InnoDB

In previous search benchmarks, I utilized random content generated with Drupal's devel module. In these latest benchmarks, I used an actual sanitized copy of the Drupal.org community website database, with email addresses and passwords removed. The first tests were intended to confirm that Xapian continues to perform well with large amounts of actual data. Additional tests were performed to measure the effect of various MySQL tunings and configurations. The following data was derived from several hundred benchmarks run on an Amazon AWS instance over the past week using the SearchBench module.

These tests confirm that Xapian continues to offer better search performance than Drupal's core search module. Contrary to popular belief, the data also shows that using the InnoDB storage engine for search tables significantly outperforms using the MyISAM storage engine for search tables, especially when your database server has sufficient RAM. The data also confirms that allocating additional RAM for MySQL's temporary tables can also improve search performance.

This article provides a comparison between the MyISAM and InnoDB storage engines for MySQL. InnoDB is commonly considered to perform worse than MyISAM, but this article aims to dispel this myth by describing the differences between these engines and what makes InnoDB a good fit for many database needs.

In addition, a look at when it is better to use MyISAM and a case study of the drupal.org site provide insight for determining which engine is best for a given situation.

InnoDB is a transaction-safe, ACID compliant MySQL storage engine. It has commit, rollback, and crash recovery capabilities, and offers row level locking. The engine's overview page explains, “InnoDB has been designed for maximum performance when processing large data volumes. Its CPU efficiency is probably not matched by any other disk-based relational database engine.”

We recommend two open source tools to help with the regular tuning and monitoring of your MySQL database: mysqlreport and mysqlsla. Your website is made from many complex systems. Rapid growth, changes to your site, and other systems can change the load on your MySQL database. It is important that your internal staff become familiar with using these tools and implement routine maintenance. An initial review often leads to significant improvements, and will also help you to implement a monitoring solution for your ongoing performance efforts.