2010-05-25

Redefining Database Support

Support for databases has generally been available only per server/year support contract where one has to pay for all master and slaves one has to get support contract for the few needed machines. In some cases one has even to pay per CPU (or core), even if you are not using all CPUs/cores for the database server. There have been a few exceptions, but there have usable been limits depending on company size or offerings that are only available for the first year.

What is wrong with server/year, for larger database installations is that you are also paying for database servers for which you don't need or want support. The value of the offering is thus worth much less than what you are paying for it.

The same way that MySQL® changed the price ballgame in licensing, Monty Program Ab is now doing the same for support with our newest offering; MariaDB Unlimited Support Subscription ("Unlimited" below).

For a introductory price of only US$36,000, we offer 24/7 support for all your MariaDB and MySQL® database servers. We call it "Unlimited" because the price is not dependent on how much you use MariaDB/MySQL®, how many servers on which you deploy MariaDB/MySQL®, the number of CPUs or cores you have in your systems, your company size, the number of beers you happen to have in your refrigerator, or any other arbitrary number you might find in other support contracts.

The support offering also includes things like monitoring tools, knowledgebase articles and some non-support development engineering.

You can also attach add-on services like Backup, Proactive support and support for community storage engines. For a full description of the Unlimited offering, please refer to our FAQ page.

You can, of course, also buy normal server/year support contracts from us. Information about this also exists on the FAQ page.

What is unique with Unlimited compared to all other MariaDB/MySQL® support offerings is that it's backed by the creator, original core developers and architects of MySQL® and MariaDB. Monty Program Ab is also the company that has most competence in all MySQL/MariaDB code. If you want to be sure that you can get a patch/binary to fix your bugs and that your wishes are taken into account for future MariaDB versions, the Unlimited support offering is what you need.

A part of the subscription money is also given back to the community developed parts of MariaDB, like XtraDB or PBXT, to ensure that they can continue their development of integral parts of the MariaDB ecosystem.

You can order/examine the offering in detail, from our order page.

Sorry if this post sounds like a commercial. However, everyone here at Monty Program Ab is very excited about this offering. We think it's an excellent value for the money for most bigger MySQL®/MariaDB users, and it will help us to continue develop MariaDB in the ways our users and customers want. We are also giving back to the community upon which we depend.

By subscribing to the MariaDB Unlimited Support subscription, you are ensuring that your current investment in MariaDB/MySQL® is secured, as the money we earn is put into future MariaDB development.