Managed MariaDB: Swiss cloud, full control

A managed MariaDB service means VSHN takes full operational responsibility for your MariaDB database. We provision the infrastructure on your chosen cloud provider (Cloudscale, Exoscale, AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure), install and configure MariaDB, apply updates, perform automated daily backups, and monitor the service 24/7. You connect to a production-ready, enterprise-grade relational database without managing any infrastructure yourself.

MariaDB is one of the most popular open-source relational databases in the world. Created by the original developers of MySQL, it is a drop-in replacement that offers improved performance, additional storage engines, and a commitment to remaining open source. MariaDB is backed by the MariaDB Foundation and used by organizations of all sizes, from small teams and mid-market companies to major enterprises and government agencies.

We offer two service tiers. The Baseline plan at CHF 0.11 per hour runs a single instance and is ideal for development environments and non-critical workloads. Our 99.99% - 24/7 plan at CHF 0.99 per hour runs three replicas and delivers 99.99% uptime with automatic failover. All SLA commitments are documented in a written service agreement signed before deployment begins.

VSHN supports MariaDB 11.8 (EOL 2028), 11.4 (EOL 2029) and the 10.11 LTS (EOL 2028). MariaDB 10.6 reached end of life in July 2026, so instances still on it are on an upgrade path. Patch updates are applied automatically; minor and major version upgrades are performed manually with coordination. Security CVE patches are applied immediately regardless of the maintenance window. We help you plan version upgrades well ahead of end-of-life dates.

Backups run automatically every day using K8up-powered backup infrastructure on Kubernetes. Six backups are retained by default, with configurable retention policies available. Data on running instances is encrypted at rest by the underlying cloud platform. Up to 500 GiB of database is supported per instance, counted across all of its logical databases. VSHN proactively verifies backups and runs restore tests as part of the service, so you know recovery works before you need it.

VSHN-managed MariaDB starts from CHF 0.11 per hour for a Baseline single instance. The 99.99% - 24/7 tier with three replicas and automatic failover starts from CHF 0.99 per hour. Computing resources are charged separately based on your chosen instance size. All prices exclude VAT. Contact us for a personalized quote. We provide a written cost estimate within one business day.

Yes. VSHN deploys managed MariaDB on Swiss cloud providers by default, including Cloudscale and Exoscale, both of which operate data centers exclusively in Switzerland. For full control, we also deploy on Enterprise Private Cloud (dedicated infrastructure in your own data center). We also support AWS (Zurich region), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure where Swiss regions are available. Your data sovereignty requirements are documented in the service agreement. See our sovereignty assessment for details on how VSHN scores against the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework.

The data runs where you decide, and the service agreement records it: in the Swiss zones of Cloudscale or Exoscale, or on Enterprise Private Cloud, which is dedicated infrastructure in your own data center. VSHN is Swiss-owned and contracts under Swiss law. Who can access the systems is a separate question. With the Switzerland-only support option, access to your servers and services happens only from within Switzerland, and VPN access from abroad is contractually ruled out. Without that option, VSHN Canada carries out scheduled night-time work. The sovereignty assessment sets out the rest.

Yes. MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL, meaning most MySQL clients, drivers, and applications work with MariaDB without code changes. MariaDB supports the MySQL wire protocol, so existing connection strings typically require only a host change. It also offers additional features such as the Aria and ColumnStore storage engines, improved query optimization, and better replication performance. VSHN can advise on migration from MySQL to MariaDB.

Yes. VSHN provides managed MariaDB on Kubernetes via APPUiO, our Swiss Kubernetes managed platform. Instances provision automatically via Kubernetes custom resources: request a new database with a single manifest and VSHN handles the rest. Automated backups and 24/7 engineering support apply as everywhere else. The 99.99% - 24/7 profile is the exception: it needs three replicas and is not offered on APPUiO Cloud, so a 99.99% target means running on a cloud zone or your own OpenShift instead. Inside your cluster, MariaDB cuts latency and egress costs.

Up to three instances. With three, MariaDB runs as a Galera cluster behind two ProxySQL nodes that reconnect your application when a database node fails. Galera applies every write on every node, so the additional instances buy availability rather than write capacity. For more throughput you raise the CPU, memory and disk of the instances, which you set on the instance yourself. Splitting reads from writes across the nodes is the job of MaxScale, and MaxScale comes with MariaDB Enterprise, which we build per customer.

