my-pi cluster?

[Tull Clancey]

Hi there.

I have 6x raspberry pi3b+ which I've got setup on my network, all ready for a mysql experiment. I understand this would actually be MariaDB now.

I have been advised there are 2 ways to setup a mysql cluster, one for redundancy and another for speed. One where the head server receives all the writes while others can handle the selects, another where multiple nodes can do both.

I have a reasonable working knowledge of mysql but only in a single server environment so I have no idea if the above is correct, or my understanding is warped.

I know mysql clusters have been built using the pi, but I have no idea what they're being used for, obviously nothing of national security! I'm only building this one for fun, it will handle 'real' data but again nothing that's all that important.

So, is this worth pursuing at all, or will it be an arse to achieve, an arse to maintain and really not worth the effort? I'm hoping the answer is no as I"m quite looking forward to it.

Either way I'm going to give it a go. But, I have no idea where to start. Could some kind person or people please suggest some reading material to get me started?

Many thanks.