https://ronaldbradford.com/tags/mysql/ Recent content in MySQL on Enterprise Data Architect | Principal Data Strategist | MySQL Subject Matter Expert | Author | Speaker Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/readyset-querypilot-announcement-2025-04-22/ Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/readyset-querypilot-announcement-2025-04-22/ At the MySQL and Heatwave Summit 2025 today, Readyset announced a new data systems architecture pattern named Readyset QueryPilot . This architecture which can front a MySQL or PostgreSQL database infrastructure, combines the enterprise-grade ProxySQL and Readyset caching with intelligent query monitoring and routing to help support applications scale and produce more predictable results with varied workloads. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/more-cpus-or-newer-cpus-2025-04-02/ Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/more-cpus-or-newer-cpus-2025-04-02/ In a CPU-bound database workload, regardless of price, would you scale-up or scale-new? What if price was the driving factor, would you scale-up or scale-new? I am using as a baseline the first available AWS Graviton2 processor for RDS (r6g). https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-long-does-readyset-take-2025-03-30/ Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-long-does-readyset-take-2025-03-30/ During my setup of benchmarking I run a quick test-sysbench script to ensure my configuration is right before running an hour+ duration test. When pointing to a Readyset cache where I have cached the 5 queries used in the sysbench test, but I have not run any execution of the SQL, throughput went up 10x in 5 seconds. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-latency-with-thoughput-2025-03-28/ Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-latency-with-thoughput-2025-03-28/ Higher throughput does not imply improved performance. This is a common problem when the need for an application to support more users, you provide higher concurrency and that appears to show the capability to support higher throughput. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-readyset-caching-with-aws-rds-mysql-2025-03-25/ Tue, 25 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-readyset-caching-with-aws-rds-mysql-2025-03-25/ Readyset is a next-generation database caching solution that offers a drop-in; no application code changes; approach to improve database performance. If you are using a legacy application where it is difficult to modify SQL statements, or the database is overloaded due to poorly-designed SQL access patterns, implementing a cache is a common design strategy for addressing database reliability and scalability issues. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/wesql-introduction-mysql-running-on-s3-2024-11-21/ Thu, 21 Nov 2024 23:37:10 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/wesql-introduction-mysql-running-on-s3-2024-11-21/ I recently became aware of WeSQL . A MySQL-compatible database that separates compute and storage, using S3 as the storage layer. The product uses a columnar format by default which is significantly more space-efficient than InnoDB. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/managing-sql-drift-ensuring-stability-in-database-transitions-2024-11-09/ Sat, 09 Nov 2024 22:07:38 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/managing-sql-drift-ensuring-stability-in-database-transitions-2024-11-09/ SQL drift is a significant challenge that occurs when SQL statements from an existing system produce unexpected results after migration to a new environment or system. These issues manifest in several critical ways: SQL statements may generate new execution errors, experience significant performance degradation, or yield differences in data integrity. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/rds-mysql-aurora-3-07-0-is-unusable-for-upgrades-2024-06-21/ Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:41:29 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/rds-mysql-aurora-3-07-0-is-unusable-for-upgrades-2024-06-21/ Yesterday I detailed an incompatible breakage with RDS MySQL Aurora 3.06.0 , and one option stated is to upgrade to the just released 3.07.0. Turns out that does not work. It is not possible to upgrade any version of AWS RDS MySQL Aurora 3. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/database-testing-for-all-version-changes-including-minor-versions-2024-06-19/ Wed, 19 Jun 2024 15:54:01 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/database-testing-for-all-version-changes-including-minor-versions-2024-06-19/ We know that SQL statement compatibility can change with major database version upgrades and that you should adequately test for them. But what about minor version upgrades? It is dangerous to assume that your existing SQL statements work with a minor update, especially when using an augmented version of an open-source database such as a cloud provider that may not be as transparent about all changes. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-curse-of-mysql-warnings-2024-06-10/ Mon, 10 Jun 2024 20:29:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-curse-of-mysql-warnings-2024-06-10/ MySQL warnings are an anti-pattern when it comes to maintaining data integrity. When the information retrieved from a database does not match what was entered, and this is not identified immediately, this can be permanently lost. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/digital-tech-trek-digest-6-2024-02-07/ Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:37:22 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/digital-tech-trek-digest-6-2024-02-07/ MySQL Belgian Days 2024 and FOSDEM 2024 In this past week, I’ve been able not just to read or watch digital content online but to meet people in person. In Brussels, first at the MySQL Belgian Days 2024 event, followed by FOSDEM 2024 . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-does-the-mysql-mysqlsh-util-checkforserverupgrade-execute-2021-12-21/ Tue, 21 Dec 2021 13:49:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-does-the-mysql-mysqlsh-util-checkforserverupgrade-execute-2021-12-21/ During a recent Aurora MySQL 8 upgrade process, a number of validation checks have failed. This is an analysis of the error message “present in INFORMATION_SCHEMA’s INNODB_SYS_TABLES table but missing from TABLES table”. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upgrading-to-aws-aurora-mysql-8-2021-12-19/ Sun, 19 Dec 2021 21:03:13 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upgrading-to-aws-aurora-mysql-8-2021-12-19/ With Aurora MySQL 8 now generally available to all, you may want to consider the plan for an upgrade path if you would like to take advantage of the new features for your application, for example, Common Table Expressions (CTE). https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/tdd-for-infrastructure-2020-09-15/ Tue, 15 Sep 2020 21:10:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/tdd-for-infrastructure-2020-09-15/ Test Driven Development (TDD) is an important principle for producing quality software. This is not a new concept. The Extreme Programming (XP) agile methodology (1999) outlined the concept before the acronym became more widely accepted as “Another requirement is testability. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/defensive-data-techniques-2020-08-02/ Sun, 02 Aug 2020 19:45:03 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/defensive-data-techniques-2020-08-02/ As a data architect I always ensure that for any database schema change there a fully recoverable execution path. I have generally advised to create a patch/revert process for every change. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/identifying-mysql-ssl-communication-using-ngrep-2017-10-12/ Thu, 12 Oct 2017 21:49:42 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/identifying-mysql-ssl-communication-using-ngrep-2017-10-12/ Prior to MySQL 5.7 client communications with a MySQL instance were unencrypted by default. This plaintext capability allowed for various tools including pt-query-digest to analyze TCP/IP traffic. Starting with MySQL 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/q-does-mysql-support-acid-a-yes-2016-06-29/ Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:47:22 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/q-does-mysql-support-acid-a-yes-2016-06-29/ I was recently asked this question by an experienced academic at the NY Oracle Users Group event I presented at. Does MySQL support ACID? (ACID is a set of properties essential for a relational database to perform transactions , i. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/expired-mysql-passwords-2016-06-03/ Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:46:32 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/expired-mysql-passwords-2016-06-03/ I was surprised to find on one of my websites the message “Connect failed: Your password has expired. To log in you must change it using a client that supports expired passwords. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-performance-with-better-indexes-2015-04-14/ Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:42:01 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-performance-with-better-indexes-2015-04-14/ The slides for my Improving Performance With Better Indexes presentation at Percona Live 2015 MySQL Conference and Expo are now available. In this presentation I discuss how to identify, review and analyze SQL statements in order to create better indexes for your queries. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-is-fts_being_deleted-ibd-2014-01-29/ Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:05:08 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-is-fts_being_deleted-ibd-2014-01-29/ 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. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-sql-is-running-2013-11-11/ Mon, 11 Nov 2013 18:08:27 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-sql-is-running-2013-11-11/ 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. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/an-unexplained-connection-experience-2013-10-04/ Fri, 04 Oct 2013 18:52:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/an-unexplained-connection-experience-2013-10-04/ The “Too many connections” problem is a common issue with applications using excessive permissions (and those that grant said global permissions). MySQL will always grant a user with SUPER privileges access to a DB to investigate the problem with a SHOW PROCESSLIST and where you can check the limits. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/additional-db-objects-in-aws-rds-2013-08-30/ Fri, 30 Aug 2013 15:22:47 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/additional-db-objects-in-aws-rds-2013-08-30/ To expand on Jervin’s Default RDS Account Privileges , RDS for MySQL provides a number of routines and triggers defined the the ‘mysql’ meta schema. These help in various tasks because the SUPER privilege is not provided. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexplained-trivial-mysql-behavior-2013-08-02/ Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:09:31 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexplained-trivial-mysql-behavior-2013-08-02/ The -N or –skip-column-names is a convenient option with the mysql client to skip the header line of output. However I found when viewing the output via the terminal, some interesting and unexplained output. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-presentations-to-the-colombia-oracle-users-group-2013-07-15/ Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:24:08 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-presentations-to-the-colombia-oracle-users-group-2013-07-15/ My slides for presentations on MySQL Backup and Recovery Essentials and Understanding and using MySQL in the Cloud from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) event in Medellín‎ Colombia are now available. