InnoDB has always been highly efficient, and includes several unique architectural elements to assure high performance and scalability. The latest InnoDB storage engine includes new features that take advantage of advances in operating systems and hardware platforms, such as multi-core processors and improved memory allocation systems. In addition, new configuration options let you better control some InnoDB internal subsystems to achieve the best performance with your workload.

Starting with MySQL 5.5 and InnoDB 1.1, the Plugin replaces the built-in InnoDB storage engine within MySQL. This change makes these performance and scalability enhancements available to a much wider audience than before. After learning about the InnoDB performance features in this section, continue with Chapter 7, Optimization to learn the best practices for overall MySQL performance, and Section 7.5, “Optimizing for InnoDB Tables” in particular for InnoDB tips and guidelines.