We've been following the discussions to replace MySQL with MariaDB in Fedora, and would like to provide additional data to help the community make the most informed decision.  Instead of switching the default to MariaDB 5.5 we would like to propose that Fedora instead integrate MySQL 5.6.  Switching to MariaDB would be going backwards, as their releases usually lag by at least 6 months. The differences between MariaDB 5.5 and MySQL 5.6 are quite significant, with major improvements in both performance and stability [1] , as well as additional features and improved security [2].

With hundreds of development and QA engineers, including MySQL veterans and fresh talent, Oracle has produced the most stable, secure, and scalable releases of open source MySQL ever.  We are ready to help integrate and package the latest and best-tested version of MySQL in Fedora, including becoming the package maintainer (same as we do with Ubuntu).

15 years of contributing to the Linux kernel, 8 years developing InnoDB, and now 3 years leading MySQL represent a track record that speaks for itself.  Fedora's corporate sponsor and Oracle do compete in the Linux support business, but the database choice for Fedora should only focus on the merits and the quality of the MySQL code. If Fedora, as the mission statement says wants to "lead, and not follow" we recommend you keep MySQL,  the leading edge and highest quality open source database, as the default choice in your Linux distribution.

Andrew