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What kind of server should I use in order to work with database with table with milion rows in order to save time while operating on the database. Now operation like optimize table takes few hours which is quite bad. Other simple operations also takes many hours. What kind of server will be suitable for my needs? Now I use 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo and 2 GB of SDRAM.

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Asking for hardware recommendations for a vague software situation is not something somebody can provide a right answer for. You should consider bench marking your application against several different hardware configurations. If you have specific questions like "when would x hardware option effect y software situation", feel free to ask. – Caleb May 7 '11 at 12:59

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While more and faster processing cores will help in general for best database performance you need to focus on memory and IO capabilities.

If you can buy as much memory as you can afford, ensure it's configured to run at its peak performance (usually by buying the right type and number of modules to match your server/CPUs).

Then try to optimise your IO subsystem by using low-latency disks (such as SSDs/2.5" SAS) in a hardware RAID 10 arrays, if possible with a dedicated array just for your logs.

I'm not aware of your budget, perhaps come back and tell us about what you're looking to spend and we can help.

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The budget is about 2000-6000$ at the beginning. Operating system might be Linux. – Newbie1 May 7 '11 at 13:23
Well in that case there's no reason for you not to go for something along the lines of a decent manufacturer (Dell, HP, IBM etc.) with one or two current model (56xx-series) Xeons with 4/6 cores plus hyperthreading each, 12-24GB of fast memory and 4-to-6 fast (15/10krpm SAS) disks in a RAID 10 array. Take a look at some models by these manufacturers and come back with a list of kit that you're interested in and I'll take a look and see if there are any problems or areas where you can improve ok :) – Chopper3 May 7 '11 at 14:03
I am close to choose PowerEdge T710 Tower Chassis for Up to 8x 3.5" HDDs (6Gbps) and Intel 5500/5600 Series Processors with Intel Xeon E5506, 4C, 2.13GHz, 4M Cache, 4.80GT/s, 80W TDP, DDR3-800MHz and 12GB Memory for 1 CPU, DDR3, 1333Mhz (3x4GB Dual Ranked RDIMMs). Is this fine? – Newbie1 May 7 '11 at 18:42
The T710 is fine but go for the 56xx series and don't go 'lower' than the 5620 as those before don't have hyperthreading. The rest of the spec is fine but make sure you get a hardware RAID controller and don't just buy those large, cheap 7200rpm disks, go for SAS ones if you have the budget, try for at least 4 disks in RAID 10 ok. – Chopper3 May 7 '11 at 18:57
Thanks a lot, don't you think 12 GB is a bit too much for my needs? For this spec I can add 1 more processor in the future if needed? Aha meybe I wasn't clear before but this won't be production server but just the serwer to generate the website/counts/cache etc., so the spec is right here? – Newbie1 May 7 '11 at 19:07
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You're very sparse on your details (operating system? version? budget?) but some general points that might help:

  1. use a 64 bit OS on your 64 bit processor (32 bit will be slower for MySQL)
  2. add as much memory as possible (machine and budget wise)
  3. use the fastest disk possible (SSD is nice but they tend to fail / are expensive)
  4. optimize your MySQL my.cnf for your specific needs (see mysqltuner.pl)
  5. use current versions of your software

Other considerations:

  • linux tends to be the quickest OS for MySQL according to various benchmarks
  • Consider replacing MySQL with MariaDB, a drop-in replacement by original author of MySQL
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With the mentioned budget of $2K to $6K I would look into clustering multiple database servers. That is if the setup you are using this for allows for it(!). Basic idea is you spread the READ (select queries) over multiple machines, lowering the load. The WRITE queries (UPDATE/INSERT/DELETE et al) are performed on the master(s) which are then synced by the slaves. – Matt May 7 '11 at 14:03

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