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upgrading-to-mysql-5-5-on-ubuntu-10-04-lts-2013-01-22/ Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:01:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upgrading-to-mysql-5-5-on-ubuntu-10-04-lts-2013-01-22/ Ubuntu does not provide an apt-get repository package for MySQL 5.5 on this older OS, however this is still a widely used long term support version. The following steps will upgrade an existing MySQL 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/not-a-cool-new-feature-for-master_host-2013-01-04/ Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:37:14 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/not-a-cool-new-feature-for-master_host-2013-01-04/ I was surprised to find on a customer MySQL server this new syntax for Master_host in SHOW SLAVE STATUS. mysql> SHOW SLAVE STATUSG *************************** 1. row *************************** Slave_IO_State: Connecting to master Master_Host: testdb1. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sqlstatehy000-general-error-2006-mysql-server-has-gone-away-2013-01-02/ Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:47:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sqlstatehy000-general-error-2006-mysql-server-has-gone-away-2013-01-02/ This would have to be one of the most common MySQL error messages that is misleading to the end user developer. The MySQL Manual page confirms the broad range of possible conditions, but offers little to a PHP developer that does not speak MySQL Geek. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/joining-the-continuent-team-2012-09-11/ Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:00:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/joining-the-continuent-team-2012-09-11/ This month I have joined the team at Continuent . No stranger to the MySQL ecosystem, Continuent provides replication and clustering technology for managing data between MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Vertica and a growing list of data stores. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-client-password-security-2012-08-15/ Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:12:36 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-client-password-security-2012-08-15/ In case you missed it, MySQL 5.6.6, also known as Milestone 9, was recently released. I have yet to install this, however just one part of the MySQL 5.6.6 Release Notes makes placing installing and testing high on my TODO list. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/recent-presentations-in-cali-colombia-2012-07-20/ Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:42:23 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/recent-presentations-in-cali-colombia-2012-07-20/ On July 4 I gave two presentations at the OTN Tour Day, and on July 5 I have three presentations at the MySQL Training Days. This was my 3rd visit to Colombia and it was great to see a receptive audience. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/video-interviews-at-otn-colombia-2012-07-20/ Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:41:21 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/video-interviews-at-otn-colombia-2012-07-20/ The following are short interviews from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) event in Cali, Colombia. One with myself and another with Sheeri Cabral . These Videos are sourced from OTN Tour Latin America 2012 . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/i-will-be-speaking-at-percona-live-new-york-2012-07-17/ Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:52:11 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/i-will-be-speaking-at-percona-live-new-york-2012-07-17/ Percona is back for a second New York Percona Live Conference . As the resident New York MySQL Expert , I will again be presenting. My session will be on MySQL Backup and Recovery Essentials . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/encrypting-your-mysql-backups-and-more-2012-07-16/ Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:03:55 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/encrypting-your-mysql-backups-and-more-2012-07-16/ Assuming you have a backup and recovery strategy in place, how secure is your data? Does a hacker need to obtain access to your production system bypassing all the appropriate security protection you have in place, or just the unencrypted data on the backup server? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-compression-do-you-use-2012-07-13/ Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:26:09 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-compression-do-you-use-2012-07-13/ The following is an evaluation of various compression utilities that I tested when reviewing the various options for MySQL backup strategies. The overall winner in performance was pigz, a parallel implementation of gzip. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/buenos-aires-mysqlnosqlcloud-conference-2012-07-12/ Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:00:12 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/buenos-aires-mysqlnosqlcloud-conference-2012-07-12/ The first annual Latin America MySQL/NoSQL/Cloud Conference was held in Buenos Aires Argentina from June 26-28. Kudos to Santiago Lertora from Binlogic who had the vision for the conference in his country and made it happen. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/utf-8-with-mysql-and-lamp-2012-05-23/ Wed, 23 May 2012 19:50:01 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/utf-8-with-mysql-and-lamp-2012-05-23/ A recent question on a mailing list was the best practices for UTF-8 and PHP/MySQL. The following are the configurations I used in my multi-language projects. MySQL UTF-8 Configuration # my. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/amateurs-they-give-us-professionals-a-bad-name-2012-04-26/ Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:32:02 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/amateurs-they-give-us-professionals-a-bad-name-2012-04-26/ Any person with half a brain would see from the error messages below that the MySQL server is not operating optimally, or more specifically the MySQL upgrade has not completely successfully and let users can go happily use the website. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/an-excellent-conference-5-out-of-5-stars-2012-04-14/ Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:20:46 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/an-excellent-conference-5-out-of-5-stars-2012-04-14/ I wanted to extend thanks as others have also about the excellent annual MySQL Conference, now a Percona Live event. This was easily the best run, attended and energetic event in at least the past 3 years. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/timestamp-data-types-and-current_timestamp-attribute-2012-03-16/ Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:19:46 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/timestamp-data-types-and-current_timestamp-attribute-2012-03-16/ In the yet to be released MySQL 5.6.6 DMR, there has been a change to the restriction of just one TIMESTAMP column with the DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP syntax. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql_mode-and-storage-engines-2012-03-09/ Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:50:06 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql_mode-and-storage-engines-2012-03-09/ I was again reminded why setting SQL_MODE is so important in any new MySQL environment. While performing benchmark tests on parallel backup features with a common InnoDB tablespace and per file tablespace, I inadvertently missed an important step in the data migration. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/why-sql_mode-is-essential-even-when-not-perfect-2012-02-16/ Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:00:51 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/why-sql_mode-is-essential-even-when-not-perfect-2012-02-16/ In a recent rant on Why I think SQL_MODE is useless… , I wanted to counteract this statement with why we MUST all use SQL_MODE, even with the inherit flaws. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/colorado-mysql-users-group-presentation-2012-02-16/ Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:43:33 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/colorado-mysql-users-group-presentation-2012-02-16/ In addition to speaking at RMOUG event in Denver, I also spoke today in Broomfield on “Improving MySQL Performance with Better Indexes”. This presentation included details on : Effective examples of capture SQL via application logging and TCP/IP analysis necessary for identifying the best candidates. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-security-essentials-presentation-2012-02-15/ Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:16:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-security-essentials-presentation-2012-02-15/ Today at the RMOUG Training Days 2012 event I gave an introduction presentation on MySQL Security Essentials covering the following topics: MySQL Security defaults MySQL Security Improvements OS Security User Privileges Data Integrity Installation Practices Auditing Options Better Security Further References Download slides for MySQL Security Essentials . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/exciting-upcoming-mysql-events-2012-01-24/ Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:55:10 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/exciting-upcoming-mysql-events-2012-01-24/ At the IOUC leaders’ summit in San Francisco this week, key leaders from Oracle, Java and MySQL user groups world wide have been meeting. This has included the key Oracle MySQL resources from the community, marketing and product teams. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/why-is-searching-the-manual-so-hard-2012-01-14/ Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:39:55 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/why-is-searching-the-manual-so-hard-2012-01-14/ As a consultant I often use the MySQL Reference Manual to provide additional information for clients. I am very happy to recognize the quality of the content in the MySQL documentation, but why is the searching of the manual so, so bad? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-most-important-mysql-reference-manual-page-2012-01-05/ Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:38:20 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-most-important-mysql-reference-manual-page-2012-01-05/ In my opinion, The Server Option and Variable Reference at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/mysqld-option-tables.html rates as my most important page. This is a consolidated index that enables a drill down to the Server Command Options, System Variables, Startup and replication specifics, as well as important information on default values and differences between versions including point releases. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/binary-log-replayer-2011-12-22/ Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:44:17 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/binary-log-replayer-2011-12-22/ When using the replication slave stream, or mysql command line client and mysqlbinlog output from a binary/relay log, all statements are executed in a single thread as quickly as possible. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/reasons-to-use-mysql-5-5-presentation-2011-06-28/ Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:30:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/reasons-to-use-mysql-5-5-presentation-2011-06-28/ I recently gave a presentation at the New York Effective MySQL Meetup on the new features of, and some of the compelling reasons to upgrade to MySQL 5.5. There are also a number of new MySQL variables that can have a dramatic effect on performance in a highly transactional environment, innodb_buffer_pool_instances and innodb_purge_threads are just two to consider. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/utilizing-multiple-index-per-mysql-table-join-2011-06-13/ Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:53:03 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/utilizing-multiple-index-per-mysql-table-join-2011-06-13/ Historically it was considered that MySQL will generally use only one index per referenced table in a SQL query. In MySQL 5.0 the introduction of merge indexes enabled for certain conditions the possibility to utilize two indexes however this could result in worst performance then creating a better index. