The challenges that MySQL faces in the cloud – questions of elasticity, synchronization, scalability – are often referenced as part of the arguments in support of NoSQL database alternatives. But today, Xeround announces a solution to the problems of MySQL in the cloud that is actually a SQL solution – a SQL database for the cloud.
Xeround launches its new database that is, according to CEO Razi Sharir, “the best of both worlds.” In other words, Xeround’s new database technology promises both the transactional and query capabilities of relational databases alongside the scalability of NoSQL ones.
Xeround was built based on MySQL Storage Engine Architecture and acts as a pluggable storage engine. As such, it provides many of MySQL’s features, but was designed as a virtual database, optimized for the cloud. The database handles multi-tenancy and auto-scaling and is self-healing. It guarantees always-on service during schema changes, resource modifications, and the scaling process. And for those currently working with MySQL databases, all, according to Sharir, “without changing a line of code.”
For those in its private beta, Xeround will host its “Database-as-a-Service” in its private data center or on Amazon EC2. Other cloud service providers will soon be available. The DBaaS implementation simply requires uploading the database’s schema and pointing apps to the new location. The price for the offering will be competitive with other RDBS and by Amazon’s database offering.