Case IBM Power 10: A further step for MariaDB Server

Written by Written by Kaj Arnö Leave a comment on Case IBM Power 10: A further step for MariaDB Server
IBM Power10 MariaDB Enterprise Server announcement

Good news: This week, two of MariaDB Foundation’s sponsors – IBM and MariaDB plc – made an announcement that we believe to be good for both parties, as well as for the MariaDB Server user base. We humbly (and boldly) believe that this was enabled by MariaDB Foundation’s living by its core values of Adoption, Openness, and Continuity. 

Let me explain why, and start with the announcement itself:

MariaDB Enterprise Server Launches on IBM Power 10

MariaDB plc’s offering to its customers, MariaDB Enterprise Server, was launched for IBM Power 10. This was supported by a blog post from MariaDB plc (MariaDB Enterprise Server Launches on IBM Power10) and another by IBM (Announcing support for MariaDB Enterprise Server on IBM Power). 

They talk about achieving 4x performance improvements, supported by a PDF on MariaDB Performance Benchmarking on Linux on Power, a MariaDB Enterprise Server on IBM Power Solution Brief and a Technical Best Practices Guide.

All of this is great – congratulations, IBM, and congratulations, MariaDB plc!

Groundwork laid by MariaDB Foundation

One reason we’re happy for IBM and MariaDB plc is that the announcement is in line with our core values, the trinity of Adoption, Openness, and Continuity. 

  • It increases adoption of MariaDB on IBM Power® architecture (ppc64le). 
  • It was enabled through openness, with MariaDB Foundation having ported and tested MariaDB to processors like ARM and Power. The Foundation has also worked with Intel for years to ensure MariaDB works great with Intel’s latest CPUs.
  • It supports the continuity of our work over the years. We have provided MariaDB Community Server builds for Power8 and Power9 generations, which meant that existing work lowered the barrier and enabled MariaDB plc to also support MariaDB Enterprise Server.

Conclusion: A sign of more to come?

All in all, we see this announcement as a data point providing evidence of the soundness of the dual model of MariaDB Server being supported both by a commercial entity and a Foundation – with the end result being beneficial for both entities, for the third party, and for the ecosystem. 

But this was just one data point. I have the feeling that we are starting to be in a position where MariaDB Foundation can make much more out of its relationship with MariaDB plc, and vice versa.