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/extra-using-index-2011-06-13/ Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:48:26 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/extra-using-index-2011-06-13/ Many people consider this information in the MySQL Query Execution Plan (QEP) to indicate that the referenced table is using an index. It actually means that ONLY the index is used. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-mysql-presentation-in-new-york-2011-04-25/ Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:09:33 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-mysql-presentation-in-new-york-2011-04-25/ On Tuesday I will be speaking in New York at the Effective MySQL Meetup group where I will be giving the presentation “MySQL Idiosyncrasies That Bite”. For more information and to register, check out the Meetup Event . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/basic-scalability-principles-to-avert-downtime-2011-04-23/ Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:39:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/basic-scalability-principles-to-avert-downtime-2011-04-23/ In the press in the last two days has been the reported outage of Amazon Web Services Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in just one North Virginia data center. This has affected many large website includes FourSquare , Hootsuite , Reddit and Quora . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/use-replication-for-backups-are-you-schemas-consistent-2011-03-31/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:36:53 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/use-replication-for-backups-are-you-schemas-consistent-2011-03-31/ Many people have a master/slave MySQL environment of various different topologies, and many use the slave as a backup. Is your slave schema identical to your production schema? As long as an SQL statements completes without an error, your slave schema can differ. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/i-vote-for-planet-mysql-moderation-2011-03-29/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:10:43 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/i-vote-for-planet-mysql-moderation-2011-03-29/ How this happens or who does it is obviously a larger and more complex conversation however it is better then involving innocent animals. How is it that trivial $#*! gets voted and has a string of comments I can not explain, however Planet MySQL should have practical MySQL related content. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/checked-that-mysql-backup-log-lately-2011-03-29/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:04:13 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/checked-that-mysql-backup-log-lately-2011-03-29/ Running a MySQL backup and ensuring it completed successfully and backup files exist is not enough. In my B&R Quiz from Checked your MySQL recovery process recently? one important step is “Do you review your backup logs EVERY SINGLE day or have tested backup monitoring in place? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-conference-schedule-2011-03-14/ Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:07:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-conference-schedule-2011-03-14/ I am one of the crazy individuals(*) that will be speaking at both the regular O’Reilly MySQL Conference and the IOUG Collaborate conference both being held in the second week of April. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-ny-presentation-how-better-indexes-save-you-money-2011-03-11/ Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:17:49 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-ny-presentation-how-better-indexes-save-you-money-2011-03-11/ For all those in New York this is an upcoming MySQL presentation held in conjunction with our colleagues at General Assembly on March 22nd 2011. This presentation “How Better Indexes Save You Money” will be discussing how one simple technique can result in huge MySQL performance improvements and with zero code changes necessary. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/your-php-installation-appears-to-be-missing-the-mysql-extension-which-is-required-by-wordpress-2011-03-01/ Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:27:38 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/your-php-installation-appears-to-be-missing-the-mysql-extension-which-is-required-by-wordpress-2011-03-01/ I recently deployed a new WordPress installation to my existing production webserver running Apache, MySQL and PHP for other websites, yet I was presented with the following message. “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/part-2-simple-lessons-in-improving-scalability-2011-02-24/ Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:23:12 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/part-2-simple-lessons-in-improving-scalability-2011-02-24/ Given the popular response from my first lesson in improving scalability where I detailed simple ways to eliminate unnecessary SQL, let me share another common bottleneck with MySQL scalability that can be instantly overcome. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/optimizing-update-and-delete-statements-2011-02-24/ Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:01:01 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/optimizing-update-and-delete-statements-2011-02-24/ Updated Nov 2011. Check out my latest book on Optimizing SQL Statements for more information. MySQL 5.6.2 also now provides an EXPLAIN syntax for UPDATE and DELETE statements natively. While most people look at performance optimizations for SELECT statements, UPDATE and DELETE statements are often overlooked. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/simple-lessons-in-improving-scalability-2011-02-16/ Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:58:07 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/simple-lessons-in-improving-scalability-2011-02-16/ It can be very easy to improve scalability with a MySQL server by a few simple rules. Here is one of them. “The most efficient way to improve an SQL statement is to eliminate it” https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-9-2011-02-11/ Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:00:07 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-9-2011-02-11/ You blink and there is a new version. I have not seen an Planet MySQL release as yet about this new version. Release Notes . I’d like to say I installed it, but I downloaded the Linux – Generic 2. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/leveraging-the-innodb-plugin-2011-02-11/ Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:32:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/leveraging-the-innodb-plugin-2011-02-11/ Beginning with MySQL 5.1 as an additional plugin and included by default in MySQL 5.5 the InnoDB plugin includes many performance improvements. To leverage the support of new file formats however a very important setting is necessary. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/interesting-mysql-5-5-upgrade-gotcha-2011-02-09/ Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:54:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/interesting-mysql-5-5-upgrade-gotcha-2011-02-09/ Today I discovered an interesting upgrade problem with a client migrating from MySQL 5.0 to 5.5. The client who is undertaking the upgrade reported that MySQL 5.5 did not support the DECIMAL(18,5) data type. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/higher-availability-ha-starts-with-two-database-servers-2011-02-08/ Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:36:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/higher-availability-ha-starts-with-two-database-servers-2011-02-08/ Many early startups that use a single server for all services or a single database server for their website talk about how they would like to achieve higher availability with MySQL. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/do-you-use-phpmyadmin-2011-02-02/ Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:16:34 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/do-you-use-phpmyadmin-2011-02-02/ If so then were is it installed on your publicly accessible website. If the location is where the documentation states not to put it, or in other popular locations then you can easily become open to an attack. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/microsofts-position-on-mysql-2011-01-31/ Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:23:07 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/microsofts-position-on-mysql-2011-01-31/ While Oracle provides no official information they are planning on improving MySQL and using as a product to compete with Microsoft SQL Server, it is rather obvious from what little information you can glean from public announcements this is a clear business goal. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/welcome-new-oracle-aces-2011-01-25/ Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:03:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/welcome-new-oracle-aces-2011-01-25/ I am pleased to announce that the Oracle ACE program has two new MySQL inductees. These people actively contribute to the MySQL community via a varied means in an unbiased and non commercial way. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/changes-in-using-profiling-in-mysql-5-5-2011-01-19/ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:51:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/changes-in-using-profiling-in-mysql-5-5-2011-01-19/ In the past I’ve used the profiling features (e.g. SHOW PROFILES) in MySQL to help with timing SQL statements, especially those in the < 10 millisecond range. Out of habit I did use this to time all SQL statements however in MySQL 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-8-ga-and-php-5-3-4-dont-get-along-2010-12-16/ Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:15:27 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-8-ga-and-php-5-3-4-dont-get-along-2010-12-16/ Today I discovered that you are unable to compile the current stable PHP version 5.3.4 with yesterday’s MySQL 5.5.8 GA release. I was able to download the current MySQL 5.1.54 and compile without issue. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/five-reasons-to-upgrade-to-mysql-5-5-2010-12-15/ Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:40:36 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/five-reasons-to-upgrade-to-mysql-5-5-2010-12-15/ Updated Nov 2011. Check out my Reasons to use MySQL 5.5 Presentation for more in-depth information about installing/configuring and using MySQL 5.5 I have been looking forward to the general availability (GA) release of MySQL 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/wish-list-for-mysql-thread-polling-events-2010-12-13/ Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:18:26 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/wish-list-for-mysql-thread-polling-events-2010-12-13/ It is great to draw inspiration from other Open Source communities. Brad Fitzpatrick recently wrote about Android Strict Mode . His twitter tag line for this post was “I see you were doing 120 ms in a 16 ms zone” which is all I needed to hear from somebody who also worries unreasonably about responsiveness (Web site quote). https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexpected-mysqld-crashing-in-5-5-2010-11-22/ Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:41:25 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexpected-mysqld-crashing-in-5-5-2010-11-22/ An update of MySQL from 5.0 to 5.5 on CentOS 5.5 64bit has not resulted in a good experience. The mysqld process would then crash every few minutes with the following message. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/damm-you-peformance-schema-2010-11-22/ Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:30:58 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/damm-you-peformance-schema-2010-11-22/ One significant new feature of MySQL 5.5 is the Performance Schema . I recently performed an upgrade from 5.0 to 5.5, however my check of differences in the MySQL variables via mysqladmin variables failed because we now have a new record long variable name “performance_schema_events_waits_history_long_size”. