Memcached Scalability at Velocity 2010

Totally stoked about being selected for the Web Performance track at Velocity 2010.


Here's our abstract:

Hidden Scalability Gotchas in Memcached and Friends

Neil Gunther (Performance Dynamics), Shanti Subramanyam (Oracle Corporation), Stefan Parvu (Sun Microsystems)

Most web deployments have standardized on horizontal scaleout in every tier—web, application, caching and database—using cheap, off-the-shelf, white boxes. In this approach, there are no real expectations for vertical scalability of server apps like memcached or the full LAMP stack. But with the potential for highly concurrent scalability offered by newer multicore processors, it is no longer cost-effective to ignore their underutilization due to poor, thread-level, scalability of the web stack. In this session we show you how to quantify scalability with the Universal Scalability Law (USL) by demonstrating its application to actual performance data collected from a memcached benchmark. As a side effect of our technique, you will see how the USL also identifies the most signficant performance tuning opportunities to improve web app scalability.

EU Queries MySQL in Sun-Oracle Merger

The European Union's statement of objections expresses concerns that businesses might have fewer choices and see higher prices if Oracle (already the world's largest proprietary database vendor) ends up with MySQL by default.

In case you're getting a bit confused by all these fish eating each other, the Wikipedia entry for MySQL reminds us:

The project has made its source code available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, as well as under a variety of proprietary agreements. MySQL is owned and sponsored by a single for-profit firm, the Swedish company MySQL AB, now a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems. As of 2009 Oracle Corporation began the process of acquiring Sun Microsystems; Oracle holds the copyright to most of the MySQL codebase.

Oracle Corp. has stated that the commission's objection "reveals a profound misunderstanding of both database competition and open source dynamics," but some FOSS developers have a different take on that.

Data + Models == Insight

Al Bundy, of the TV show Married with Children, understood it and performance engineers should too. What am I talking about? The theme music for that show is the tune "Love and Marriage" as sung by Frank Sinatra. Just like the song says about love and marriage, so it is with measurements and models ... You can't have one without the other.

Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems (Really!?)

I just read it (7am) and ... I'm speechless.

Thinks ....

• Larry doesn't do hardware.
  
• Decimation à la PeopleSoft?
  
• Oracle still runs on IBM, and HP, et al.
  
• Wherefore MySQL? Just a cheap shoehorn for the Oracle RDBMS?
  
• Solaris (vs. Linux, which Oracle Corp has been pushing)? Ah! SMP scalability
  
• And Java? (that made sense for IBM but...) Ah ha! Larry also owns Weblogic!
  
• Can't think... Need coffee ...
  
• Wait! What about OpenOffice? Oh oh!
  

Post café noir, this EETimes article seems to hit the salient points (modulo my JVM/Weblogic/J2EE observation). Update (April 24): The Oracle @cringely weighs in on the Sunset. [ He needs to read my blog. :) But he does have the IBM memo ]

IBM Might Swallow the Sun

"Shares of Sun Microsystems, which makes the Java software that runs many Internet applications, were up 78.9 percent after reports that it was in talks to be acquired by I.B.M. Shares of Sun ended at $8.89. I.B.M. was down 1 percent, to $91.95."

I heard this rumor at the Portland CMG meeting yesterday. Apparently, Sun has been quietly "looking for a date" for some time. Presumably, IBM's main interest is in Java IP. Will Solaris replace AIX (under the covers)?

I had a long-standing theory that Sun Microsystems would be bought by Fujitsu Corp to simply milk Solaris service contracts for the next 10 years. It's not interesting innovation, but it is a business. Sun has always managed to have enough cash in the bank to be able to forestall such a move, but now, they're out of gas.

Update: Why an IBM purchase of Sun would make sense (cnet)

Andy Bechtolsheim Leaves Sun

Aiming at the 10 Gb ethernet market, Andy Bechtolsheim is moving on to become chairman of a new company, Arista Networks, which he also co-founded. That leaves only Scott McNealy as one of the original founders now remaining at Sun.

Microsoft Discovers the Dumpster Datacenter

OK, not exactly a dumpster but something slightly bigger; a shipping container. Hello!? Google has been developing this concept for years with Sun and IBM not far behind in adopting it. The new wrinkle is that Google has now been awarded a patent on it.


Supply Chain Factoid: There are so many more (full) shipping containers coming from Asia to the USA and Europe than going the other way, that it is less cost-effective to store the empties than to simply scrap them and make new containers as needed.

Sun to Purchase MySQL

This could be good news for Oracle. 8-\

Continuing a string of surprising announcements, Sun Microsystems today said it plans to buy the makers of MySQL open-source database software for almost $1,000,000,000 (I like to see all those zeros). Sun does have a lot of cash burning a hole in its pocket, but it also has a less than stellar track record when it comes to acquisitions.

Solaris to Shine on the Mainframe (Say what!?)

Quite apart from the surprise over what passes for physics these days, PhysOrg.com recently reported on a surprise deal that will enable Sun's Solaris operating system to run on IBM servers.

Initially, the agreement will involve only IBM's (AIX) mid-range servers, which can also run the Windows and Linux operating systems, but eventually, so the report says, IBM hopes to bring Solaris to the mainframe. I assume this means it will run in a z/OS LPAR, like they do with Linux. If I take the view (and I do) that the mainframe is not a "dinosaur" but just another (excellent data processing) server on the network, one wonders where this leaves future Sun hardware platforms.

Add to this the growing emphasis by Sun to deploy Intel and AMD microprocessors for cost reasons and, as Jonathan Schwartz says, it "represents a tectonic shift in the market landscape." No kidding! I just wonder whether Schwartz will be riding the plate that stays on top or the plate that goes under.