Galera Cluster vs MariaDB

Overview

MariaDB

Stacks16.5K

Followers12.8K

Votes468

GitHub Stars6.6K

Forks1.9K

Galera Cluster

Stacks54

Followers102

Votes0

Galera Cluster vs MariaDB: What are the differences?

Introduction

Galera Cluster and MariaDB are both open-source database management systems that offer high availability and scalability features. However, there are several key differences between these two technologies.

Data Replication: Galera Cluster uses synchronous multi-master replication, which means that all nodes in the cluster are actively involved in the replication process and can accept write operations. On the other hand, MariaDB uses asynchronous master-slave replication, where write operations are performed on the master node and then asynchronously propagated to the slave nodes. This difference in replication methodologies can affect the consistency and performance of the database.
Conflict Resolution: In Galera Cluster, conflicts that occur when two or more nodes attempt to modify the same piece of data are resolved automatically by the built-in conflict detection and resolution mechanism. MariaDB, on the other hand, does not have an automatic conflict resolution mechanism, and conflicts need to be resolved manually or through custom coding. This difference simplifies application development and enhances data consistency in Galera Cluster.
Cluster Size Limit: Galera Cluster has a limitation on the maximum number of nodes that can be part of a cluster. By default, the maximum cluster size in Galera is 9 nodes, but this can be increased by modifying configuration settings. On the contrary, MariaDB does not have a strict limit on the number of nodes in a cluster, allowing for greater scalability and flexibility in larger deployments.
Write Scalability: Galera Cluster offers true multi-master write scalability, where write operations can be distributed across all nodes in the cluster. This means that the write capacity of the cluster can be increased linearly by adding more nodes. In contrast, MariaDB's master-slave replication model limits write scalability as all write operations are performed on a single master node. Additional slave nodes can be used to offload read operations, but write operations are still limited by the capacity of the master node.
Conflict Prevention: Galera Cluster includes a feature called "Certification-Based Replication" that prevents most conflicts from occurring in the first place. This feature uses a "first committer wins" approach to ensure that only the node that commits a transaction first will have its changes propagated to the other nodes. MariaDB does not have a built-in conflict prevention mechanism, increasing the chances of conflicts occurring and potentially causing data inconsistencies.
Network Requirements: Galera Cluster relies on a high-speed and low-latency network to maintain synchronous replication between nodes. The network latency between nodes should be below a certain threshold to ensure optimal performance and consistency. On the other hand, MariaDB's asynchronous replication is less dependent on network latency and can handle higher latencies without significantly affecting performance. This difference in network requirements makes Galera Cluster more suitable for deployments with more reliable and low-latency networks.

In summary, the key differences between Galera Cluster and MariaDB lie in their replication methodologies, conflict resolution mechanisms, cluster size limits, write scalability, conflict prevention, and network requirements. Galera Cluster offers synchronous multi-master replication, automatic conflict resolution, a maximum cluster size limitation, true multi-master write scalability, conflict prevention, and high network requirements. On the other hand, MariaDB uses asynchronous master-slave replication, manual conflict resolution, no strict cluster size limit, limited write scalability, no conflict prevention, and lower network requirements.

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Advice on MariaDB, Galera Cluster

Omran

CTO & Co-founder at Bonton Connect

Jun 19, 2020

Needs advice

We actually use both Mongo and SQL databases in production. Mongo excels in both speed and developer friendliness when it comes to geospatial data and queries on the geospatial data, but we also like ACID compliance hence most of our other data (except on-site logs) are stored in a SQL Database (MariaDB for now)

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Detailed Comparison

MariaDB	Galera Cluster
Started by core members of the original MySQL team, MariaDB actively works with outside developers to deliver the most featureful, stable, and sanely licensed open SQL server in the industry. MariaDB is designed as a drop-in replacement of MySQL(R) with more features, new storage engines, fewer bugs, and better performance.	It’s an easy-to-use, high-availability solution, which provides high system up-time, no data loss and scalability for future growth. You can Keep it up and running 24/7. Putting our expertise to use will help you avoid trial and error.
Replication;Insert Delayed;Events;Dynamic;Columns;Full-text;Search;GIS;Locale;Settings;subqueries;Timezones;Triggers;XML;Functions;Views;SSL;Show Profile	True Multi-master Read and write to any node at any time; Synchronous Replication No slave lag, no data is lost at node crash; Tightly Coupled All nodes hold the same state; Multi-threaded Slave For better performance.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 6.6K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 1.9K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 16.5K	Stacks 54
Followers 12.8K	Followers 102
Votes 468	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 149 Drop-in mysql replacement 100 Great performance 74 Open source 55 Free 44 Easy setup	No community feedback yet
Integrations
No integrations available	MongoDB PostgreSQL Oracle MySQL SQLFlow

What are some alternatives to MariaDB, Galera Cluster?

