MySQL 5.2 ODBC Driver is slow, needs to use 5.1 to be fast

[M A]

Hi All,

I'd just like to ask for your expertise re: this problem I'm having.

I'm connecting to a MySQL Server 5.6 using ODBC over Linux, DG4ODBC from Oracle Database.

When the Oracle Gateway uses the MySQL 5.1.13 Driver (only comes in Unicode, I think), the queries execute within reasonable time.

When I use the MySQL 5.2.7 Driver (either Unicode or ANSI), the same queries take up to 5 times longer to execute.

All other variables are held constant in this case when testing.

My DSN setup in Linux is fairly simple:
SERVER, PORT, DATABASE, USER and PASSWORD are all defined, of course
CHARSET = UTF8 (if not set, the Oracle DB acts up)
OPTION = by default I am using '3', but even without using any option, the following persists.

Is there any logical reason for this?
I can't try 5.3 at the moment as I'm running Red Hat 5 64bit and the 5.3 isn't provided for this version of the OS.

Many thanks and happy holidays to everyone! :)

Mark