Updating ClouSE can now be done with one command

With more than a thousand registered users worldwide, guiding customers through the upgrade process is getting hard, so we decided to automate the servicing steps.  Now the update-clouse script can be used to update ClouSE binaries to the current version.  This script ships with the ClouSE binary distribution.

Here is an example of updating ClouSE using the Webmin console.

First, download ClouSE 64-bit binaries from http://www.oblaksoft.com/downloads/.  Then upload and extract the binaries to the /home/ec2-user directory. In Webmin, navigate to Others, then to Upload and Download, then …

MySQL 5.6 through the eyes of a custom storage engine MySQL plugin

MySQL is famous for its pluggable storage engine architecture which allows a DBA or an application developer to choose the right engine for the task. An application uses MySQL API and is isolated from all of the low-level implementation details at the storage level. As an example, the Cloud Storage Engine (ClouSE) enables existing MySQL applications to use cloud storage such as Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage to store its data. The application doesn’t need to be changed or even redeployed: with ClouSE, remote cloud storage will look like a better (ultra-scalable, durable, always-on) alternative to the local storage.

As you may already know, ClouSE now supports MySQL 5.6 release …

Cloud Storage Engine (ClouSE) installation and configuration is now fully automated. Try new ClouSE installer and you’ll have cloud storage access configured in no time.

OblakSoft is pleased to announce the release of Cloud Storage Engine (ClouSE) installer that can be used to deploy and configure ClouSE with your MySQL server. Now ClouSE can be deployed with just one command. The installer will guide the user through the configuration process, prompt for Cloud Storage connection parameters, and install ClouSE into MySQL.

Presented is a step-by-step guide for ClouSE installation and configuration, from downloading the binaries to running the installer. The guide was designed by request of WordPress-to-Cloud users, however it is fully applicable to any generic ClouSE installation.

The slides have notes, they are a little hard to discover with the SlideShare interface, look for a tab below the slide that looks …

ClouSE 1.0b.1.7 is released

OblakSoft is pleased to announce the release of Cloud Storage Engine (ClouSE) for MySQL Beta version 1.0b.1.7.  In this release we added support for a variety of environments to address the platform diversity of our growing customer base.

Here is the summary of changes that are included into 1.0b.1.7:

• Support for ClouSE on Microsoft Windows (limited preview)

Now ClouSE builds are available both for Linux and Microsoft Windows.  The cloud data format is the same across all platforms: Linux and Windows, 32-bit and 64-bit.  This allows for seamless transitions between machines, platforms and clouds.  ClouSE for Windows is currently available to a group of limited preview customers.  If you would like to sign up for the limited preview program please …

WordPress-on-S3 makes professional website administration as easy as pie.

OblakSoft is pleased to announce availability of the ready-to-run WordPress-on-S3 / Yapixx AMI with enhanced configuration, performance, and website administration features.  Now website owners can use Webmin and phpMyAdmin for secure website administration over the Internet, and pre-configure Cloud Storage Connection for the instance.

• System administration
• Database administration
• …

ClouSE version 1.0b.1.6 is released

OblakSoft is pleased to announce the release of ClouSE version 1.0b.1.6.  In this release we fixed some of the known ClouSE Beta limitations as well as performance and functional bugs reported by our users.

Here is the summary of changes that are included into 1.0b.1.6:

• Support for latest MySQL 5.5

Now ClouSE supports MySQL thru 5.5.29.  To keep the distribution small, we don’t build binaries for MySQL prior to 5.5.19 anymore.  If you need one, please contact us.

• DECIMAL keys support

Now ClouSE supports using DECIMAL fields in keys.  Previously neither the primary key nor indices could include DECIMAL fields.  This fixes the following Beta limitation: DECIMAL fields cannot …

MySQL on Amazon S3: ClouSE version 1.0b.1.4 is released

OblakSoft is pleased to announce the release of ClouSE version 1.0b.1.4.  In this release we fixed some of the known ClouSE Beta limitations that required workarounds in some configurations.

In particular, now the popular BuddyPress WordPress plugin can store its tables in ClouSE without a patch that worked around the missing features.  If you’re using the patched version of BuddyPress 1.6.1 provided by us, you can now upgrade ClouSE and use the original BuddyPress sources.  Thank you for your patience and commitment!

Here is the summary of changes:

• Support for latest MySQL 5.5

Now ClouSE supports MySQL thru 5.5.28.  To keep the distribution small, we don’t build binaries for MySQL prior to 5.5.17 …

Advanced Weblob operations help to use Weblobs most effectively.

Weblob recap

In an earlier post I introduced Weblobs.  Weblob is a new data type that is supported by the Cloud Storage Engine for MySQL (ClouSE).  To a database developer, a WEBLOB behaves (almost) like a regular BLOB.  However, in addition to the regular BLOB functionality, Weblobs can be downloaded directly from Amazon S3 by HTTP URLs.

In MySQL, a Weblob is expressed via a pair of BLOB fields that have a special naming convention: field_name$wblob and field_name$wblob_info.  The latter field is what provides the Weblob functionality.  It can be used to retrieve the direct Amazon S3 URL for the BLOB content. …

ClouSE version 1.0b.1.3 and 64bit WordPress on S3 / Yapixx refresh is released

OblakSoft recommends upgrading ClouSE to the latest version 1.0b.1.3 that fixes an issue with some SELECT statements.  Previously some SELECT statements (e.g. using index_merge w/intersect query execution plans) may mistakenly miss records.

OblakSoft is also pleased to announce that 64-bit AMI of WordPress on S3 / Yapixx is now available.  We’ve got requests from customers who’d like to use the AMI in production, but didn’t want to run a 32-bit AMI, and had to build their own 64-bit AMI using our AMI as a reference.  Now they can use our standard fully configured ready-to-run 64-bit AMI directly as a starting platform for their WordPress on S3 production websites.

The software can be downloaded at http://www.oblaksoft.com/downloads/ for FREE.

The …

I got a few questions like the ones below that I’d like to address to avoid further confusion.
How exactly secure is ClouSE for MySQL, the first secure database in the cloud? Am I protected against standard application level security attacks or even accidental admin mistakes?
With the help of ClouSE I get instantaneous backup for my database on the highly durable cloud storage. But how would I protect my data in case a malicious attack or an accident did occur?

Re: security

I’ve got a comment pointing out that data encryption on the storage level doesn’t protect from SQL injections.  Of course, data encryption does not protect from SQL injections (as long as there is SQL involved, there will be a risk of a SQL injection).  Neither does it protect from the infinite number …