MongoDB

MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents that can vary in structure, offering a dynamic, flexible schema. MongoDB was also designed for high availability and scalability, with built-in replication and auto-sharding.

MySQL

The MySQL software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software.

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system that supports an extended subset of the SQL standard, including transactions, foreign keys, subqueries, triggers, user-defined types and functions.

dbForge Studio for MySQL

It is the universal MySQL and MariaDB client for database management, administration and development. With the help of this intelligent MySQL client the work with data and code has become easier and more convenient. This tool provides utilities to compare, synchronize, and backup MySQL databases with scheduling, and gives possibility to analyze and report MySQL tables data.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server is a database management and analysis system for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.

SQLite

SQLite is an embedded SQL database engine. Unlike most other SQL databases, SQLite does not have a separate server process. SQLite reads and writes directly to ordinary disk files. A complete SQL database with multiple tables, indices, triggers, and views, is contained in a single disk file.

Cassandra

Partitioning means that Cassandra can distribute your data across multiple machines in an application-transparent matter. Cassandra will automatically repartition as machines are added and removed from the cluster. Row store means that like relational databases, Cassandra organizes data by rows and columns. The Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a close relative of SQL.

Memcached

Memcached is an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering.

dbForge Studio for Oracle

It is a powerful integrated development environment (IDE) which helps Oracle SQL developers to increase PL/SQL coding speed, provides versatile data editing tools for managing in-database and external data.

dbForge Studio for PostgreSQL

It is a GUI tool for database development and management. The IDE for PostgreSQL allows users to create, develop, and execute queries, edit and adjust the code to their requirements in a convenient and user-friendly interface.

Related Comparisons

Galera Cluster vs MariaDB: What are the differences?

Introduction

Data Replication: Galera Cluster uses synchronous multi-master replication, which means that all nodes in the cluster are actively involved in the replication process and can accept write operations. On the other hand, MariaDB uses asynchronous master-slave replication, where write operations are performed on the master node and then asynchronously propagated to the slave nodes. This difference in replication methodologies can affect the consistency and performance of the database.
Conflict Resolution: In Galera Cluster, conflicts that occur when two or more nodes attempt to modify the same piece of data are resolved automatically by the built-in conflict detection and resolution mechanism. MariaDB, on the other hand, does not have an automatic conflict resolution mechanism, and conflicts need to be resolved manually or through custom coding. This difference simplifies application development and enhances data consistency in Galera Cluster.
Cluster Size Limit: Galera Cluster has a limitation on the maximum number of nodes that can be part of a cluster. By default, the maximum cluster size in Galera is 9 nodes, but this can be increased by modifying configuration settings. On the contrary, MariaDB does not have a strict limit on the number of nodes in a cluster, allowing for greater scalability and flexibility in larger deployments.
Write Scalability: Galera Cluster offers true multi-master write scalability, where write operations can be distributed across all nodes in the cluster. This means that the write capacity of the cluster can be increased linearly by adding more nodes. In contrast, MariaDB's master-slave replication model limits write scalability as all write operations are performed on a single master node. Additional slave nodes can be used to offload read operations, but write operations are still limited by the capacity of the master node.
Conflict Prevention: Galera Cluster includes a feature called "Certification-Based Replication" that prevents most conflicts from occurring in the first place. This feature uses a "first committer wins" approach to ensure that only the node that commits a transaction first will have its changes propagated to the other nodes. MariaDB does not have a built-in conflict prevention mechanism, increasing the chances of conflicts occurring and potentially causing data inconsistencies.
Network Requirements: Galera Cluster relies on a high-speed and low-latency network to maintain synchronous replication between nodes. The network latency between nodes should be below a certain threshold to ensure optimal performance and consistency. On the other hand, MariaDB's asynchronous replication is less dependent on network latency and can handle higher latencies without significantly affecting performance. This difference in network requirements makes Galera Cluster more suitable for deployments with more reliable and low-latency networks.

Galera Cluster vs MariaDB

Overview

Galera Cluster vs MariaDB: What are the differences?