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-casual-mysql-dba-operational-basics-2010-11-17/ Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:00:09 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-casual-mysql-dba-operational-basics-2010-11-17/ So your not a MySQL DBA, but you have to perform like one. If you have a production environment that’s running now, what are the first things you do when it’s not running or reported as not running? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-handlersocket-under-ubuntu-2010-11-05/ Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:47:35 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-handlersocket-under-ubuntu-2010-11-05/ Starting with the great work of Yoshinori-san Using MySQL as a NoSQL – A story for exceeding 750,000 qps on a commodity server and Golan Zakai who posted Installing Dena’s HandlerSocket NoSQL plugin for MySQL on Centos I configured and tested HandlerSocket under Ubuntu 10. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-mysql-insert-thoughput-2010-11-05/ Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:13:54 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-mysql-insert-thoughput-2010-11-05/ There are three simple practices that can improve general INSERT throughput. Each requires consideration on how the data is collected and what is acceptable data loss in a disaster. General inserting of rows can be performed as single INSERT’s for example. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/otn-mysql-conference-slides-2010-11-03/ Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:28:21 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/otn-mysql-conference-slides-2010-11-03/ 2010 has been the first year I have re-presented any of my developed MySQL presentations. Historically I have always created new presentations, however Paul Vallee gave me some valuable advice at UC 2010. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/change-in-mysql-logo-2010-10-14/ Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:47:55 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/change-in-mysql-logo-2010-10-14/ This is only a piece of trivia, however has anybody noticed that the MySQL logo has changed. Using the Legal Trademark page we can see the old logo and the new logo together. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-support-options-2010-10-12/ Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:59:51 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-support-options-2010-10-12/ Oracle has released news about changing policies of MySQL Enterprise Support effectively dropping annual support for Basic and Silver. The entry level support is now $3000 per server per year. The MySQL support team now part of Oracle has great resources however Oracle is in the business of making money. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-best-practices-for-dbas-and-developers-2010-10-12/ Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:47:30 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-best-practices-for-dbas-and-developers-2010-10-12/ This is one of the MySQL presentations I’m doing on the OTN LAD Tour in South America, starting today in Lima, Peru. MySQL Best Practices for DBAs and Developers Learn the right techniques to maximize your investment in MySQL by knowing the best practices for DBAs and Developers. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-and-transaction-management-2010-10-03/ Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:42:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-5-5-and-transaction-management-2010-10-03/ Announced at MySQL Sunday was the Release Candidate edition of MySQL 5.5.6. Also noted by Geert where he points out the default storage engine is now InnoDB. However, for those from a background other then MySQL there is still a gotcha. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/common-mysql-scalability-mistakes-2010-10-02/ Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:32:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/common-mysql-scalability-mistakes-2010-10-02/ This week I was one of the presenters at the first Surge Scalability Conference in Baltimore. An event that focused not just on one technology but on what essential tools, technologies and practices system architects need to know about for successfully scaling web applications. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/otn-interview-about-mysql-2010-09-22/ Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:38:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/otn-interview-about-mysql-2010-09-22/ I was interviewed by Justin Kestelyn the OTN Senior Director about MySQL at Oracle Open World this week. Some highlights of the questions asked: 0:55 Since the close of acquisition has there been any change in direction? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/successful-mysql-scalability-presentation-2010-09-17/ Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:33:32 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/successful-mysql-scalability-presentation-2010-09-17/ Last night I was the invited guest at the SF MySQL Meetup . In my presentation “Successful MySQL Scalability” I talked about a set of principles to ensure appropriate system architecture, data availability and best practices to build an ideal solution for your business. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-south-america-tour-2010-09-13/ Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:30:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-south-america-tour-2010-09-13/ DISCLAIMER: This post contains no technical MySQL content however it is good news for the MySQL Community. MySQL content will be included for the first time with the LAOUC (Latin American Oracle Usergroups Council) Oracle tour that is being organized in conjunction with OTN (Oracle Technology Network). https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/2011-mysql-conferences-2010-09-07/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:17:46 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/2011-mysql-conferences-2010-09-07/ Next year will mark a significant change for the MySQL community. At least three major conferences will have dedicated MySQL content that is great for attendees getting the best information on how to use MySQL from the experts in the field. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-case-against-using-rpm-packaging-for-mysql-2010-08-11/ Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:24:48 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-case-against-using-rpm-packaging-for-mysql-2010-08-11/ In some environments using a distro package management system may* provide benefits including handling dependencies and providing a simpler approach when there are no dedicated DBA or SA resources. However, the incorrect use can result in pain and in this instance production downtime. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-mysql-conferences-2010-08-09/ Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:02:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/upcoming-mysql-conferences-2010-08-09/ Unlike previous years when the number of conferences with MySQL content diminishes after the O’Reilly MySQL and OSCON conferences (Open SQL Camp excluded), this year has a lot on offer. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/you-have-to-love-the-planet-mysql-voting-system-2010-08-05/ Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:59:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/you-have-to-love-the-planet-mysql-voting-system-2010-08-05/ Within a few hours my post Installing Mediawiki on Oracle Enterprise Linux LAMP stack got 5 negative votes. Wow, I’d be glad if these people could felt so passionately about all the other CRUD on Planet MySQL that has ZERO to do actually do with MySQL. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-mediawiki-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-lamp-stack-2010-08-05/ Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:58:43 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-mediawiki-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-lamp-stack-2010-08-05/ A company wiki can be easily configured in under 10 minutes using Mediawiki the open source LAMP software that powers the top 10 website Wikipedia . A company wiki is an ideal means for a centralized and user contributed documentation system. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-surge-scalability-2010-2010-07-28/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:53:01 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-surge-scalability-2010-2010-07-28/ I will be joining a great list of quality speakers including John Allspaw, Theo Schlossnagle, Rasmus Lerdorf and Tom Cook at Surge 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland on Thu 30 Sep, and Fri Oct 1st 2010. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/if-you-missed-mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-2010-07-27/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:24:50 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/if-you-missed-mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-2010-07-27/ I recently gave a webinar to the LAOUC and NZOUG user groups on MySQL Idiosyncrasies that BITE. For the benefit of many viewers that do not use English as a first language my slides include some additional information from my ODTUG Kaleidoscope presentation in June. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-webinar-2010-07-22/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:00:31 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-webinar-2010-07-22/ If you have not looked at my recent presentation that I presented at ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010, then feel free to join me on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT tomorrow at 5pm EDT when I will giving a webinar on this talk. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/3-webinars-on-upgrading-mysql-2010-07-21/ Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:15:07 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/3-webinars-on-upgrading-mysql-2010-07-21/ The IOUG Online Education Series: Get Real with Upgrades will include next week 3 different MySQL webinars. These are: MySQL 5.1: Why and How to Upgrade by Sheeri Cabral on Tuesday, July 27, 12:00 p. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-wordpress-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-lamp-stack-2010-07-15/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:28:35 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-wordpress-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-lamp-stack-2010-07-15/ A company blog can be easily configured in under 10 minutes using WordPress , a popular open source LAMP product that runs a reported 12+ million blogs including those found at CNN, NY Times, Wall Street Journal (WSJ), ZDNet, MTV, People Magazine, Playstation and eBay. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/reviewing-your-mysql-installation-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-13/ Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:52:35 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/reviewing-your-mysql-installation-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-13/ After successfully Installing MySQL , let us take a look at an operational MySQL instance on your Oracle Enterprise Linux server. User Management By default there will be a new mysql user and group created. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-a-lamp-stack-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-12/ Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:51:41 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-a-lamp-stack-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-12/ After successfully installing MySQL on Oracle Enterprise Linux installing a LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) stack can also be performed with a single command: $ yum install -y httpd php php-mysql # Start the Apache Httpd Process $ /etc/init. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-mysql-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-11/ Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:27:48 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/installing-mysql-on-oracle-enterprise-linux-2010-07-11/ One of the significant benefits of MySQL is it’s ease of use. Generally already installed on most Linux systems, MySQL can be installed by a single command if not yet present. