Oracle has released version 7.3 of MySQL Cluster software as GA (Generally Available), with a NoSQL JavaScript Connector for Node.js and support for Foreign Key Constraints.

MySQL Cluster is a clustering add-on for the MySQL database. Oracle says that the addition of the NoSQL JavaScript connector for Node.js means it will be simpler and faster to build services deployed across clusters of commodity hardware using MySQL Cluster.

The native support for foreign key constraints has been one of the most requested additions for MySQL Cluster, and means that MySQL Cluster automatically enforces referential integrity between tables. 

The new Node.js connector makes it possible to write JavaScript applications for Node.js using MySQL data. Apps written in JavaScript can directly access MySQL Cluster data stores without the need to use an intermediate MySQL server to translate queries to and from SQL. Instead, you create a JavaScript mapping class and use that to map to a table in your MySQL Cluster database. The connector works asynchronously for inserting and retrieving data.

The new version includes an auto-installer that Oracle says lets you graphically configure and provision a production-grade cluster in minutes, automatically tuned for your workload and environment, directly from your browser. The SQL layer of MySQL Cluster is based on the latest MySQL 5.6 GA release, and lets you combine the InnoDB and MySQL Cluster storage engines side by side within a single application using the latest MySQL 5.6 release.

The new version also promises to deliver from one and a half times to seven and a half times higher throughput per connection to the MySQL Custer data nodes, increasing the overall capacity and scalability of the cluster. The improvement is achieved by splitting mutexes within internal connection APIs, and is completely transparent to applications.