MySQL on Linux Optimized for Intel's Itanium 2.

MySQL AB on Tuesday announced two landmarks for its open-source MySQL database: optimization for the 64-bit Intel Itanium 2 processor running the Linux operating system, as well as the labeling of Version 4.0 as being at production level.

The leap to 64-bit hones the MySQL database for targeting large databases, data mining and other enterprise applications, according to Sam Al-Schamma, director of European Developer Programs for MySQL AB, of Uppsala, Sweden. "Running MySQL on the combination of Linux and the Itanium 2 platform allows organizations to get the most out of their infrastructure by combining an industry-standard 64-bit platform with the speed, stability and low cost of a proven open-source database," he said in a statement.

MySQL is already available on all major Linux distributions, Unix, Mac OS X and Windows operating systems. MySQL for Linux running on an Itanium 2 platform is now available for download at MySQL's site.

Separately, the company announced that Version 4.0 is now production-level, having passed through a gauntlet of three months' worth of testing in live environments.

Michael Widenius, MySQL AB chief technology officer and co-founder, said in a release that, although development releases of 4.0 have been out for over a year, many MySQL users have waited for the ...