The Database Wars: MySQL 5.1 vs. PostgreSQL 8.4

Let’s be honest: if you are running a high-traffic site, you aren’t sleeping well right now. Between the Sun Microsystems acquisition drama and the constant fear of MyISAM table corruption, database administrators are on edge. I’ve spent the last week migrating a client’s e-commerce platform from a shared host to a dedicated Xen VPS, and the decision on which RDBMS to deploy was harder than usual.

For years, the LAMP stack default has been MySQL. It is ubiquitous, supported by every PHP script in existence, and blazingly fast for read-heavy workloads. But with the recent arrival of PostgreSQL 8.4, the landscape has changed. If you are building serious applications in Norway—where data integrity laws are strict—you need to look beyond the default settings.

MySQL 5.1: The Speed Demon with a Glass Jaw

MySQL is the engine that powers the web. It is fantastic at one thing: serving `SELECT` queries at lightning speed. If you are running a WordPress blog or a vBulletin forum targeting Norwegian users, MySQL is likely your best bet. The replication features in 5.1 are stable, allowing for relatively easy master-slave setups to scale out reads.

However, the default storage engine, MyISAM, is a ticking time bomb. It relies on table-level locking. This means if one user is writing to the `users` table, nobody else can read from it until the write is done. On a high-concurrency site, this kills performance.

Pro Tip: If you use MySQL, switch to InnoDB immediately. It supports row-level locking and transactions (ACID). Add this to your /etc/my.cnf to avoid the dreaded massive tablespace file issue:

innodb_file_per_table = 1

PostgreSQL 8.4: The Oracle Slayer

PostgreSQL has always been the academic choice, but version 8.4 (released just this July) is a production-ready beast. It introduces Window Functions and Common Table Expressions (CTEs), features that developers previously had to pay thousands of dollars to Oracle to get.

In a recent project involving financial data for a client in Oslo, we couldn't risk the "silent data loss" that can happen with MySQL's loose data typing. PostgreSQL is strict. If you try to insert a string into an integer field, it errors out. It protects your data from your own bad code.

Comparison: When to use what?

The I/O Bottleneck: Why Your Host Matters

Whether you choose MySQL or Postgres, your database is only as fast as the disk it sits on. This is where most "budget" VPS providers fail. They cram hundreds of containers onto a single server with standard SATA drives. When twenty users hit their databases at once, the disk queue spikes, I/O wait times skyrocket, and your site hangs.

This is why we architect CoolVDS differently. We utilize Xen virtualization for true hardware isolation—no "noisy neighbors" stealing your resources. More importantly, we use enterprise-grade RAID-10 SAS arrays with 15k RPM drives (and are currently testing early SSD caching). Database performance is all about IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second).

Norwegian Compliance and Latency

For those of us operating in Norway, latency to NIX (Norwegian Internet Exchange) is critical. Hosting your database in a US datacenter while your users are in Oslo adds 100ms+ to every dynamic page load. That is unacceptable.

Furthermore, the Personopplysningsloven (Personal Data Act) and the Datatilsynet (Data Inspectorate) are becoming increasingly strict about where user data is stored. Keeping your SQL database on Norwegian soil isn't just about speed; it's about legal safety.

The Verdict

If you are building a complex application requiring complex joins, views, or financial accuracy, use PostgreSQL 8.4. It is robust and open-source in the truest sense.

If you need raw read speed for a CMS or simple web app, MySQL 5.1 with InnoDB is still the king of the web. Just ensure you tune your buffer pools correctly.

Don't let slow storage kill your database performance. Spin up a VPS Norway instance on CoolVDS today and see what dedicated RAID-10 I/O can do for your query times.