This January release is the fourth LTS release and third Innovation release since MySQL announced our move to a new LTS/Innovation release model. For more details see MySQL Releases: Innovation and LTS.

During the innovation cycle, MySQL 9.x quarterly releases will include new features, deprecations and removals, and bug fixes.

The 9.x releases also include Shell, Router, Connectors and Clients.

MySQL DBAs, developers, and users should migrate to the latest 9.x GA versions of the Connectors and Clients which support 9.x Innovation, 8.4 LTS, and 8.0 releases.

MySQL continues to maintain a 3 month release cadence.

In the April 2025 time frame expect

  • Bug and security fix only releases
    • MySQL 8.4.5 LTS
    • MySQL 8.0.42
  • Innovation release
    • MySQL 9.3.0 Innovation

MySQL Server 9.2.0 Innovation GA includes:

MySQL Server 8.4.4 LTS GA includes:

MySQL Server 8.0.41 GA includes:

Upgrade Guidance

  • Customers are encouraged to migrate from MySQL Servers 8.0.x to the latest 8.4.x LTS, currently 8.4.4.
  • Customers wanting to explore new capabilities and features are encouraged to upgrade to MySQL 9.2 Innovation.

MySQL Server 9.2 Highlights

MySQL Community Edition: Security

  • New dynamic privilege – CREATE_SPATIAL_REFERENCE_SYSTEM
    • Allows a user to create or modify spatial reference systems (SRSs) using the following commands
      • CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM
      • CREATE OR REPLACE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM
      • DROP SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM.
  • Previously, users required the SUPER privilege to change SRSs

MySQL Community Edition: OpenSSL Performance

  • Improved MySQL Server performance
  • Now uses OpenSSL 3.x specific APIs
    • OpenSSL 3.x backward compatible APIs do not perform as well as using new 3.0 APIs

MySQL Community Edition: Connection Control

  • Migrated the connection control from a plugin to a component
  • The connection control plugin is now deprecated and will be removed in the future

MySQL Community Edition: Router – Enhanced Metadata Cache Connection Handling

  • Prior to MySQL Router 9.2, the metadata cache connection was opened and closed frequently, with a default ttl of 0.5 seconds. This resulted in:
    • Increased server load:
      • Frequent connection attempts filled the server audit log with entries.
      • A large number of connections remained in the TIME_WAIT state, consuming server resources.
      • Client-side sockets were closed when the server reached its max_connections limit, impacting application availability.
    • Reduced performance:
      • Frequent connection attempts consumed significant CPU resources for TLS handshake establishment.
  • Improved Connection Handling in 9.2 and later:
    • To address these issues, MySQL Router 9.2 introduced a significant improvement:
      • Persistent Connections: By default, the connection to the metadata cache is now kept open as long as possible.
      • The default is close_connection_after_refresh=0
      • Reduced Resource Consumption: This persistent connection significantly reduces server load, improves performance, and conserves resources.
  • Reconnection Behavior (Optional):
    • In specific scenarios where the old reconnection behavior is required, the close_connection_after_refresh parameter can be explicitly set to 1 to re-enable the previous ttl behavior.
    • However, this should be used with caution, as it may negatively impact server performance and stability.

MySQL Community Edition: Router

  • Support for Unix Socket connection to the Router
  • For example in the router config
    • local:/tmp/mysql.sock
  • Improves performance over using a local TCP/IP connection

MySQL Community Edition: Shell – Enhanced SQL Compatibility

MySQL Shell now leverages the SQL language version of the target server during upgrade operations.

This enhancement enables:

  • Improved Compatibility Checks:
    • Detects potential issues with routines, triggers, and events that may utilize SQL syntax that has been changed or removed in the target server version.
  • Enhanced Upgrade Accuracy:
    • Provides more accurate and reliable upgrade assessments by considering the specific SQL dialect of the target environment.

MySQL Enterprise Edition: Group Replication

New: automatic identification and mitigation of issues stemming from replica lag and resource exhaustion within the group.
Safeguarding the group from:

  • Resource Depletion Prevention:
    •  Automatically removes members experiencing resource shortages to prevent group-wide depletion.
  •  Lagging Server Detection and Ejection:
    • Continuously monitors secondary server applier performance (lag, excessive swapping).
    • Ejects problematic servers to maintain HA.
  •  Resource Utilization Thresholds:
    • Defines thresholds for critical resource utilization (e.g., CPU, memory).
    • Triggers appropriate actions (e.g., ejection, alerts) based on predefined criteria.
  •  Fault Tolerance:
    • Remains operational despite faulty or problematic members.
    • Ensures uninterrupted service delivery.
  •  Quarantine Period for Restarted Members:
    • Implements a quarantine period for restarted members.
    • Allows sufficient time for synchronization before potential ejection.
  •  Completes The Graceful Fault Handling:
    • Handles member failures gracefully, minimizing service disruption.
    • Automates self-healing by combining the new detection and removal of affected members with existing:
      • Automatic Rejoin Mechanism:
      • Allows ejected members to automatically rejoin the group after resolving issues.
      • Restores full group participation.
    • Self-Provisioning and Rejoin:
      • Enables ejected members to automatically provision themselves and rejoin the group.
      •  Minimizes downtime and maintains full group operation.

MySQL Server Enterprise Edition: Options and Options Usage Tracker

MySQL Server Enterprise Edition: JavaScript Enhancements

  • Third-Party Library Support:
    • New feature allows users to store third-party JavaScript libraries directly within the database.
    • Simplifies the process of using external libraries in stored routines.
    • Libraries are defined using the CREATE LIBRARY statement
    • For example, here the library function “buzz” is defined in JAVASCRIPT and then called from “foo”
CREATE LIBRARY bar LANGUAGE JAVASCRIPT
AS $$
  export function buzz(x) {
    return x;
  }
$$;
 
CREATE FUNCTION foo(arg INT) RETURNS INT LANGUAGE JAVASCRIPT
USING (bar)
AS $$
  return bar.buzz(arg);
$$;
 
mysql> SELECT foo(42);
+---------+
| foo(42) |
+---------+
|      42 |
+---------+
1 row in set (0.06 sec)

 

  • Enhanced Data Type Support:
    • Added support for ENUM and SET data types in JavaScript stored programs and functions.
    • Provides greater flexibility and compatibility for interacting with database data.

MySQL Connectors C++, ODBC: Option to select WebAuthn authenticator device

  • WebAuthn, supported in MySQL Server 9.1 and later, enables Windows Hello authentication.
  • If multiple authenticators (e.g., Fingerprint and a YubiKey) are available on a Windows computer, this enhancement allows users to explicitly select the desired WebAuthn authenticator device for authentication.

We have also released the 9.2 versions of MySQL Clients, Tools, and Connectors.

  • Regardless of server version, always use the latest version of MySQL Clients, Tools, and Connectors.
  • These 9.2 clients, tools, and connectors support MySQL Server 8.0, 8.4 LTS, and 9.2 Innovation

As always, thank you for using MySQL!