Caveats for running MySQL on block storage?

A major caveat to keep in mind when moving to Block Storage is that this service utilizes HDDs whereas the storage native to your Linode benefits from SSDs. Given this, you can expect a bit more latency if you move your database to Block Storage; the latency is slightly more pronounced for read speeds vs. write speeds, too.

If possible, I recommend running some preliminary tests to see if our Block Storage will perform as needed for your purposes. For reference, here are a few relevant Community posts that you may find helpful:

• How do I move my database files to a Block Storage Volume?
• Speed of Block Storage

Update: we're currently in the process of upgrading Block Storage in all our data centers to NVMe SSDs. Currently this hardware is only available in Atlanta but it will be rolled out to our other DCs soon. You can check out our availability here, where you'll see "(NVMe)" next to Block Storage if it's available:

• https://www.linode.com/global-infrastructure/
• https://www.linode.com/blog/cloud-storage/nvme-block-storage-now-available/

@jtoscani --

When a DC gets upgraded to NVMe, will that process be automatic (with maybe a little Linode downtime or a reboot) or will I have to do something as well? I use block storage at Fremont (80Gb volume of which ~32Gb is used).

Thanks.

-- sw

@stevewi there will be a migration which you can manually kick off prior to the scheduled date, or you can just wait for the scheduled maintenance to automatically complete - otherwise there's nothing else you need to do! We'll send out tickets whenever a DC in which you have volumes is ready for the upgrade.

Thanks @jtoscani… That's sort of what I expected…and comports with previous experience.

-- sw