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-oracle-open-world-2010-2010-07-10/ Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:36:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-oracle-open-world-2010-2010-07-10/ I will be one of 18 MySQL speakers at Oracle Open World 2010 at the first ever https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/optimizing-sql-performance-the-art-of-elimination-2010-07-08/ Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:19:24 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/optimizing-sql-performance-the-art-of-elimination-2010-07-08/ The most efficient performance optimization of a SQL statement is to eliminate it. Cary Millsap’s recent Kaleidoscope presentation again highlighted that improving performance is function of code path. Removing code will improve performance. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-mysql-consultants-do-2010-07-08/ Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:18:41 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-mysql-consultants-do-2010-07-08/ One role of a MySQL consultant is to review an existing production system. Sometimes you have sufficient time and access, and other times you don’t. If I am given a limited time here is a general list of things I look at. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/timing-your-sql-queries-2010-07-07/ Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:48:32 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/timing-your-sql-queries-2010-07-07/ When working interactively with the MySQL client, you receive feedback of the time the query took to complete to a granularity of 10 ms. Enabling profiling is a simple way to get more a more accurate timing of running queries. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-mysql-productivity-from-design-to-implementation-2010-07-01/ Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:18:55 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/improving-mysql-productivity-from-design-to-implementation-2010-07-01/ My closing presentation at the dedicated MySQL track at ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010 discussed various techniques and best practices for improving the ROI of developer resources using MySQL. Included in the sections on Design, Security, Development, Testing, Implementation, Instrumentation and Support were also a number of horror stories of not what to do, combined with practical examples of improving productivity. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-2010-06-28/ Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:38:49 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-idiosyncrasies-that-bite-2010-06-28/ The following are my slides that I presented at ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010 . This presentation talks about the MySQL defaults including a non-transactional state, silent data truncations, date management, and transaction isolation options. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/still-room-at-kaleidoscope-for-mysql-attendees-2010-06-16/ Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:43:00 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/still-room-at-kaleidoscope-for-mysql-attendees-2010-06-16/ Today I received notice that next week’s Velocity conference is at maximum capacity. With just under 2 weeks before the start of ODTUG Kaleidoscope in Washington DC we still have room for late registrations. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/oracle-resources-for-the-mysql-community-2010-06-08/ Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:15:22 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/oracle-resources-for-the-mysql-community-2010-06-08/ While I have spent a lot of time recently helping the MySQL community interact with and integrate with various Oracle User Groups including ODTUG, IOUG, NoCOUG, NYOUG, DAOG I thought I’d share some resources for the MySQL Community that wanted to know more about Oracle. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/when-set-global-affects-session-scope-2010-06-03/ Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:43:24 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/when-set-global-affects-session-scope-2010-06-03/ We have all been caught out with using SET and not realizing that the default GLOBAL Scope (since 5.0.2) does not change the current SESSION scope. I was not aware until today that changing GLOBAL scope has some exceptions that also automatically affect SESSION scope. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/best-practices-additional-user-security-2010-06-03/ Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:12:50 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/best-practices-additional-user-security-2010-06-03/ By default MySQL allows you to create user accounts and privileges with no password. In my earlier MySQL Best Practices: User Security I describe how to address the default installation empty passwords. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/eventually-consistent-group-commit-2010-06-01/ Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:36:53 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/eventually-consistent-group-commit-2010-06-01/ Having just written an interview response about NoSQL concepts for a RDBMS audience it was poetic that an inconspicuous title “(4 of 3)” highlights that both a MySQL read scalable implementation via replication and a NoSQL solution can share a common lack of timely consistency of data. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mk-query-digest-tips-showing-all-hosts-users-2010-06-01/ Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:19:52 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mk-query-digest-tips-showing-all-hosts-users-2010-06-01/ The Maatkit tools provide a suite of additional MySQL commands. There is one command I use constantly and that is mk-query-digest. Unfortunately the documentation does leave a lot to be desired for usability. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/tcpdump-errors-on-freebsd-for-mk-query-digest-2010-05-28/ Fri, 28 May 2010 19:50:39 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/tcpdump-errors-on-freebsd-for-mk-query-digest-2010-05-28/ While I use this tcpdump command for MySQL query analysis with mk-query-digest , I found recently that it didn’t work on FreeBSD $ tcpdump -i bge0 port 3306 -s 65535 -x -n -q -tttt -c 5 tcpdump: syntax error It left me perplexed and reading the man page seemed to indicate my options were valid. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-best-practices-user-security-2010-05-21/ Fri, 21 May 2010 18:36:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-best-practices-user-security-2010-05-21/ It is critical that you do not use the default MySQL installation security, it’s simply insecure. Default Installation When installed, MySQL enables any user with physical permissions to the server to connect to the MySQL via unauthenticated users. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-monitoring-whats-really-needed-2010-05-17/ Mon, 17 May 2010 22:25:55 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-monitoring-whats-really-needed-2010-05-17/ The implementation of MySQL Monitoring is critical for any organization that uses a database and wants to avoid the inevitable disaster. There are 3 important components that all serve a key purpose to “MySQL Monitoring” in general: https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/more-on-understanding-sort_buffer_size-2010-05-10/ Mon, 10 May 2010 21:48:46 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/more-on-understanding-sort_buffer_size-2010-05-10/ There have been a few posts by Sheeri and Baron today on the MySQL sort_buffer_size variable. I wanted to add some more information about this buffer, what is impacted when it is changed, and what to do about it? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/free-mysql-event-in-washington-dc-2010-05-07/ Fri, 07 May 2010 20:21:44 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/free-mysql-event-in-washington-dc-2010-05-07/ As the program chair for the recently announced MySQL Track at the ODTUG Kaleidoscope conference located in Washington DC we are also looking into an associated free community event for MySQL locals in addition to a dedicated track for 4 days. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-mysql-community-impacting-the-oracle-community-2010-05-03/ Mon, 03 May 2010 19:28:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-mysql-community-impacting-the-oracle-community-2010-05-03/ I’m happy to announce that the MySQL community has been given the opportunity to speak at the upcoming Oracle Developer Tools User Group (ODTUG) Kaleidoscope conference in Washington DC. We will be releasing more details this week of the MySQL presentations and topics and we are finalizing details of possible options to include the local MySQL community during the event. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-mysql-documentation-is-not-always-right-2010-04-30/ Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:24:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-mysql-documentation-is-not-always-right-2010-04-30/ Let me premise this post with the statement I think the MySQL documentation is an excellent and highly accurate resource. I think the MySQL docs team do a great job, however like software and people, documentation is not perfect. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-drizzle-census-2010-04-28/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:01:54 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-drizzle-census-2010-04-28/ One thing I have often wondered is just how many MySQL instances exist in the world and what MySQL versions and architectures are in use. We hear of 50,000 windows downloads per day but this is misleading because MySQL is basically bundled with Linux by default or installed from various repositories. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-conference-presentation-2010-04-19/ Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:11:14 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-conference-presentation-2010-04-19/ I have uploaded my three presentations from the 2010 MySQL Users Conference in Santa Clara, California which was my 5th consecutive year appearing as a speaker. IGNITION – MySQLCamp for Oracle DBA – Volume I LIFTOFF – MySQLCamp for Oracle DBA – Volume 2 10x Performance Improvements – A Case Study A full history of my MySQL presentations can be found on the Presenting page. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/state-of-the-dolphin-opening-keynote-2010-04-13/ Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:25:25 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/state-of-the-dolphin-opening-keynote-2010-04-13/ Edward Screven – Chief Corporate Architect of Oracle provided the opening keynote at the 2010 MySQL Users Conference . Overall I was disappointed. The first half was more an Oracle Sales pitch, we had some product announcements, we had some 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-ext4-for-mysql-2010-03-12/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:51:32 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-ext4-for-mysql-2010-03-12/ This week with a client I saw ext4 used for the first time on a production MySQL system which was running Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) . I observe today while installing 9. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-do-i-identify-the-mysql-my-cnf-file-2010-03-09/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:14:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-do-i-identify-the-mysql-my-cnf-file-2010-03-09/ If you are unfamiliar in administrating MySQL, the current MySQL configuration file generally found is named my.cnf (my.ini on windows). Where is that file. If only that question was easy to answer! https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-per-session-buffers-2010-03-08/ Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:24:25 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-per-session-buffers-2010-03-08/ MySQL has a number of global buffers, i.e. your SGA. There are also a number of per session/thread buffers that combined with other memory usage constitutes an unbounded PGA. One of the most common errors in mis-configured MySQL environments is the setting of the 4 primary per session buffers thinking they are global buffers. