Facebook isn’t the only one swapping MySQL for HBase, the open source distributed database platform based on Google’s BigTable. The Hadoopian HBase is now in play at several of the web’s most recognizable names – including Adobe, Yahoo!, Mozilla, and StumbleUpon – as well as smaller operations looking to climb their way to such online prominence.
HBase can’t replace all MySQL installations, says HBase project chair Michael Stack, but unlike MySQL, it’s specifically designed to operate at ginormous scale.