Percona releases Galera Cluster Version 9.7
Mon, 2026-09-14 11:33 —
Shinguz
Finally, some good news again!
What has happened so far
After MariaDB Corp. acquired Codership OY—and with it, Galera Cluster for MySQL—in May 2025 [ 1 ], then announced the discontinuation of support for Galera Cluster for MySQL 8.4 at the end of September 2026 [ 2 ], and subsequently stated that it would no longer support Galera Cluster (for MariaDB!) in the Community Edition [ 3 ], there was a loud outcry from the community. MariaDB Corp. then made a partial retreat (“We’ve thoroughly considered your feedback and decided that now is not the time for a major change,”). A clear commitment to continued support for Galera Cluster in the Community Edition sounds different.
Shortly thereafter, the MariaDB Foundation announced that it did not intend to fork Galera Cluster (“Thus the Foundation does not see a need for forking Galera and does not support or encourage such action.”) [ 4 ].
So, until Friday (2026-09-10), the future of Galera Cluster for MySQL was very uncertain!
Percona’s announcement yesterday
But fortunately, there’s still Percona with its Percona XtraDB Cluster (PXC), which is an improved branch/fork of both MySQL and Galera Cluster.
And Percona finally announced the release of Percona XtraDB Cluster 9.7 on Friday (September 10, 2026) [ 5 ]. For us, this was the long-awaited and hoped-for signal from Percona!
It would be nice if Percona could provide a clearer statement regarding Galera Cluster so that we can better plan for it in terms of timing…
Installation
Of course, we couldn’t resist and immediately downloaded the latest release [ 6 ] and set up a Percona XtraDB test cluster.
Due to our standard Galera installation process, we had to make a few adjustments here and there to ensure that the Percona XtraDB Cluster ran smoothly.
We’ve described the details here: Migration from MySQL Galera Cluster 8.4 to Percona XtraDB Cluster 9.7
Further tests will follow in the coming days and weeks…
Now would actually be a good time for commercially oriented Galera Cluster users to sponsor Percona…? For a vibrant and healthy MySQL open-source ecosystem: The Future of the MySQL Ecosystem.
Sources
Update
Update from September 18, 2026: Whether by coincidence or not, Max Mether, Vice President of Server Product Management at MariaDB Corp., published the following blog post on September 17, 2026: Galera Cluster Remains An Integral Part of MariaDB Server - MySQL Galera Cluster has reached EOL. Learn your options on how to migrate to a long-term solution with MariaDB Galera Cluster.
OK. I take note of that. We’re watching you suspiciously…
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