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/advanced-reporting-options-for-mysql-2010-03-08/ Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:31:54 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/advanced-reporting-options-for-mysql-2010-03-08/ I’m seeking help from the MySQL community for what tools are used today to generate complex reports for enterprise applications that use MySQL. In an Oracle world, you have Oracle Report Writer , in Microsoft Crystal Reports . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-the-process-2010-03-06/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:24:08 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-the-process-2010-03-06/ Having covered the preparation and character set options of performing a latin1 to utf8 MySQL migration, just how do you perform the migration correctly. Example Case Just to recap, we have the following example table and data. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-data-integrity-2010-03-06/ Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:11:09 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-data-integrity-2010-03-06/ MySQL has the same level of data integrity for numbers and strings as Oracle; when MySQL is correctly configured. By default (a reason I wish I knew why it is still the default), MySQL performs silent conversions on boundary conditions of data that will result in your data not always being what is specified. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-to-crash-mysqld-intentionally-2010-03-05/ Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:27:26 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-to-crash-mysqld-intentionally-2010-03-05/ While some may think I’m daft, I have a legitimate reason for wanting to crash mysqld. However first we need to find a way to crash it. Great thanks to Alan K, Mark L, Harrison and Hartmut on #mysql-dev for several suggestions and a config option I was unaware of. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-transactions-2010-03-04/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:01:50 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-transactions-2010-03-04/ MySQL by default is a NON transactional database. For the hobbyist (See The Hobbyist and the Professional ), startup entrepreneur and website developer this may not appear foreign, however to the seasoned Oracle DBA who has only used Oracle the concept is very foreign. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-common-terminology-2010-03-03/ Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:36:04 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-common-terminology-2010-03-03/ In Oracle the default transaction isolation is READ_COMMITTED. In MySQL the default is REPEATABLE_READ. Because MySQL also has READ_COMMITTED I have seen in more then one production MySQL environment a transaction isolation of READ_COMMITTED. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-session-scope-2010-03-02/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:37:05 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-session-scope-2010-03-02/ MySQL system variables and status variables have two scopes. These are GLOBAL and SESSION which are self explanatory. This is important to realize when altering system variables dynamically. The following example does not produce the expected results. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-series-mysql-for-the-oracle-dba-2010-03-02/ Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:10:48 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/dont-assume-series-mysql-for-the-oracle-dba-2010-03-02/ As part of my MySQLCamp for the Oracle DBA series of talks to help the Oracle DBA understand, use and appreciate MySQL I have also developed a series of short interesting posts I have termed “Don’t Assume”. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/edward-screven-oracle-answer-future-of-mysql-2010-02-24/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:17:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/edward-screven-oracle-answer-future-of-mysql-2010-02-24/ For those of you on the O’Reilly MySQL conference list you will no doubt see this email, but for readers here is the important bits. _ Oracle Executive Will Speak at O’Reilly MySQL Conference & Expo https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/ineffective-concatenated-indexes-2010-02-24/ Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:20:12 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/ineffective-concatenated-indexes-2010-02-24/ In MySQL significant performance improvements can be achieved by the correct use of indexes. It is important to understand different MySQL index implementations and one key improvement on indexes defined on single columns is to use multiple column or more commonly known concatenated indexes. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/getting-started-with-cassandra-2010-02-23/ Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:54:35 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/getting-started-with-cassandra-2010-02-23/ With the motivation from today’s public news on Twitter’s move from MySQL to Cassandra , my own skills desire following in-depth discussions at last November’s Open SQL Camp to consider Cassandra and yesterday’s discussion with a new client on persistent key-value store products, today I download installed and configured for the first time. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-correct-approach-to-rolling-mysql-logs-2010-02-22/ Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:55:21 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-correct-approach-to-rolling-mysql-logs-2010-02-22/ I say correct because there are several incorrect approaches to managing MySQL logs. In MySQL you have two important log files, the MySQL error log (configured with –log-error ) and the MySQL slow query log (configured with –log-slow-queries or –slow-query-log and –slow-query-log-file which is available from 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/whats-your-mysql-version-2010-02-22/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:10:36 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/whats-your-mysql-version-2010-02-22/ I’ve heard that the mechanic’s wife always has a car that needs repair or tuneup, the painter’s wife always had walls of peeling paint, you get the picture. What about MySQL DBA’s and their own databases? https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-preparation-2-2010-02-22/ Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:18:53 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-preparation-2-2010-02-22/ Continuing on from preparation in our MySQL latin1 to utf8 migration let us first understand where MySQL uses character sets. MySQL defines the character set at 4 different levels for the structure of data. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/checked-your-mysql-recovery-process-recently-2010-02-15/ Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:34:37 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/checked-your-mysql-recovery-process-recently-2010-02-15/ I sound like a broken record with every client when I talk to about the resilience of their production environments. It’s very simple in theory, however in practice many organizations fail. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-blue-pill-or-the-red-pill-2010-02-14/ Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:48:36 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-blue-pill-or-the-red-pill-2010-02-14/ At the recent FOSDEM 2010 event, I presented in my keynote Dolphins, now and beyond a option which I termed the “Blue Pill” or the “Red Pill”. The following slide produced noticed interest in a packed room, and subsequent conversation. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-preparation-2010-02-11/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:28:59 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/migrating-mysql-latin1-to-utf8-preparation-2010-02-11/ This article is Part 1 of a series of articles regarding MySQL character set conversion. Be sure to also check out character set options and the process for more information. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/beyond-mysql-ga-patches-storage-engines-forks-and-pre-releases-fosdem-2010-2010-02-11/ Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:49:51 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/beyond-mysql-ga-patches-storage-engines-forks-and-pre-releases-fosdem-2010-2010-02-11/ Kristian Nielsen presented “Beyond MySQL GA: patches, storage engines, forks, and pre-releases”. This included a history of current products: Google Patches (5.0 & 5.1) included improvements in : statistics/monitoring lock contention binlog malloc() filesorts innodb I/O and wait statistics SHOW …STATISTICS statements smp scalability I/O scalability semisync replication many more Percona Patches (5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/multi-master-manager-for-mysql-fosdem-2010-2010-02-07/ Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:21:39 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/multi-master-manager-for-mysql-fosdem-2010-2010-02-07/ The next presentation by Piotr Biel from Percona was on Multi-Master Manager for MySQL. The introduction included a discussion of the popular MySQL HA solutions including: MySQL Master-slave replication with failover MMM managed bi-directional replication Heartbeat/SAN Heartbeat/DRBD NDB Cluster A key problem that was clarified in the talk is the discussion of Multi-Master and this IS NOT master-master. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/10x-performance-improvements-in-mysql-a-case-study-2010-02-07/ Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:36:34 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/10x-performance-improvements-in-mysql-a-case-study-2010-02-07/ The slides for my presentation at FOSDEM 2010 are now available online at slideshare . In this presentation I describe a successful client implementation with the result of 10x performance improvements. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/state-of-phpmyadmin-fosdem-2010-2010-02-07/ Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:30:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/state-of-phpmyadmin-fosdem-2010-2010-02-07/ Following the opening keynote “Dolphins, now and beyond”, Marc Delisle presented on “State of phpMyAdmin”. phpMyAdmin is an DBA administration tool for MySQL available today in 57 different languages. This is found today in many distributions, LAMP stack products and also in cpanel. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/be-sure-to-know-your-my-cnf-sections-2010-01-26/ Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:23:13 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/be-sure-to-know-your-my-cnf-sections-2010-01-26/ The MySQL configuration file, e.g. /etc/my.cnf has a number of different section headings including [mysql], [mysqld], [mysqld_safe]. It is important that you ensure you put the right variables into the right section. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-mysql-uc-2010-2010-01-20/ Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:10:44 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/speaking-at-mysql-uc-2010-2010-01-20/ My talk on 10x performance improvements – A case study has just been approved for the <a href="2010 MySQL Conference . This will be my 5th straight year speaking at the MySQL conferences. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/europe-conference-options-for-mysql-developers-2010-01-04/ Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:00:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/europe-conference-options-for-mysql-developers-2010-01-04/ For those in the US the annual MySQL UC is taking place again in April. For those in Europe we have dedicated room for MySQL and MySQL related products/variants/branches at FOSDEM 2010 being held in Brussels, Belgium on 6-7 Feb. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-the-right-mysql-slow-queries-2009-12-23/ Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:06:14 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-the-right-mysql-slow-queries-2009-12-23/ When looking at a set of SQL statements in isolation with tools such as the slow query log, processlist and tcpdump/mk-query-digest it is easy to identify queries that are slow. