How to Choose MySQL Over Amazon Redshift

Galaxy Glossary

Why should I use MySQL instead of Amazon Redshift?

A step-by-step guide to deciding when MySQL is the better database for your workload compared with Amazon Redshift.

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Description

When is MySQL better for real-time queries?

Choose MySQL when your application needs sub-second, row-level writes and reads. MySQL’s B-Tree indexes and MVCC make single-record lookups lightning fast, ideal for order processing or user sessions in an ecommerce site.

How does cost compare for small-to-medium data volumes?

Redshift’s MPP clusters shine at multi-terabyte analytics but carry hourly node costs.For datasets under 500 GB and steady traffic, MySQL’s open-source or RDS pricing is significantly cheaper—no idle cluster fees.

What concurrency limits should I expect?

MySQL handles hundreds of short OLTP connections gracefully. Redshift’s WLM caps concurrency (5–50 slots) and queues additional queries, which can frustrate transactional apps.

Can MySQL simplify my tech stack?

If you already use MySQL for transactional data, keeping analytics in the same engine removes ETL overhead and schema drift.MySQL 8.0 supports window functions and CTEs, closing many analytic gaps.

How do joins and referential integrity differ?

MySQL enforces foreign keys and cascades in InnoDB. Redshift skips FK enforcement to speed loads, so you must maintain data quality yourself. For strict integrity, MySQL wins.

What are scaling options without Redshift?

Use read replicas, partitioning, and proxy-based sharding. For example, shard Orders by customer_id % 4 across four MySQL primaries, then aggregate in a replica.This suits write-heavy, moderate-size workloads.

Best practice: hybrid architecture

Keep OLTP in MySQL and copy only large fact tables to Redshift for deep analytics. Use AWS DMS for near-real-time replication, giving you the best of both engines.

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Why How to Choose MySQL Over Amazon Redshift is important

How to Choose MySQL Over Amazon Redshift Example Usage


-- MySQL: fetch last five orders and items for a customer
SELECT o.id AS order_id,
       o.order_date,
       p.name  AS product,
       oi.quantity,
       o.total_amount
FROM Orders     o
JOIN OrderItems oi ON oi.order_id  = o.id
JOIN Products   p  ON p.id         = oi.product_id
WHERE o.customer_id = 42
ORDER BY o.order_date DESC
LIMIT 5;

How to Choose MySQL Over Amazon Redshift Syntax


-- MySQL table creation for OLTP
CREATE TABLE Customers (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
  name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE,
  created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  INDEX idx_created (created_at)
);

-- Equivalent Redshift DDL (lacks FK enforcement)
CREATE TABLE customers (
  id INTEGER IDENTITY(1,1),
  name VARCHAR(100),
  email VARCHAR(255),
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT GETDATE()
);

-- OLTP query MySQL optimizes well
SELECT c.name, o.total_amount
FROM Customers c
JOIN Orders o ON o.customer_id = c.id
WHERE c.id = 42;

Common Mistakes

Assuming MySQL horizontally scales like Redshift. MySQL replicas improve reads, but writes still funnel to a single primary. Plan sharding early or you’ll hit a ceiling.
Migrating Redshift-specific functions (e.g., <code>DISTKEY</code>, <code>COPY</code>) verbatim to MySQL. Replace them with MySQL equivalents such as secondary indexes and <code>LOAD DATA INFILE</code>.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is MySQL suitable for analytics now that it has window functions?

Yes. MySQL 8.0 supports window functions, CTEs, and JSON handling, making mid-scale analytics feasible without Redshift.

Can I start on MySQL and move to Redshift later?

Absolutely. Use AWS DMS or Debezium to stream binlog changes into Redshift when your data exceeds MySQL’s sweet spot.

Does Redshift replace a transactional database?

No. Redshift is column-oriented and optimized for batch analytics, not row-level ACID transactions required by most applications.

Want to learn about other SQL terms?

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