Salomon Metre - PeerSpot reviewer
Laboratory Assistant at Strathmore University
Real User
Top 5
A stable tool that offers an out-of-the-box setup option
Pros and Cons
  • "I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine."
  • "MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use MariaDB in my company to build simple web applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is its interface, including the web interface and the CLI.

What needs improvement?

There is no guide provided to first-time users by the solution. For first-time users, there should be some sort of guide provided by the solution explaining what the product offers so that they don't have to search for it on Google. The very first time that users use the product, they should be able to use the database server and move it to phpMyAdmin.

MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MariaDB for more than a year.

Buyer's Guide
MariaDB
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about MariaDB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine. Suppose users have some other databases running in the environment apart from MariaDB. In that case, it might occupy the port that MariaDB's server is trying to use, so you might not be able to access it. There are no technical issues related to the solution unless there is another database in the same environment where MariaDB functions, making it an area where users must be careful.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product has scalability features, but I haven't reached the level where I have to use them. If you know where to change the tool's configurations, it can scale up.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Though I still work with MariaDB, I have moved to Firebase and MySQL.

I have experience with some other tools in the past. The interface areas offered by other tools in the market are much better than the ones offered by MariaDB. The interface offered by MySQL databases is better than MariaDB's GUI.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase can be done straight out of the box, as it works fine.

The product's initial setup phase didn't require much time because MariaDB was already embedded within XAMPP, so it was easy to use and access since I only had to launch it. You may want to change the user credentials for the password before you can access it and use it from the CLI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Price-wise, the product is affordable. The product is not expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Product Manager at Hyundai Autoever Company
Real User
Top 20
Lightweight application, employ multi-processing but indexes are not as strong
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable solution. It easily scales up and scales down."
  • "The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is essentially an enterprise application. In our setup, there was a considerable amount of data being utilized. Later, the application shifted to the cloud, and for this cloud migration, we opted for a database switch from Oracle to MariaDB. That's why we migrated all the data and components to MariaDB.

What is most valuable?

The standout feature is the multitude of features available. There isn't a specific feature that's unavailable in other databases. The key differentiator is the speed. 

When referring to it as a hard code, the core size is crucial. In MariaDB, we can employ multi-processing, allowing users to make use of the core and process data more efficiently and swiftly.

What needs improvement?

In MariaDB, three aspects can be enhanced, starting with the indexes. Currently, the indexes are not as strong. The second area is related to exclusion queries, subqueries, or joins. There's one join that isn't fully supported, the product I came across about MariaDB.

Customer support can also be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There have been some issues. If you need to provide 24/7 availability, you have to follow the active-subprivate mode, where one application is active and the second is down. So, other substitute techniques, like mirroring and scrubber techniques, are also available for such scenarios.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. It easily scales up and scales down. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. 

Moreover, the material is not available freely.  

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have used several databases like MySQL, Oracle, and NoSQL MongoDB. We have tried a number of solutions, so we have that experience.

We switched due to its features. It is a lightweight application, making it the best choice for our lightweight applications.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It's not a big deal.

What about the implementation team?

I have deployed it on the cloud, using Linux and everything.  It can be deployed within a day. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When we were doing the technical evaluation, we considered MariaDB, Finsecure, and AWS cloud databases. Based on that, we made the decision.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate the solution a five out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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April 2024
Learn what your peers think about MariaDB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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Georges BOMBOH - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Pharos Consulting
Reseller
Top 10
Easy to use with good performance and security
Pros and Cons
  • "We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases."
  • "We'd like more data intelligence."

What is our primary use case?

We're primarily using the solution for a data warehouse. It's just used to collect all this information from several databases, such as SQL Server, MySQL Server, DB2 Mainframe, and ZOS. We are collecting data from Excel spreadsheets. We're scanning and putting data right into MariaDB.

How has it helped my organization?

The best way to simplify our data governance process.

What is most valuable?

We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases. 

The performance and the security that we got on it are great.

The way that they distribute the database is excellent.

It is a product that is very easy to use.

It's helped us a lot in our data governance procedure.

Technical support is great.

What needs improvement?

We'd like more data intelligence. We are working with a client who needs a lot of information about Oracle groups that come in the country, on the passenger name records, and so on. We need more intelligence around that in order to work better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We didn't have any bugs yet. The solution is stable and reliable. We haven't had any issues yet.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We're still testing the solution with 30 people. Once we go into production, we'll train the whole company. therefore, we do plan to increase usage. 

