Memory Fragmentation in Linux: What It Is, Why It Hurts, and How to Fix It
Managing memory in a high-performance database environment isn’t just about having enough RAM; it’s about how that RAM is organized. For SREs and DBAs, understanding the nuances of the Linux kernel’s memory management can be the difference between a smooth-running system and unpredictable tail latency. In this post, we’ll break down the core mechanics of […]
MySQL Alternatives at Scale: Why TiDB Beats MariaDB
Dive deep into two popular MySQL alternatives and discover why TiDB is a better option for extreme scalability and real-time analytics.
How Bling Migrated a Mission-Critical 25TB MySQL Database to TiDB
Every fast-growing SaaS platform eventually faces the same reality: scaling a single massive database becomes increasingly risky and expensive. At Bling (Part of the LWSA Group), a leading SaaS ERP platform serving the e-commerce markets in Brazil and Mexico, we hit this ceiling hard. Founded in 2009, Bling powers over 300,000 daily active users and […]
Build Fast. Run Lean. Why Mid-Market Teams Choose TiDB Cloud Essential
If you’re building software today, you’ve probably felt it: shipping new features takes longer than it should, and your database bill is higher than it needs to be. Not because your team isn’t capable. And not because your product is uniquely complex. But the data layer has quietly become the biggest drag on velocity and […]
Distributed SQL Database: Architecture, Scale, and High Availability
A distributed database is any system that spreads data across multiple nodes. However, a distributed SQL database is a stricter subset: it keeps full SQL semantics and ACID transactions, automatically partitions data for horizontal scale, and uses consensus replication (e.g., Raft) so writes are consistent and failover is predictable. In short, distributed SQL gives you […]
How Atlassian Scaled to 3M+ Tables: Multi-Tenant Control with TiDB
Atlassian is an enterprise software company that runs one of the world’s largest SaaS platforms. Best known for Jira, Confluence, Trello, and Bitbucket, the company helps teams plan, build, and run software. As tenant counts and compliance demands grew, Atlassian hit the limits of shared and siloed multi-tenancy models on a massive sharded PostgreSQL estate. […]
Effective MySQL Online DDL: Making Critical Database Schema Changes with Zero Downtime
Online Data Definition Language (DDL) is a crucial feature for modern databases and a cornerstone of MySQL modernization strategies. It allows schema changes without significant downtime or locking that could disrupt database operations. This means these operations carry out while the database continues to be available for reads and writes, minimizing downtime and avoiding disruption […]
How Manus 1.5 Uses TiDB X to Let Agents Ship Full-Stack Apps at Scale
Software is shifting from developer-driven to agent-driven. With Manus 1.5, AI agents don’t just “help you code”; they spin up full-stack applications end-to-end. Ideas move from prompt to deployed app in minutes. It’s a glimpse of what’s next: rapid iteration, parallel exploration, and continuous change without human bottlenecks. That speed creates a new reality for […]
Supercharging Real-Time Applications with TiDB and DragonflyDB
Data-intensive applications demand scalability, low latency, and resilience. However, traditional databases often struggle to handle both transactional consistency and fast in-memory caching at scale. But that’s where TiDB and DragonflyDB shine together: In this tutorial, we’ll walk through setting up a TiDB + Dragonfly stack, show how they complement each other, and build a hands-on […]
How to Scale TiDB Locally with Online DDL
Data-intensive applications outgrow single-node MySQL long before product-market fit is “done.” Hot partitions, schema change windows, and manual sharding slow teams down. But TiDB solves this with a MySQL-compatible, distributed SQL architecture that scales storage and compute independently and keeps applications online during change. In this quick tutorial, we’ll spin up TiDB locally with TiUP […]
How Distributed ACID Transactions Work in TiDB
Transactions—especially distributed ACID transactions—are ubiquitous. Protocols around transactions are equally ubiquitous, even if we don’t immediately realize it. Take, for example, a common marriage ceremony. It’s essentially a two-phase commit (2PC) protocol. The officiant is the transaction coordinator (TC), and the couple getting married are the active participants. In the first phase, the TC asks […]
Rethinking Scale: TiDB’s Evolution Into an AI Agent Database
Recently, I’ve been meeting customers across industries including AIaaS, Web3, and FinTech. No matter where I go, the conversation always turns to one thing: AI. Everyone’s asking the same question: “How will AI transform our business, and how does TiDB embrace this change?” So, I started sharing what had been on my mind lately. “The era […]