Virgin Mobile Switches to Open-Source Database for SMS Management

The UK based MVNO, Virgin Mobile has switched its back-end SMS database to the open-source MySQL database platform. The company says that over 500 gigabytes are contained in MySQL data tables which manage the operators SMS platform - and is subject to thousands of queries per second. This solution handles the processing of Virgin Mobile's SMS messaging -- where each individual text message can generate over a hundred database queries on average (analysis, processing the response, and annual statistics).

All applications have been developed internally at Virgin Mobile, based on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python) platform. Virgin Mobile has designed a highly-available MySQL-based platform that has proven to be highly scalable, particularly at peak times. This service is at the heart of all SMS/mobile applications -- but also operates the CRM applications, the billing and the management of Virgin Mobile orders.

"The phenomenal growth in the number of subscribers to mobile phone services has led telecom operators and equipment manufacturers to develop new modern infrastructures to meet their customers' needs," declares Joe Morrissey, MySQL's senior director of worldwide telecom sales. "MySQL Cluster Carrier Grade Edition and MySQL Enterprise are now at the heart of the solutions implemented by the leading industry players. We are delighted about this additional endorsement by Virgin Mobile."

Posted to the site on 10th January 2008