Contact us using the form below. Tell us your expected database size, query volume, preferred cloud provider (for example Cloudscale, Exoscale, AWS, or Google Cloud), and whether you need the 99.99% - 24/7 profile with replication. We provide a written requirements analysis and cost estimate within one business day. There is no commitment at the requirements stage. Once you decide to proceed, your MariaDB instance is typically production-ready within two business days.

Yes. MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL. Most applications work without code changes, requiring only a connection string update. For Oracle migrations, MariaDB provides a free Migration Assessment Tool that analyzes your code for compatibility and suggests syntax conversions. VSHN supports migration planning as a managed service: we assess your current database, design the target architecture on Swiss cloud infrastructure, and execute the migration with rollback plans. The comparison page puts the alternatives side by side, and the MySQL migration page walks through the steps. Contact us through the form below to discuss your migration path.

Yes. VSHN is an authorized MariaDB reseller for Switzerland since June 2026, appointed to resell MariaDB products including MariaDB Enterprise. Our database engineers have operated MariaDB in production for years across Swiss financial services, healthcare, and public sector customers. VSHN operates MariaDB Community Edition on the Application Catalog and can advise on upgrading to MariaDB Enterprise for customers requiring vendor-backed support and advanced features such as MaxScale and Galera clustering.

Yes. Agencies and consulting firms regularly use VSHN-managed MariaDB for client database infrastructure. Each client gets a dedicated, isolated MariaDB instance on Swiss cloud, with no shared resources, no cross-client data exposure. VSHN handles operations, backups, and 24/7 monitoring so your team can focus on application delivery. Billing is per instance with written service agreements, making it straightforward to pass costs through to your client engagements. Agencies that would rather resell than refer can partner with VSHN.

Cloud provider managed databases (Exoscale MySQL, AWS RDS) give you a database instance with infrastructure-level uptime. VSHN adds a dedicated operations team: 24/7 monitoring and incident handling at the application level, proactive backup verification and restore testing, disaster recovery testing, zero-downtime version upgrades, security patching, and a 99.99% SLA at the service level, not just the underlying VM. The comparison page sets this out provider by provider.

The self-service managed service runs MariaDB Community Server as a Galera cluster with one or three replicas, which covers most workloads. MariaDB Enterprise is engineered per customer rather than ordered from a catalog: VSHN sells the subscription as an authorized reseller and operates the platform, usually on OpenShift, because a 99.99% target needs an architecture designed for it. Tell us what the workload has to survive and we will scope it with you.

With VSHN. As the authorized MariaDB reseller for Switzerland, we invoice the Enterprise subscription in CHF alongside the operations, so you hold one Swiss contract under Swiss law with one escalation path. MariaDB stands behind the engine: the subscription carries third-level support from the engineers who build the database, which we call on when a problem is in the database rather than in the platform around it.

No. MariaDB MaxScale is commercially licensed. You can download and run it in test environments, while production use requires a subscription, which includes it. The parts underneath stay open: MariaDB Server and Galera Cluster are GPLv2 and the connectors are LGPL, so nobody can withdraw your right to run the database itself. The subscription buys the components around the engine and someone accountable for them.

The vector data type and vector indexing ship in MariaDB 11.8, which is a Community release and one of the versions VSHN runs, so you can build and test retrieval-augmented generation against the database you already have. Enterprise Server adds the hardened, supported build of the same feature. Either way the embeddings sit beside the rows they describe, under the same backup, replication and access control, with no separate vector database to secure.

MariaDB licenses the Enterprise subscription per vCPU, counted across the database nodes, so three nodes of eight vCPU are billed as twenty-four. MaxScale is sized separately and typically needs about half the vCPU of a database node. VSHN invoices the subscription in CHF next to the operations fee for running it. We put the actual number together with you in a free estate review, because it depends on how many nodes the workload really needs.

The operator exists for state: it replaces nodes one at a time, keeps the cluster in sync during version upgrades, and will not take two replicas down at once. KEDA scales workloads, not cluster membership, and could feed the operator the metrics it already collects. In practice we scale proactively, adding capacity when an instance passes 80 to 90% of what it has, rather than reacting after the database is already short of resources.

Yes. MariaDB is a supported database backend for ServiceNow, and ServiceNow deployments are exactly the workload where an unplanned failover gets noticed: every team in the company is in the tool at once. VSHN operates the database with monitoring, backups and failover handling, and MariaDB Enterprise adds MaxScale in front so a node failure stays invisible to the application. We operate the database, not the ServiceNow application itself.