MySQL is having a bumpy journey

This episode explores the performance issues and regressions experienced by MySQL 8 since its release in 2018, contrasting it with the perceived stability of version 5.7. Against this backdrop, the speaker analyzes performance benchmarks from various sources, highlighting significant slowdowns in point and range queries in MySQL 8 compared to its predecessor and other database systems like Postgres. More significantly, the discussion delves into a critical bug introduced in versions 8.0.38, 8.4.1, and 9.0, causing MySQL daemon crashes with a large number of tables. For instance, the speaker explains how the kernel's read-ahead mechanism exacerbates the issue, leading to increased I/O operations. However, the speaker also notes that MySQL 8 shows improvements in concurrent write operations due to algorithmic advancements. In conclusion, while acknowledging ongoing efforts to improve MySQL 8's performance, the speaker suggests that the current situation has led to some users remaining on older, more stable versions, and that Postgres has gained popularity as a result.