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-mysql-staff-think-of-the-acquisition-2009-12-21/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:51:02 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-mysql-staff-think-of-the-acquisition-2009-12-21/ It finally dawned on me while reflecting on the year past this Sunday that the missing voice since the announcement of the Oracle acquisition of Sun Microsystems (and therefore MySQL) has been the MySQL employees. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-installing-mysql-rpm-versions-2009-12-16/ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:34:38 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-installing-mysql-rpm-versions-2009-12-16/ I have a problem with an easy way to install MySQL via rpm without resorting to specifying the exact point release of MySQL. Presently my local yum repository has versions of 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-oracle-eu-statement-whats-missing-2009-12-15/ Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:43:02 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/the-oracle-eu-statement-whats-missing-2009-12-15/ Many providers embedd MySQL with their commercial products including Adobe, Macfee, Nokia, Symantec and ScienceLogic just to name a few. In addition most commercial third party storage engines have for years been forced to provided very customized versions of MySQL due to limitations in the storage engine API. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/couldnt-load-plugin-named-innodb-2009-12-12/ Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:00:18 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/couldnt-load-plugin-named-innodb-2009-12-12/ As part of reviewing storage engines for my work on the upcoming Expert PHP and MySQL book, I finally had an excuse to try out the InnoDB Plugin for MySQL which is now conveniently included with MySQL 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/is-your-database-schema-in-sync-2009-11-25/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:04:57 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/is-your-database-schema-in-sync-2009-11-25/ If you have more then a single MySQL database for your production environment, e.g. a development and test environment, or a MySQL replication topology, ensuring your schema’s are in sync can be task that requires some time if not managed correctly. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-with-monyog-2009-11-25/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:52:34 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-with-monyog-2009-11-25/ It just works. In absence of any MySQL monitoring for your site, I have found no solution that gets you operational as quickly and easily. MONyog can be deployed in 60 seconds, and configured in another 60 seconds. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-permissions-restarting-mysql-2009-11-19/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:10:34 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-permissions-restarting-mysql-2009-11-19/ I am working with a client that is using managed hosting on dedicated servers. This has presented new challenges in obtaining the right permissions to undertake MySQL tasks but not have either ‘root’ or ‘mysql’ access and not have to involve a third party everytime. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-resource-limits-2009-10-27/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:06:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-resource-limits-2009-10-27/ I have for the first time seen a client implement MySQL Resource Limits . I got the following error tying to connect to the database. $ mysql -udba -p ERROR 1226 (42000): User 'dba' has exceeded the 'max_user_connections' resource (current value: 10) I see from the documentation the ability to see the limits in the mysql. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/take-a-look-at-mk-query-digest-2009-10-08/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:49:44 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/take-a-look-at-mk-query-digest-2009-10-08/ Q: What SQL is running on your MySQL database server now? A: The bane of pain for MySQL DBA’s when there is no official MySQL instrumentation that is dynamic and fine grained sufficiently to solve this problem at the SQL interface. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/looking-just-at-the-data-2009-10-07/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:35:38 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/looking-just-at-the-data-2009-10-07/ There are many areas you need to review when addressing MySQL performance such as current database load, executed SQL statements, connections, configuration parameters, memory usage, disk to memory ratio, hardware performance & bottlenecks just to name a few. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-alert-monitoring-do-you-use-2009-10-07/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:14:05 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-alert-monitoring-do-you-use-2009-10-07/ More importantly, how often to you confirm access to your server and database with that alert monitoring? With a client yesterday the primary database server while still usable and serving connections for a while, but was not accessible via SSH to investigate performance issues. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/nosql-options-2009-10-06/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:53:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/nosql-options-2009-10-06/ The NoSQL event in New York had a number of presentations on non relational technologies including of Hadoop , MongoDB and CouchDB . Coming historically from a relational background of 20 years with Ingres , Oracle and MySQL I have been moving my focus towards non relational data store. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexplained-function-output-2009-09-28/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:39:49 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/unexplained-function-output-2009-09-28/ I was asked today to confirm the operation of INET_ATON() and INET_NTOA() functions for converting IP4 strings to numeric representations. My tests on the machine I was just connected to at the very instant reported the following results. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-query-cache-path-2009-09-28/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:34:53 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-query-cache-path-2009-09-28/ Just how effective is the Query Cache on performance? If you are not comfortable reading the MySQL code you can cheat very easily with the SHOW PROFILE command. This demonstration will show you at a high level the relative impact without and with the Query Cache. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-the-mysql-query-cache-effectively-2009-09-28/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:10:53 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/using-the-mysql-query-cache-effectively-2009-09-28/ Maximize your strengths, minimize your weaknesses. You can apply this approach to many things in life, I apply it to describing and using MySQL the product, and it’s components. The Query Cache like many features in MySQL, and indeed features in many different RDBMS products (don’t get me started on Oracle *features*) have relative benefits. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/explain-an-essential-tool-for-mysql-developers-2009-09-26/ Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:46:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/explain-an-essential-tool-for-mysql-developers-2009-09-26/ Just recently I came across the presentation “Bend SQL to your will with EXPLAIN” by Ligaya Turmelle via the Linked In – MySQL Speakers and Presenters group. Slides available at Slideshare . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/calculating-your-database-size-2009-09-25/ Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:06:15 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/calculating-your-database-size-2009-09-25/ I generally use the following MySQL INFORMATION_SCHEMA (I_S) query to Calculate Your MySQL Database Size . This query and most others that access the MySQL INFORMATION_SCHEMA can be very slow to execute because they are not real tables and are not governed by physical data, memory buffers and indexes for example but rather internal MySQL data structures. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-mysql-innodb-transaction-isolation-2009-09-24/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:33:04 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-mysql-innodb-transaction-isolation-2009-09-24/ The MySQL Innodb storage engine provides ACID compliance, the ‘I’ being isolation. There are four states defined in MySQL with the tx_isolation system variable, READ-UNCOMMITTED, READ-COMMITTED, REPEATABLE-READ and SERIALIZABLE. Generally MySQL installations do not modify the default value of tx_isolation = REPEATABLE-READ, however I have seen with a number of clients the default value has been changed to READ-COMMITTED. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-select-into-dumpfile-2009-09-19/ Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:45:32 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-select-into-dumpfile-2009-09-19/ While learning a new ORDER BY syntax recently, as a diligent architect/DBA I reviewed the documentation. What I also found in the SELECT syntax which I did not also know was the keyword DUMPFILE. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/my-favorite-data-type-decimal310-2009-09-18/ Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:53:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/my-favorite-data-type-decimal310-2009-09-18/ It may seem hard to believe, but I have seen DECIMAL(31,0) in action on a production server. Not just in one column, but in 15 columns just in the largest 4 tables of one schema. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-show-privileges-2009-09-18/ Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:39:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-show-privileges-2009-09-18/ Some days you learn about MySQL commands even without knowing about them. Today I wanted to check the privileges a user had because they did not have permissions to drop a view. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/getting-started-with-drizzle-jdbc-2009-09-17/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:19:35 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/getting-started-with-drizzle-jdbc-2009-09-17/ In preparation for some Java work I wanted to configure and test the Drizzle JDBC Driver. Any chance to swing Drizzle into a MySQL discussion is worth the research. What I found was an issue compiling and an issue running on Ubuntu 9. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/engine-agnostic-mysql-test-cases-2009-09-17/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:50:06 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/engine-agnostic-mysql-test-cases-2009-09-17/ Mark writes Now we all need the storage-engine independent test suite . I could not agree more. I have made comments about this probably as early as 4 years ago, and both before and while working for MySQL Inc. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-do-i-create-a-simple-mysql-database-2009-09-17/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:49:31 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/how-do-i-create-a-simple-mysql-database-2009-09-17/ I was asked this question recently “I am wanting to create a simple MySQL database consisting of 5 tables”? While it’s easy to tell people to RTFM, the question does warrant an answer for the MySQL beginner to provide a more specific guidance as to where to start, and what to do. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/find-storage-engine-of-mysql-table-2009-09-17/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:14:22 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/find-storage-engine-of-mysql-table-2009-09-17/ This seems quite a trivial question, but developers don’t often know what a MySQL storage engine is and how to determine what storage engine is used for a table. The first choice is to describe the table with the DESC[RIBE] command. