MariaDB is launching a research division, called MariaDB Labs. With the research labs, the open source database company will tackle the most pressing issues in the database field. To begin with they have collaborated with Intel on a new reference architecture.
Michael Howard, CEO, MariaDB peaking, shared plans at the recently held, M18 user conference in New York. He shared that the labs will focus on three key areas, Machine learning, distributed computing and the use and exploitation of new chips, persistent storage and in-memory processing.
The collaboration with Intel is a step towards the goal. “Our research collaboration with MariaDB will focus on an innovative distributed log architecture using Intel Optane SSDs and Intel Persistent Memory woven together through high-performance fabrics,” said Alper Ilkbahar, Intel Vice President, Data Center Group General Manager, Datacenter Memory and Storage Solutions.
The collaboration will look into a new reference architecture for distributed databases using high-performance fabrics. “Our shared goal is to enable faster recovery and cloning, increase overall performance and resilience, and reduce solution TCO from today’s level,” further elaborated Alper Ilkbahar from Intel.
In terms of machine learning, the MariaDB labs will be tasked with investigating how to use supervised and unsupervised techniques to drive better automation, including self-configuration and self-optimisation when running databases in the cloud.
The research will look at distributed computing, specifically improving upon web-scale, geo-distributed deployments. Last but not the least, the MariaDB labs will look to develop next generation chips, memory and storage in a bid to rethink the underlying infrastructure on which databases run.
