Introducing Azure Database for MySQL

Microsoft recently released their Platform as a Service (PaaS) option for MySQL, called Azure Database for MySQL. Yes, MySQL is currently a first-class citizen on Azure. Microsoft is using their relational data services platform to support multiple relational database platforms including, Azure Data Warehouse, Azure SQL Database, MySQL and PostgreSQL, and soon will include MariaDB.

Why should you consider Azure Database for MySQL for your application? If you use MySQL, whether it’s with WordPress, PSB or other open source development platforms, you have a great new opportunity to move your platform to Azure with Web Apps and your database to my MySQL.

Here are 5 things that make this a good choice for your open source solution:

1. No installation required. This is a PaaS solution, so you simply go in, turn it on and use it just like Azure SQL Database.

2. Azure Data Services secures data by default. Your MySQL database is encrypted at rest by default; backups are encrypted as well. MySQL database also has multiple compliance certifications including HIPAA and Hitch for medical data and PCIDSS Level 1 for personally identifiable data.

3. High availability is built in. Whether you use VMs or AWS, you must set up and pay for an additional instance, doubling the cost of your solution to get high availability. Azure has free copies of the data to protect your solution from these issues.

4. Scale on demand. This will allow you to write size your database resources rather than only planning for the peak need. So, you can reduce what you deploy in Azure and scale up as required, saving you money from the start.

5. MySQL native replication is available. You can use MySQL native replication and scale out replication using MySQL, either from another cloud server or on premises.

This supports migration as well when you’re looking to migrate, you can migrate and switch which one is the data and primary node. Overall, using this supports your open source solution from the ground up. Keep in mind that Microsoft has committed to supporting the community edition on Azure, with no plans to customize MySQL for Azure, so you can migrate with ease and confidence.

If you have questions about this option or using any open source opportunities on the Azure platform, click the link below or contact us. We’re your best resource for anything Azure related and we’d love to help.