SkySQL, Codership, and the MariaDB project have teamed up to release MariaDB Galera Cluster 5.5.29 as a Stable GA (generally available) version. The MariaDB Galera Cluster is a synchronous multi-master cluster designed for cloud-based environments. According to the release notes, this product is a merge of MariaDB 5.5.29 and Galera Cluster with some additional bug fixes.

The Galera Cluster solution was originally developed by Codership, which considers Galera its clustering masterpiece. “It’s a true multi-master solution, where a setup consisting of several nodes accepts writes and reads on any node and synchronously updates the other nodes. DBAs will be able to increase service availability and distribute data automatically over several datacentres,” the announcement states.

MariaDB Galera Cluster includes the following features: synchronous replication; active-active multi-master topology; read and write to any cluster node; automatic membership control, with failed nodes dropped from the cluster; automatic node joining; true row-level parallel replication; direct client connections, and native MariaDB/MySQL look and feel.

The MariaDB Galera Cluster is a complete package and, according to the project website, it requires no additional third-party tools to create a highly scalable database platform. The Galera Cluster is available now under the General Public License (GPLv2) with 24-hour support provided by SkySQL. For more information, please visit the MariaDB website.