MySQL Adds Query Analyzer Tool to Lineup to Improve Database Performance

Sun Microsystems is offering MySQL customers a free tool to enhance and monitor database query performance as part of its MySQL Enterprise subscription service.

Sun’s new MySQL Query Analyzer is a new addition to MySQL's lineup. Integrated into the MySQL Enterprise Monitor application, the query analyzer is meant to help designers and database administrators find any problematic SQL code hurting performance.

To accomplish this, the tool leverages MySQL’s proxy technology to extend the Service Agent to listen on a user-defined port for application queries. It then collects the SQL code and performance metrics and reports the results back to the Service Manager. Doing all this without the tool would require visiting each MySQL server, pulling out the data and analyzing it in a much more manual process. 

“This takes a lot of time,” said Robert Young, senior product manager for MySQL Enterprise. “With our new tool, we can allow people to do that very same operation in about two minutes as opposed to two days or two weeks.”

The product offers a consolidated view into query execution counts and runtime across all MySQL servers with no dependence on MySQL logs or show processlist. Queries can be searched and sorted in a number of ways, including by content, server, type or data and time.

The worst performing queries are presented will full drill down details, including execution time and the originating session, thread and user ID, so the user can identify what variable combinations are leading to performance problems.

"The new MySQL Query Analyzer gives us a better level of visibility into our database performance that we have never had before," said Phil Hildebrand, senior DBA at thePlatform, a subsidiary of Comcast Interactive Media, in a statement. "Not only does it save us both time and resources, it allows us to be far better prepared when these applications go live, understanding exactly the demands that will be placed on the system."

The new version of the MySQL Enterprise subscription service will be commercially available within 30 days. Thirty-day trial subscriptions for the service are now available free-of-charge.