group creation and management

With the new MySQL 8.0 resource groups could be created and managed. It has also enabled permission to assign threads running within the server to different resource groups resulting in database optimization as the threads can now execute as per the availability of resources in the group.

This has given control to the DBA, where they could manage the attributes of the resources based on the workload enabling them for better resource management. It is helpful in optimization of the resource utilization at the same time helps in reducing the occurrence of slowdowns due to lack of resources.

  • Permits TCP/IP Port specifically for Administrative Connections

The new version MySQL 8.0, permits a TCP/IP port configuration specifically for administrative connections providing an alternative to the single administrative connection. This has decreased the chances of administrative connection failure and increased database performance.

  • Supports Descending Indexes in MySQL Optimizer

MySQL 8.0 supports descending indexes which lead to storage of key values in descending order. While prior to descending indexes, indexes were scanned in reverse but it compromised on the performance. With the descending order database performance could be enhanced with multiple folds as these can be scanned in the forward order very efficiently.

This has opened new doors to the possibilities where optimizer could use multiple-column indexes and scan them in the most efficient manner by mixing ascending and descending orders for several rows. With this, you can scan some index rows in ascending orders while others in the descending order without compromising with the performance of the database.

A step forward

While these features have brought in a lot of advanced features to the MySQL database, it is noteworthy to see how these features are brought into implementations for database optimization. Using these features to enhance the database performance by bringing them into regular practice and adapting to them is something which requires a high level of expertise in databases.

If you are looking forward to having an expert DBA for your enterprise who brings these new features into implementation for better performance, then OptimizDBA is your destination. At OptimizDBA, we are a team of proactive DBA professionals who are committed to optimizing your databases for enhanced performance.

Looking for database optimization, feel free to contact us and we are obliged to help you in optimizing your enterprise database.

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