How are customer service and support?

We're quite happy with the technical support. We are satisfied as they are responding in time. They are giving us good answers. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use a different solution. We started with this product from scratch. We're still organizing our approaches to be more competitive.

How was the initial setup?

We are implementing this solution with a variety of other solutions and setting everything up at once.

The solution is not so complex in that we don't want to resell any solution that we are not trying on ourselves. Therefore, we have a good understanding of how everything works, having done it ourselves.

We are still in production, and, after six months, we will begin deploying the solution.

On our side, we have three people working with MariaDB and two people at MariaDB helping as well.

What about the implementation team?

We're working with our client's technical services to get everything deployed.

What was our ROI?

We don't have clarity on an ROI yet. We've just started using the solution. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I can't speak to the exact pricing.

The cost of licensing is dependent on the projects. We have many types of licensing. We have a subscription and we also have some like lesson sheets that we buy. After, we just pay for the maintenance.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated many options. We went for simple software. We took Hadoop with Cloudera since the best version of Hadoop is Cloudera. Then, we have MariaDB on our HCI environment to secure all of this. There's a general sense of happiness with these products. It's really easy for us to use everything. Still, we are just at the beginning of the use phase.

What other advice do I have?

We've started from scratch and we are using this product to build up use cases. 

We are a service company and we reselling the solution. We are working directly with MariaDB.

The product is easy to use. When you're a database administrator and you're working with databases, such as MariaDB, it's very, very, very easy. You get the performance, you get the security, and you get monitoring and disaster recovery. You're working in a secure area with the performance you need and can mass scale it which is very useful.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. We still are exploring all of the possibilities, however. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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Aidan McCarthy - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Offers certain unique features that distinguish it from other databases but requires improvement in materialized views
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the global transaction IDs (GTIDs) feature. It's quite reliable for replication between a master and a replica server, and it's a feature that MySQL also has but implemented differently."
  • "I'd like to see improved materialized views, like the ability to save select queries. This feature is missing in MariaDB compared to other relational databases like Oracle and SQL Server."

What is our primary use case?

It's a relational database, so it's mainly used for structured data. We use it for some of our in-house applications.

How has it helped my organization?

For us the benefit is that the system is very stable, so we don't have many outages. We also have a lot of experience with MariaDB, so we can optimally configure MariaDB and deploy a well-tuned environment.

What is most valuable?

I like the global transaction IDs (GTIDs) feature. It's quite reliable for replication between a master and a replica server, and it's a feature that MySQL also has but implemented differently. 

Another thing I like is the flashback feature, which allows you to roll back a transaction from the binary logs, so you can retrieve data. If someone deleted data, you can flash it back. That's a feature I really appreciate.

What needs improvement?

I'm interested in witnessing the integration of materialized views, which would enable the preservation of select queries. This particular functionality seems to be absent in MariaDB when compared to rival relational databases such as Oracle and SQL Server. The inclusion of this feature, akin to the offering from PostgreSQL, would be a valuable addition to MariaDB's capabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have nearly 13 years of experience working extensively with MySQL, and in recent years, I've also gained proficiency with MariaDB. Since MariaDB is closely related to MySQL, my combined experience with both platforms spans over a decade. Currently, we're utilizing version 10.4, although it's a few iterations behind the most recent release. We're actively preparing to undertake an upgrade in the near future.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a quite stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you want to scale it for larger use cases, like sharding, you'd need to consider MariaDB SkySQL or Xpand, which is a separate product designed for cloud deployments. So, for realistic scalability, especially in the cloud, you might need to use MariaDB SkySQL.

We have a couple of hundred users currently working with the database. It's probably around 400.

How was the initial setup?

It's currently deployed on-premises, but we're planning to move it to the cloud in the future.

What about the implementation team?

It's not difficult to maintain. It does require some maintenance, but it's very stable. You don't really need to intervene much, so it's quite stable. The main maintenance we do is patching and upgrading once a year. So it's not too taxing to maintain.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have used MySQL or Oracle products. 

MariaDB, being open source, is a significant advantage, especially considering we use the enterprise edition. It's considerably much cheaper than Oracle, which is a proprietary database with high licensing costs. So, from a financial perspective, MariaDB is far more economical. 

