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MySQL 5.4 Reference Manual :: 1 General Information :: 1.5 What Is New in MySQL 5.4
1.5.1 Scalability Improvements »
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1.5. What Is New in MySQL 5.4

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1.5.1. Scalability Improvements
1.5.2. InnoDB I/O Subsystem Changes
1.5.3. Enhanced Solaris Support
1.5.4. Diagnostic and Monitoring Capabilities
1.5.5. Configuration Differences in MySQL 5.4 from MySQL 5.1

MySQL 5.4 is based on MySQL 5.1 but includes small, high-impact changes to improve MySQL Server performance, particularly with regard to scalability. These changes exploit advances in hardware and CPU design and enable better utilization of existing hardware.

MySQL 5.4 incorporates work from several sources, such as InnoDB Plugin from Oracle Corp., community patches, and modifications developed by MySQL Scalability and Performance Project members and other MySQL engineers. For information about features of InnoDB Plugin, see the InnoDB Plugin Manual at http://www.innodb.com/products/innodb_plugin/plugin-documentation.

The following list summarizes MySQL 5.4 areas of emphasis that distinguish it from MySQL 5.1. The following sections describe these features in more detail.

  • Scalability improvements.  The principal emphasis is to improve scalability on multi-core CPUs. The trend in hardware development now is toward more cores rather than continued increases in CPU clock speeds, which renders “wait until CPUs get faster” a nonviable means of improving database performance. Instead, it is necessary to make better use of multiple cores to maximally exploit the processing cycles they make available. MySQL 5.4 takes advantage of features of SMP systems and tries to eliminate bottlenecks in MySQL architecture that hinder full use of multiple cores. The focus has been on InnoDB, especially locking and memory management.

  • InnoDB I/O Subsystem changes.  InnoDB I/O subsystem changes enable more effective use of available I/O capacity.

  • Enhanced Solaris support.  Several modifications improve operation of MySQL Server on Solaris.

  • Diagnostic and monitoring capabilities.  There is better access to execution and performance information. Diagnostic improvements include DTrace probes, expanded SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS output, and a new status variable.

  • Configuration changes.  The “out of box” configuration provides better choices of default option and system variable values for MySQL operation on up to 16-way x86 servers and 64-way CMT servers with 4GB or more memory.

The following constructs are deprecated and are removed as of MySQL 5.5. Where alternatives are shown, applications should be updated to use them.