1

I've been doing some reading about the Antelope and Barracuda file formats for InnoDB. I recall at least one source mentioning that the two should not be used simultaneously.

I can't think of a good reason (while using innodb_file_per_table) that I couldn't use Antelope on one table and Barracuda on another. However, maybe I'm missing something.

Are there any good reasons to avoid using Antelope and Barracuda simultaneously?

(Note: The reason I'm planning on using both simultaneously is that I don't want to mess with our existing (quite large) tables. Perhaps this isn't a big deal? Is migrating from Antelope to Barracuda trivial, even for large tables?)

|improve this question
1

I wrote a post 3 years ago that discusses this very subject : innodb_file_format Barracuda

In terms of storage, using Antelope and Barracuda is possible. However, in my post, I discuss a residual effect on the InnoDB Buffer Pool. You need a larger Buffer Pool because Barracuda compressed pages in the Buffer Pool have to be decompressed to the read in the Buffer Pool.

You should dig deeper through Percona's Performance Blog site for any additional insights.

|improve this answer
  • I'm just marking this as accepted right now. I can't imagine how someone could provide a better answer! :) Thanks, @Rolando! – rinogo Mar 6 '15 at 23:21
  • I just updated the second link to all references to Barracuda – RolandoMySQLDBA Mar 6 '15 at 23:24
  • By the way, just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, it sounds like just using Barracuda (at all) requires a larger buffer pool. It doesn't really have anything to do with using Antelope and Barracuda simultaneously, but more that if you're using Barracuda at all, the tables that do use Barracuda will consume more of the buffer pool than they would if they were stored with Antelope. Is this correct? – rinogo Mar 6 '15 at 23:27
  • 1
    Yup. That's the point. This is why I gave the Percona link. I am sure they have already written about the major pros and cons of the storage aspects. – RolandoMySQLDBA Mar 6 '15 at 23:30
  • 2
    From my old post, I show some numbers that reveal an inverse ratio. The tighter the compression, the less increased RAM you need. The looser the compression, the more increased RAM you need. Either way, you need more RAM with Barracuda. – RolandoMySQLDBA Mar 6 '15 at 23:33

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.