I also use MySQL as backlog, it's practically write-only as I keep the whole state in javascript objects. Only time when data is read from MySQL is at program startup. However, having SQL database enables me to run various complex SQL queries for reporting.
However, I do use Redis for one thing: user sessions. I turned persistence off as Redis seems to be rock-stable, and I really don't need sessions to persist. I was using a modified version of Node's MemoryStore, to which I added clean garbage collection, but with often restarts I mentioned earlier it has become pain for users to have to login again when in the middle of the game. Having a separate, dedicated Redis instance to handle the sessions made restarts completely seamless, as the cookie sent by user's browser remains valid between node restarts.
I was not willing to learn new db technology, but there wasn't really much to learn with Redis. You can set it up in minutes and it just works(tm). I highly recommend you try it.
I'll be switching over the entire game state to Redis. It'll be a bit of work but what I like the most is that it maps more naturally to objects. My db is mainly writes as well.
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I also use MySQL as backlog, it's practically write-only as I keep the whole state in javascript objects. Only time when data is read from MySQL is at program startup. However, having SQL database enables me to run various complex SQL queries for reporting.
However, I do use Redis for one thing: user sessions. I turned persistence off as Redis seems to be rock-stable, and I really don't need sessions to persist. I was using a modified version of Node's MemoryStore, to which I added clean garbage collection, but with often restarts I mentioned earlier it has become pain for users to have to login again when in the middle of the game. Having a separate, dedicated Redis instance to handle the sessions made restarts completely seamless, as the cookie sent by user's browser remains valid between node restarts.
I was not willing to learn new db technology, but there wasn't really much to learn with Redis. You can set it up in minutes and it just works(tm). I highly recommend you try it.
I'll be switching over the entire game state to Redis. It'll be a bit of work but what I like the most is that it maps more naturally to objects. My db is mainly writes as well.