Choosing an open source database management system

Enterprise Considerations

If you plan to use your DBMS in an enterprise-grade capacity, you'll need to consider a few additional criteria.

First and foremost, you want to look for a solution that promises stability. Depending upon how you'll use the distribution, ACID-compliance is particularly important for stability. For all use cases, a proven track record, a planned release cycle, high quality documentation, and support forums can provide assurance regarding the DBMS's longevity and community involvement.

For enterprise-grade systems, high availability is particularly important. Look for solutions that offer redundant and fault-tolerant components at the same location. And in case of a high availability failure, you'll want a solution with a disaster recovery plan to get your system back up and running.

Finally, you may need to consider paying for additional extensions or add-ons that can make an open source DBMS enterprise-grade. Most of the DBMSs highlighted here offer an enterprise version. You may also need to consider paying for outside 24/7 support from a third-party vendor if you don't have the staffing resources in house.

Conclusion

An open source DBMS can offer many benefits over closed source alternatives. With the right considerations, you can use these open source solutions in enterprise environments. To find the best one for your organization, a close look at your present and future needs will help you narrow down the field.

This article was made possible by support from Percona LLC, through Linux New Media's Topic Subsidy Program (https://www.linuxnewmedia.com/Topic_Subsidy).

Infos

  1. MySQL: https://www.oracle.com/mysql/what-is-mysql/#:~:text=the%20SQL%20syntax.-,MySQL%20is%20open%20source,code%20to%20suit%20your%20needs
  2. Stack Overflow 2023 Developer Survey: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2023/#section-most-popular-technologies-databases
  3. MySQL Community Edition: https://www.mysql.com/products/community/
  4. MariaDB: https://mariadb.com/products/community-server/
  5. MariaDB JSON functions: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/json-functions/
  6. PostgreSQL: https://www.postgresql.org/about/
  7. Firebird: https://firebirdsql.org/en/about-firebird/
  8. Firebird support: https://firebirdsql.org/en/mailing-lists/
  9. CUBRID: https://www.cubrid.org/cubrid
  10. Apache Cassandra: https://cassandra.apache.org/_/index.html
  11. MongoDB: https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community
  12. JanusGraph: https://janusgraph.org
  13. Redis: https://redis.io/
  14. BSD 3 clause license: https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-Clause
  15. CouchDB: https://couchdb.apache.org/#top
  16. CouchDB Replication Protocol: https://docs.couchdb.org/en/stable/replication/protocol.html

The Author

Amy Pettle is an editor for ADMIN and Linux Magazine. She started out in tech publishing with C/C++ Users Journal over 20 years ago and has worked on various Linux New Media publications.

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