Another advantage lies in its robust online community, simplifying troubleshooting and assistance. While we do have enterprise support, the online community and resources are quite valuable. 

As for cons, due to fewer contributors compared to other databases like MariaDB, certain features might experience slower development. Amazon and MariaDB Corporation are among the contributors, but it's an area that could use more attention. However, overall, MariaDB remains a strong choice.

What other advice do I have?

MariaDB emerged as a distinct entity originating from MySQL, rather than being an inherent part of it. Formed in 2009 due to apprehensions that Oracle Corporation might negatively impact MySQL, which they acquired in 2010.

When deciding between MySQL and MariaDB, the feature disparity is minimal. MySQL has adeptly upheld compatibility since the transition, making it primarily a matter of personal preference. Some features differ between MariaDB and MySQL, catering to unique preferences.

In essence, MariaDB is a highly favored relational database, a commendable choice within the relational database realm. For those seeking a relational database, MariaDB stands as a solid option. As for purchasing a database, MariaDB comes highly recommended. It claims the second-highest rank globally and holds the second spot in the DB-Engines ranking. MongoDB ranks a bit lower, but the choice between the two is essentially equivalent.

On the whole, I would assign a rating of seven out of ten to this solution.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Martin Simons - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Matrix technology AG
Consultant
Top 10
A reliable relational database that offers good stability to its users
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution is a relational database, which is fairly reliable...It is a stable solution."
  • "MariaDB should provide HA and archive logging... I haven't had the opportunity to use the features provided by the solution since I don't know how to see them."

What is our primary use case?

I use MariaDB since my organization has different customers who use different databases. My company caters to the customers' needs depending on the database they want to use.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is a relational database, which is fairly reliable. My company is satisfied with most of the features of the solution. My company just provides services to customers depending on what they want, so we don't necessarily dig too deeply into why they want it. If a customer asks for a referral or suggestions for a free database, then my company normally tries to push PostgreSQL, a tool we get directly from the vendor.

What needs improvement?

My company hasn't seen any problems with the solution where it has been running. The solution works fine for the purpose it is meant for, so there are no issues.

MariaDB should provide HA and archive logging. If HA and archive logging are present in the solution, it is hard to find them. The aforementioned details related to HA and archive logging need to be considered for improvement. I haven't had the opportunity to use the features provided by the solution since I don't know how to see them.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MariaDB for a couple of years. My company operates as a consultant offering support for the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. I haven't seen any stability issues for the purpose MariaDB is meant to function.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In my company, the instance related to MariaDB is fairly small, so I can't comment much on its scalability.

For MariaDB, my company has only one customer who uses it for a single instance, which is about 20 GB of data at the moment.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had the need to contact the solution's technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

MariaDB can be deployed in a day.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My company uses the free version of the solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

With PostgreSQL, it's simply the archive logging functionality and remote hard clustering capabilities.

My company is not familiar with how the functionalities of PostgreSQL would work for MariaDB or MySQL.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell those planning to use the solution that it is pretty much the same as MySQL, but since my company has dealt with only one instance in MariaDB, I can't say much about it.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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IT Manager at Melones Oil Terminal
Real User
Open-source, very similar to MySQL and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "It's open source."
  • "I’m not sure if it can scale."

What is our primary use case?

I installed the solution here in the company when they required MySQL. I tried MariaDB instead, and it works fine due to the fact that MariaDB is an exact clone of some parts of MySQL. It also has a database for a help desk solution, called a GPLI.

What is most valuable?

It's open source. It's freeware. It's very similar to MySQL. MySQL is a very good database management system, a relational database management system. However, the problem, or the potential problem with MySQL, is that it is under Oracle's umbrella, and I want to be prepared in case it's being commercialized and closed.

MariaDB was created by the same creator of MySQL. However, before he sold it to, at that time, Sun Microsystems, it was later acquired by Oracle. It's the same creators. It's the same programmer. That's what I like.

It's a one-time installation and configuration, and then I almost forgot about it. What I like is that it's very easy to configure, and just from time to time, you can make your backups, and that's it.

What needs improvement?

I don’t have any particular issue with the solution. It works well for my purposes.

I’m not sure if it can scale, so I’m not sure how it would fare for significant companies. I know that MariaDB has a cluster solution that I don't need at the moment. Probably, it would be a good idea to have a way just to confirm that the cluster is available for when I require scaling.

