Blog
Improving performance – A full stack problem
Improving the performance of a web system involves knowledge of how the entire technology stack operates and interacts. There are many simple and common tips that can provide immediate improvements for a website.
Read moreWriting re-runable shell script
I recently started playing with [devstack][1] again (An all-in-on OpenStack developer setup). Last time was over 3 years ago because I remember a [pull request for a missing dependency][2] at the time.
Read morePopular Quotes by Ronald Bradford
If you have ever met me personally at a presentation, or during consulting, or have read some of my blogs, publications or books the following statements are things I have been known to say.
Read moreCorrectly setting your mysql prompt using sudo
If you run multiple MySQL environments on multiple servers it’s a good habit to set your MySQL prompt to double check which server you are on. however, using the MYSQL_PS1 environment variable I found this does not work under sudo (the normal way people run sudo).
Read moreWhat is FTS_BEING_DELETED.ibd
I currently have on a MySQL 5.6 database using innodb_file_per_table the following individual tablespace file. schema/FTS_00000000000001bb_BEING_DELETED.ibd The schema is all InnoDB tables, and there ARE NO Full Text Indexes. I cannot comment on if a developer has tried to create one previously.
Read moreGood Test Data
Over the years you collect datasets you have created for various types of testing, seeding databases etc. I have always thought one needs to better manage this for future re-use. Recently I wanted to do some “Big Data” playing and again that question of what datasets can I use let me to review the past collated list at Seeking public data for benchmarks .
Read moreThe GRANT/REVOKE dilemma
It is common practice to grant your application the privileges of “GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON yourdb.* TO user@host”. But what if you want to ensure you cannot DELETE data from just one table?
Read moreSimple steps to increasing site availability
A recent database production migration with a large client highlighted a fundamental flaw in their designed architecture for suitable site availability. While the development team had take several good steps in improving scalability of the site, there was a clear failure in understanding and supporting different levels of data availability which I cover in my presentation Successful Scalability Principles .
Read morePerformance v Scalability – For Employers
In a recent discussion with a fellow peer reviewing a job description he was applying for, we got into a discussion on the specifics of a Performance Engineer verses a Scalability Engineer.
Read moreClearly define your uptime needs
In writing about Performance and Scalability I referenced a quote that I have provided in a number of presentations regarding a valuable interaction with a client. All software architects and managers need to clearly understand this for their own sites in order to enable technical resources to deliver a highly scalable solution.
Read moreUnexplained halts using mysql command line client
I recently came across an issue trying to connect to a MySQL server using the mysql client. It appeared as through the connection was hanging. A subsequent connection using the -A option highlighted the problem with the previous connection stuck in the state “Waiting for table metadata lock”.
Read moreGiving thanks to MySQL authors challenge
Next week the US celebrates Thanksgiving Day. For those that are American or live here, this is a significant event. Three different experiences recently have lead me to write this request for ALL MySQL community members to give thanks to those that have contributed to the MySQL ecosystem.
Read moreKick all the tires before you buy the product
Translating theory to practice is never easy. Morgan gives us the right steps in a play environment to move from dev.mysql.com native MySQL rpm’s to the new MySQL yum repository. I thought I would try it out.
Read moreWhat SQL is running in MySQL
Using the MySQL 5.6 Performance Schema it is very easy to see what is actually running on your MySQL instance. No more sampling or installing software or worrying about disk I/O performance with techniques like SHOW PROCESSLIST, enabling the general query log or sniffing the TCP/IP stack.
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