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-the-error-log-2009-09-16/ Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:03:50 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-mysql-the-error-log-2009-09-16/ It is important that you monitor the MySQL error log. There are a few different options available for defining the details of the log. If not specified the default is [datadir]/[hostname]. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/explain-this-2009-09-14/ Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:12:45 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/explain-this-2009-09-14/ The EXPLAIN command is an important tool to review how a SQL query is executed and in this example includes what indexes are used. By adding a covering index I ended up with the following EXPLAIN plan I was unable to explain. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-replication-102-2009-09-14/ Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:40:09 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-replication-102-2009-09-14/ One of the most asked questions is how to setup MySQL replication. The MySQL Reference Manual provides a good Replication How To as a starting guide on MySQL Replication 101. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/where-can-you-find-mysql-events-2009-09-10/ Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:54:03 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/where-can-you-find-mysql-events-2009-09-10/ As a frequent traveler for my MySQL consulting (last 4 weeks were Sydney, San Francisco, New York and Vancouver), I like to keep abreast of any local tech event that includes MySQL that I may be able to attend. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql_information_schema-table_rows-out-by-a-factor-of-100x-2009-09-09/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:21:41 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql_information_schema-table_rows-out-by-a-factor-of-100x-2009-09-09/ I’ve always believed that the MySQL Information_schema.tables.table_rows figure for Innodb tables to be while approximate, approximately accurate. Today I found that the figures varied on one table from 10x to 100x wrong. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-dml-stats-per-table-2009-09-09/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:55:25 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-dml-stats-per-table-2009-09-09/ MySQL provides a level of statistics for your INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, REPLACE Data Manipulation Language (DML) commands using the STATUS output of various Com_ variables, however it is per server stats. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-you-monitori-in-mysql-2009-09-03/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:45:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/what-do-you-monitori-in-mysql-2009-09-03/ If you are unfamiliar with what to monitor in MySQL, starting with looking at what popular Monitoring products monitor. For example, the following is the list of MySQL Cacti Plugin measurements. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql-analysis-with-mysql-proxy-part-2-2009-09-03/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:31:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql-analysis-with-mysql-proxy-part-2-2009-09-03/ As I outlined in Part 1 MySQL Proxy can be one tool for performing SQL analysis. The impact with any monitoring is the art of monitoring will affect the results, in this case the performance. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql-query-analysis-with-mysql-proxy-2009-09-02/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:34:10 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/sql-query-analysis-with-mysql-proxy-2009-09-02/ Long before there was the official Query Analyzer (QUAN), a component of MySQL Enterprise, SQL analysis was possible using MySQL Proxy . The following is an introduction to logging and query analysis with MySQL Proxy. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/seeking-public-data-for-benchmarks-2009-08-28/ Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:05:29 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/seeking-public-data-for-benchmarks-2009-08-28/ I have several side projects when time permits and one is that of benchmarking various MySQL technologies (e.g. MySQL 5.0,5.1,5.4), variants (e.g. MariaDB, Drizzle) and storage engines (e.g. Tokutek, Innodb plugin) and even other products like Tokyo Cabinet which is gaining large implementations. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/we-need-more-cats-2009-08-22/ Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:44:11 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/we-need-more-cats-2009-08-22/ Before you think I’ve posted an animal story in my MySQL category please read on. For reference, The RAT and the CAT is something I wrote back in 2006, that explains the CAT part. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-documentation-indexes-2009-08-21/ Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:00:52 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/mysql-documentation-indexes-2009-08-21/ Updated If your wanting to know more about MySQL Indexes on tables, then check out Understanding Different MySQL Index Implementations . I just discovered today in the MySQL 5.1 Reference Manual a handy set of additional indexes in the System Navigation section. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/have-you-checked-your-mysql-error-log-today-2009-08-20/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:25:47 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/have-you-checked-your-mysql-error-log-today-2009-08-20/ As a consultant I would be rich if I made money every time when asking “Have you checked the MySQL error log?” Today’s special found in a 13GB MySQL server error log. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/setting-up-sysbench-with-mysql-drizzle-2009-07-23/ Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:47:16 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/setting-up-sysbench-with-mysql-drizzle-2009-07-23/ Sysbench is a open source product that enables you to perform various system benchmarks including databases. Drizzles performs regression testing of every trunk revision with a branched version of sysbench within Drizzle Automation . https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/configure-error-mysql_config-executable-not-found-2009-07-23/ Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:56:15 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/configure-error-mysql_config-executable-not-found-2009-07-23/ If your compiling a product that includes a dependency of MySQL, you can easily get the error configure: error: mysql_config executable not found I generally don’t see this problem, because I use MySQL binary tar files, however if you use MySQL packages, such as Ubuntu, you can easily miss the required dependency. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-different-mysql-index-implementations-2009-07-22/ Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:37:20 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-different-mysql-index-implementations-2009-07-22/ It is important to know and understand that while indexing columns in MySQL will generally improve performance, using the appropriate type of index can make a greater impact on performance. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/whats-new-in-mysql-541-2009-07-16/ Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:56:19 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/whats-new-in-mysql-541-2009-07-16/ Absolutely nothing? 5.4.0 was released with a change in the MySQL Binary distributions , delivering only 1 64bit Linux platform and two Sun Solaris platforms. This was officially announced on April 21 2009 however the 5. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/never-let-your-binlog-directory-fill-up-2009-07-15/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:51:08 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/never-let-your-binlog-directory-fill-up-2009-07-15/ Recently with a client while running a number of disaster recovery tests I came across a nasty situation which was not part of the original plan and provided a far worse disaster situation then expected. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-innodb-mvcc-2009-07-15/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:24:56 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/understanding-innodb-mvcc-2009-07-15/ Multi versioning concurrency control (MVCC) is a database design theory that enables relational databases to support concurrency, or more simply multiple user access to common data in your database. In MySQL the InnoDB storage engine provides MVCC, row-level locking, full ACID compliance as well as other features. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/killing-my-softly-with-query-2009-07-12/ Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:34:30 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/killing-my-softly-with-query-2009-07-12/ The MySQL KILL command as the name suggests kills queries that are running. After identifying the Id using the SHOW PROCESSLIST command, the User of the connection/thread or a database user with SUPER privileges can execute KILL [id]; to remove the connection/thread. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/percona-performance-conference-talk-2009-04-23/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:50:28 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/percona-performance-conference-talk-2009-04-23/ My final presentation during the 2009 MySQL Conference and Expo week was with the Percona Performance Conference on the topic of The Ideal Performance Architecture. My talk included discussions on Technology, Disk, Memory, Indexes, SQL and Data. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/extending-the-mysql-data-landscape-2009-01-26/ Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:43:48 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/extending-the-mysql-data-landscape-2009-01-26/ Learn how to extend your existing MySQL based website to leverage the power of MySQL variants, AWS cloud based MySQL deployments and RDBMS alternatives. Evaluate how to integrate and use these different various technologies such as MySQL based variations KickFire, a column based optimization and InfoBright, a data warehousing solution. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/a-51-qep-nicety-using-join-buffer-2008-08-27/ Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:56:23 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/a-51-qep-nicety-using-join-buffer-2008-08-27/ I was surprised to find yesterday when using MySQL 5.1.26-rc with a client I’m recommending 5.1 to, some information not seen in the EXPLAIN plan before while reviewing SQL Statements. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/drizzle-has-its-own-dedicated-feeds-2008-08-17/ Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:38:14 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/drizzle-has-its-own-dedicated-feeds-2008-08-17/ For those that have been using Planet MySQL to follow the progress of Drizzle , we now have our own Planet Drizzle . You can also get a RSS feed directly from http://feeds. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-101-2008-02-17/ Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:17:40 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/monitoring-101-2008-02-17/ The problem Hands up those that don’t monitor their production MySQL web server. I’m a little surprised by this, but I’ve visited several clients that have absolutely no monitoring other then “the customers will tell us when something is wrong”. https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/ultimatelamp-2006-05-19/ Sat, 20 May 2006 07:19:18 +0000 https://ronaldbradford.com/blog/ultimatelamp-2006-05-19/ This product is no longer available. This was created over 6 years ago and software is too out of date. As I discussed earlier in [A picture can tell a thousand words][1], I outlined briefly what the intention of **UltimateLAMP** was for.