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The combination of MySQL, InnoDB, and

Solaris 10 enables Fotolog to efficiently process

ever-larger numbers of transactions by simply

optimizing schema for data access patterns

and increasing the number of concurrent

threadsor the number of transactions that

can be run at one timewithout increasing

the number of servers. So far, the company has

scaled from 8 to 32 and then to 64 threads, and

it expects to increase that number to 96 next.

Fotolog scaled specifically by increasing

thread concurrency in MySQL under Solaris 10,

using InnoDB efficiently, and porting its PHP

application to Java. The Java port allowed

Fotolog to actually decrease the number of

speakers serving the site.

The advantages of Solaris 10 as

a platform for scalabilityFotolog could have chosen to build the data

storage and processing architecture for its

Web site on Linux; it is, after all, an open

platform that supports a wide variety of

hardware and applications, just as Solaris 10

does. The difference for Fotolog was in their

ability to support multiple concurrent

threads. Apparently, the higher the number

of concurrent threads running, the higher the

risk of failure and thread thrashing with Linux.

And because Fotolog had decided to pursue

a concurrent-thread strategy for scaling the

solution, the company elected to go with

Solaris 10, which it believed to be a more

thread-friendly solutionand therefore more

Delivering quality service to eleven million users with MySQL, InnoDB,and the Solaris TM 10 Operating System

FotologCustomer Success Story

Highlights

Challenges

Scale to support eleven million members

and more than 100 million page views a day

Increase performance without increase

in database hardware

Solution

MySQL database software

InnoDB transactional storage engine

for MySQL

Solaris 10 Operating System Sun V440 and V210

Results

Support for four times as many users

with no additional hardware

Higher percentage of working dataset

in the memory with efficient schemas

Four times the number of concurrent

threads without adding servers

Anticipated ability to double current

number of threads

As the 18th most trafficked site on the Internet and growing,Fotolog needs to be able to reliably scale up to processingincreasingly large transaction volumes without requiringa cost-prohibitive investment in additional server hardware.The company is meeting this challenge by running MySQLdatabase software and the InnoDB storage engine for MySQLon the Solaris 10 Operating System.

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likely to deliver the scalable performance

necessary to reliably deliver website contentto its members quickly and efficiently.

Choosing the right storage engineand tuning it for scalability

Of the data storage engines available for

use with MySQL, InnoDB is the one that is

known for allowing multiple pieces of data

to be inserted into the database at one time.

However, Fotolog found that concurrent

threading alone was not enough to guard

against processing slowdowns and poor service

at peak times. To do that, the storage engine

would have to be tuned to allow it to run more

than eight concurrent threads. In addition,

the schema will need to be optimized to take

advantage of the storage engine offerings.

Once that was accomplished, Fotolog elected

to increase the number of threads running

concurrently to 32, and then, shortly

thereafter, to 64.

Further optimizing the architecture

to support 64 threadsBefore Fotolog, no known company had ever

expanded to 64 concurrent InnoDB threads on

a single instance of MySQL. The traditionalscalability solution has always been to

scale-out by adding more servers, rather than

increasing thread concurrency. To make sure

that this first configuration of its kind would

continue to support peak performance at peak

times, Fotolog further tuned the solution bytaking advantage of the clustered index

feature on InnoDB. This feature changes the

way the system responds to requests for data

needed to create Fotolog pages, making it

possible to perform to call up a page and all

the guestbook comments associated with it

using the minimal amount of disk seeks

instead of having to perform a separate disk

seek for every single comment. This eliminates

a significant potential for disk-based

bottlenecks and slowdowns, dramatically

increasing performance.

Because we can complete a job as one

request instead of up to 200 separate ones,

everything can go much faster, explains

Mashraqi. Whenever the disk needs to write,

it will be available to do it.

On the horizon

Having seen exponentially beneficial results

of running 64 concurrent threads, Fotolog

is now looking at doubling the number of threads to 96. The company believes, based on

its experience thus far, that its current number

of servers32will be able to continue to

handle the load. Some people solve the

scaling problem by throwing hardware at it,

which is not a good business outcome,

especially if they dont understand their

bottlenecks, says Mashraqi. We do it by

pushing Solaris to its limits.

About FotologFotolog, Inc. is the worlds largest photo-

blogging community, the 18th most

trafficked site on the Internet, and the 3rd

most trafficked social networking site. More

than eleven million member accounts from

more than 200 countries have shared morethan 300 million photos since its inception

in 2002. Fotolog provides a platform for

members to share experiences and connect

with others across the globe by bringing

together the power of digital photography,

social networking, and blogging to attract

and entertain in a unique and captive

user experience.

Fotolog recently agreed to be acquired by

Hi Media, a French publicly traded company.

A unique hybrid of photo sharing, social net-

working, and blogging, Fotolog is the choice

of millions of users worldwide to connect with

friends and favorites through photos.

For more informationTo learn more about the Solaris 10 operating

system, visit sun.com/solaris. For additional

information about Fotolog, visit fotolog.com

2007 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, and Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.Information subject to change without notice. Printed in USA.

Sun Microsystems, Inc. 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA Phone 1-650-960-1300 or 1-800-555-9SUN Web sun.com

Fotolog

sun.com/solaris

At 64 threads, our members

see their Fotolog pages. At 32,

they wait.

Farhan MashraqiFotolog

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