Topic on Manual talk:SQLite

Dshinks (talkcontribs)

Hi All,

Are there any guidelines on size limitations within SQLite when hosting MediaWiki? This manual states,

"SQLite is not that scalable, so if you have a large and popular wiki, you should use MySQL."

I'm just looking for something more quantifiable for the words "large" and "popular", such as recommendations on:

  • Maximum Database size
  • Maximum concurrent users (for reading, or for making edits)

I currently host a MediaWiki instance on SQLite that's been running fine so far (albeit, searching is a little slow; occasionally general navigation slows down, too). While we have control over the number of users, the size and usage is gradually increasing, and I want to make sure that I can keep up.

Thanks

MaxSem (talkcontribs)

We don't have the statistics, which means that if you're asking these questions you're probably large and popular enough :) Seriously though, SQLite has never been intended for concurrent use so while simultaneous reads aren't a problem, writes just lock everything including reads too which might be the cause of sudden slowdowns you're experiencing. What are your exact size/usage numbers?

Dshinks (talkcontribs)

Hi MaxSem,

Thanks for getting back to me. Large and Popular is probably a bit of an overstatement in reality; I'm just keen to err on the side of caution, and make sure we don't get caught out :)

Our database size is currently around the 500mb mark, growing at a rate of around 50mb per month. We're open to around 750 users at the moment.

Although our users aren't on there constantly changing stuff at volume (at the moment, at least), we did find that when we were getting the initial bulk of our content on there, performance wasn't brilliant for those contributors. At that time there were only a couple of users, but they were making constant changes, and they were experiencing quite a bit of slowness, particularly in searches.

MaxSem (talkcontribs)

I'd say migrate to MySQL before it's too late.

Dshinks (talkcontribs)

Good call; that's the answer I was expecting! :)

Thanks

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