For how long have I used the solution?

We’ve been using the solution for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It’s quite stable. I haven’t had issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable. It’s very similar to MySQL.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I’m not sure if it is scalable. Scalability doesn’t affect me as I am only using one application. I don’t require any scaling capabilities.

Indirectly through the help desk solution, the whole company has about 60 plus users on this product.

How are customer service and support?

It's open source and freeware. The support that I receive is in the forums and the blocks in the internal information. You can’t call or email someone at MariaDB.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use SQL Server Express, MySQL Fork, and SQLite.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is simple. It’s as easy as setting up MySQL.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product is open-source and free to use.

What other advice do I have?

I am just a customer and an end-user.

I'm not sure right now which version we are on.

Whether or not this is a good solution for a user depends on usage. You need to be sure that this is the solution for you. I'm not going to scale up, which is why it's my current solution. If I had to scale, I’m unsure if this would fit.

I’d rate the solution nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Mo Fota - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Supercar Blondie Social Media FZCO
Real User
Top 10
A scalable tool that helps with the deployment of web applications
Pros and Cons
  • "It is an absolutely stable solution."
  • "The difficult part related to the product stems not from the tool itself but is related to learning how to implement the product in the right way without creating any wrong configuration that could cause security issues or performance issues."

What is our primary use case?

I use MariaDB in my company for the deployment of web applications. MariaDB serves as a database software for web applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution are that it is very stable and reliable. I like the fact that MariaDB is an open-source product and not resource-intensive. MariaDB runs on most of the operating systems of Linux. MariaDB is a cross-platform product, making it a great database choice.

What needs improvement?

MariaDB is a bit technical product, so whoever uses it will have to read a lot of documentation, which I don't think is a disadvantage of the product as it is just its nature. I believe that open-source products, in general, are a bit more advanced than regular systems. The difficult part related to the product stems not from the tool itself but is related to learning how to implement the product in the right way without creating any wrong configuration that could cause security issues or performance issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MariaDB for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is an absolutely stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

Two or three people in my company use MariaDB.

How are customer service and support?

I never had the need to contact the technical support team of MariaDB. I would usually find MariaDB's documentation and details online to read about how to deal with issues. Usually, issues in MariaDB are related to configurations more than stability as long as you make sure you install or use the stable version, which is considered to be a long-term supported system.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I moved from MySQL to MariaDB. MySQL is less maintained compared to MariaDB. Feature-wise and stability-wise, MariaDB is way better than MySQL from Oracle.

How was the initial setup?

The deployment process of MariaDB is easy, provided you go through its documentation.

The solution can be deployed in ten to fifteen minutes.

Users can take care of the deployment part of the product by themselves, though, at times, it may depend on the project size that you plan to support with the software. If a project demands software that offers scalability and very high availability, the deployment process may take an entire day with many experienced engineers. If the deployment process is carried out for a single small system, it takes around fifteen to thirty minutes.

The solution is deployed on both the cloud and on-premises.

What other advice do I have?

Quarterly maintenance is required for the solution. When some security incidents occur, the solution's maintenance may be required. If a security issue related to the system is revealed online, it would need immediate maintenance. Maintenance is required depending on the updates provided by the product, which usually occurs once a month or once a quarter.

One person in the company can take care of the maintenance phase of the product.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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CTO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
An open-source product that offers its users great online community support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is an open-source product and offers its users great online community support."
  • "The solution is not scalable."

What is our primary use case?

MariaDB provides a platform for developing our company's database.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is an open-source product and offers its users great online community support.

What needs improvement?

Sharding and the platform's vertical and horizontal extension and growth or scalability are areas with shortcomings that need improvement in MariaDB.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MariaDB for three years. I am a customer of the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is not scalable.

Around four people in my organization use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

MariaDB is an open-source community software, meaning it is based on the generosity of others. I rate the technical support a six out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of MariaDB is easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

Regarding the time taken to deploy MariaDB, I would say that in our company, we are still playing around with the platform. Our company is in the middle of a pivot right now, meaning we have plans to change our direction.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product.

What other advice do I have?

I have no objections to the maintenance phase of MariaDB since I feel it is fine and easy.

I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it.

MariaDB is a community-supported product because of which I am not familiar with the paid support options that may be available.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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