Re: mysql --> Commercial DBs, When will I need to upgrade?

Your DB needs sound more hardware intensive than anything. Your queries sound simple and I would bet you would never need to use anything but mysql. Also keep in mind that mysql/php/apache etc run on more than just PC's. There is some serious hardware out there that can handle unbelieveable amounts of traffic....of course non of it is intel based :) If an Intel box can no longer handle the load, you can split your servers so you have one running a web server and another handling the DB, or simply move to some real hardware. (ie HP/Sun/IBM unix boxes). Larry H. Doug Schasteen wrote: > > I've been programming PHP w/ mysql for almost 2 years now for my company. We develop > online testing and surveying software. We are currently running operations for a few specific > companies where maybe 20-30 tests will be taken online per day (it requires pulling the test > questions out of the database in random order, and then putting all of their answers into the > database at the end of the test.) This is currently running on a shared webserver using php3 and > mysql. Recently we've been talking about some projects that will require a lot more use. (Could > be 100 people taking a test at once or it could be 1000 people taking a test at once. We don't > know yet.) > > If anyone has had some experience with upgrading as your operations grow, I'd appreciate > if you could answer ANY of the following questions: > > 1. At what point will mysql blow up (how many tests could be taken at once? How many rows of > results could be stored in a table before it bogs down?) > > 2. At what point will we need a dedicated server instead of shared-hosting? > > 3. How fast of a server do we need? Will a 1ghz server outperform a 500mhz server when using > apache-php-mysql? > > 4. If we need a new database, what is the next step above mysql? I have some experience with > Oracle but it is too expensive. Is there anything inbetween that is friendly to PHP? > > 5. If MS-SQL is an option for a database-upgrade. What are the implications of switching our > server to a win32-based server? Will we have problems with PHP on windows when all of our scripts > were programmed for unix? > > I realize these are a lot of questions and that we probably need some consulting work done, but > if any of you could share your knowledge on any one of those topics I would really appreciate it. I > just need something to give me a head start in my research. Point me in the right direction! > > - Doug Schasteen > dschast@escindex.com > > P.S. - if you know of any good articles online that compare different servers or databases > please share.