Is there a limit of how big MySQL table can get in order to be efficient assuming infinite disk space (but realistically high computing power)

Question

Say a SELECT query in MySQL takes at worst O(log(n)) (just arbitrarily) time to search for a key in a table for a small table of size 1,000 keys.

After 10 years, the number of keys inside the table increases exponentially. Assuming there has been no upgrade whatsoever over the course of 10 years, how well can MySQL scale these data.

Will the search speed deteriorate significantly? How well can MySQL handle this kind of data growth?

This question is far too broad. There are many variables to take into account when designing and scaling a database. — Girish Rao, Jun 09 '12 at 17:10
Very similar to [How big can a MySQL database get before performance starts to degrade](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1276/how-big-can-a-mysql-database-get-before-performance-starts-to-degrade) — Mark Byers, Jun 09 '12 at 17:10
Not a good enough question to give a good an "answer", but a little google check says that apparently it can handle what Facebook gives it: http://mashable.com/2011/12/15/facebook-timeline-mysql/ — GDP, Jun 09 '12 at 17:11
1,000,000 records is not much for MySQL, but again it depends on number of columns, size of columns, indexes, engine type, query types, number of requests, frequency of requests etc — Girish Rao, Jun 09 '12 at 17:12
Create a test case and let us know the result or write a blog about it. We'll learn — Shiplu Mokaddim, Jun 09 '12 at 17:13
We have scores of stats tables all have 100's of millions of rows.... — GDP, Jun 09 '12 at 17:14

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 09 '12 at 17:12

You're not very specific about your use case. MySQL can handle billions of rows if used properly. If used poorly, almost any table could give you trouble, though you're not likely to run into too much trouble until your database doesn't fit in memory anymore.

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 09 '12 at 17:13

0

There is no worst limit for number of rows as far the queries and tables are optimized well. If not, It depends on CPU power and memory capacity.

answered Jun 09 '12 at 17:13

thavan

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Is there a limit of how big MySQL table can get in order to be efficient assuming infinite disk space (but realistically high computing power)

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