PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition is a cluster type of PolarDB built on Alibaba Cloud's next-generation high-performance and cost-effective computing and storage infrastructure. You can enjoy the core capabilities of PolarDB at a lower cost.
PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition uses a compute-storage separation architecture. Database proxies and compute nodes are deployed on separate ECS instances, while the shared storage layer uses ESSD cloud disks or distributed storage (PolarStore), providing you with high cost-effectiveness and high-performance storage options.
The product architecture shown above is a multi-node architecture with one primary node and multiple read-only nodes. If you select one node when purchasing Standard Edition, the cluster uses a single-node architecture where only one database compute node handles both read and write operations.
The single-node architecture also provides database proxies. You can switch to the multi-node architecture by Add a node.
The multi-node architecture supports switching to the single-node architecture by Add or remove nodes.
Why choose PolarDB MySQL Standard Edition
PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition uses common infrastructure, allowing you to enjoy the core capabilities of PolarDB at a lower cost.
PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition share the same database kernel. The PolarDB database kernel has been deeply optimized over years, significantly improving database performance compared with open source kernels.
Built on the latest generation of Alibaba Cloud high-performance computing and storage infrastructure, which significantly reduces customer costs.
Cloud-native compute-storage separation architecture with one primary node and multiple read-only nodes. Scales elastically — configuration changes and node additions take effect within minutes.
Multiple compute nodes share storage. Adding read-only nodes only incurs compute node costs, which significantly reduces scale-out costs.
PolarDB for MySQL provides clusters based on both x86 and Arm CPU architectures to meet your requirements for different architectures.
x86: The x86 architecture uses Intel processors with high-performance network infrastructure, providing comprehensive improvements in overall performance and stability to meet the requirements of enterprise applications that demand high stability and computing power.
Arm: The Arm architecture uses Alibaba Cloud's self-developed Yitian 710 processor chips and 25 GE smart high-speed network interface cards (NICs) to provide powerful computing capabilities. The high-performance network infrastructure better meets the requirements of government agencies, Internet companies, and other enterprises for cost-effectiveness, security, and stability.
Use cases
The single-node architecture of PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition is the best choice for individual users to test and learn, and can also serve as an entry-level product for startups.
The multi-node architecture of PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition is suitable for production database scenarios of large and medium-sized enterprises that have a large number of peak read requests and data intelligent analysis requirements, such as the new Internet retail industry, automobile manufacturing industry, education industry, and large-scale enterprise ERP systems.
How to use PolarDB for MySQL
You can use the following methods to manage PolarDB for MySQL clusters, including creating clusters, creating databases, and creating accounts.
Console: provides a graphical web interface for easy operation.
CLI: All operations on the console can be performed through CLI.
SDK: All operations on the console can be performed through SDK.
API: All operations on the console can be performed through API.
After creating a PolarDB cluster, you can connect to the PolarDB cluster by using the following methods:
DMS: You can connect to a PolarDB cluster through DMS to perform database development work in a web interface.
Client: You can use common database client tools to connect to PolarDB for MySQL clusters. For example, MySQL-Front, HeidiSQL, and so on.
Storage and data reliability
PolarDB for MySQL Standard Edition uses a shared storage architecture. The storage layer can use ESSD cloud disks, PSL4, or PSL5. Details are as follows:
ESSD cloud disks are a new generation of ultra-high-performance disk products from Alibaba Cloud. ESSDs are built on a new-generation distributed block storage architecture, combined with 25 GE networks and RDMA technology, providing up to 1 million random read/write IOPS and lower one-way latency per disk. ESSDs are divided into the following categories:
ESSD PL0: ESSD at the PL0 performance level.
ESSD PL1: Compared with PL0, the PL1 performance level can increase IOPS by 5 times and throughput by about 2 times.
ESSD PL2: Compared with PL1, the PL2 performance level can approximately double IOPS and throughput.
ESSD PL3: Compared with PL2, the PL3 performance level can increase IOPS by up to 10 times and throughput by 5 times, suitable for business scenarios that require extremely high concurrent I/O performance and extremely stable read/write latency.
ESSD AutoPL: Compared with PL0, PL1, PL2, and PL3, IOPS is decoupled from capacity, can be flexibly configured, and adjusted on demand, thereby reducing overall TCO.
ImportantFor details about ESSD performance, see ESSDs.
After the storage of a disk is full, the disk is locked (read-only).
Details about the PSL4 and PSL5 storage types are as follows:
|
Storage type |
Features |
Use cases |
|
PSL5 (PolarStore Level 5) |
This storage class was used in earlier versions of PolarDB and is the default for clusters purchased before June 7, 2022. It offers higher performance, reliability, and availability. |
Business-critical workloads that require high performance and reliability, such as finance, e-commerce, government services, and medium-to-large internet businesses. |
|
PSL4 (PolarStore Level 4) |
A new PolarDB storage class that uses Alibaba's proprietary smart-SSD technology. This technology compresses and decompresses data at the physical SSD layer, which reduces storage costs with a manageable performance impact. |
Cost-sensitive applications that prioritize high cost-effectiveness. |
Data reliability
ESSD cloud disks use a distributed triplicate mechanism to deliver 99.9999999% data durability. Data is automatically replicated within a zone to prevent data unavailability caused by unexpected hardware failures and protect your business from component failures. For details, see ESSD cloud disk data reliability.