If you want to create a new application, test it, and deploy it on the cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provides an always-free tier for compute instances and MySQL HeatWave instances (and more). If you are a developer, it can also be complicated to start deploying to the cloud, as you need to figure out the […]

MySQL replication has been around forever, and yet… people still manage to set it up in ways that break at the worst possible moment. Even in 2025, you can get burned by tiny schema differences, missing primary keys, or one forgotten config flag. I’ve seen replicas drift so far out of sync they might as well live in a different universe.

This guide covers the practical best practices—the stuff real DBAs use every day to keep replication stable, predictable, and boring. (Boring is a compliment in database land.)

Always Use GTIDs. Yes, Always.

GTID-based replication is one of those features that people resist turning on, and then once they do, they never want to go back.

Why GTIDs?

• Failover become sane
• Reparenting replicas stops being a headache
• Missing transactions are easy to detect

Your my.cnf should absolutely include:

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Reflecting on my MySQL journey, I realize that a few foundational topics completely changed how I understand and use databases. These topics—primary and foreign keys, JOINs, and indexes—form the heart of the MySQL Basics series. Each one felt like a major breakthrough when I first learned it. Writing about them helped me rediscover that excitement […]

Since 2024, MySQL and ODBMs.org have embarked on a collaboration to produce insightful articles that cater to the needs of data professionals. This partnership has yielded an impressive portfolio of 15 published articles covering a diverse range of topics, marking a significant success in bridging knowledge between the MySQL Community and ODBMs.org. ODBMs.org has established […]

Executive Summary AI applications rely on vector embeddings to power search and recommendations, but these data-rich vectors introduce new security and privacy risks. This blog explains the main threats to AI embeddings, how attacks can occur, and proven strategies for protecting vector data with MySQL—covering secure storage, access controls, encryption, auditing, and compliance best practices. […]

Where We Are We can all agree that the MySQL ecosystem isn’t in great shape right now. Take a look at Julia’s blog post [Analyzing the Heartbeat of the MySQL Server: A Look at Repository Statistics], which confirms what many of us have felt: Oracle isn’t as committed to MySQL and its ecosystem as it […]

This is a MySQL Blog, why am I posting about Slack, Feed Readers, RSS and Atom ?  Because blog aggregators, which are usually consumed on their RSS or Atom interface via a Feed Reader, are an important knowledge sharing tool in the MySQL Community (and in other communities, see Valkey below).  I know some people are using Slack as their Feed Reader, and I recently realized Slack is

At Percona, our mission has always been to help you succeed with open source databases. We do that by listening to the community, understanding the challenges you face, and building the solutions you need. Now, after a comprehensive review of market trends and direct feedback from our customers and the MySQL community, we are excited […]

The MySQL database server is a foundational component of the open-source world. While its impact is undeniable, looking at the raw statistics of its core source code repository reveals a dynamic and sometimes surprising development history. By analyzing the total lines of code inserted, the number of commits over the years, and unique contributors, we […]

When I first got into woodworking, my mentor shared a piece of advice that has stuck with me ever since: “Use the right tool for the job.” You wouldn’t reach for a belt sander to flatten a board when a planer can accomplish the task faster, cleaner, and with far better results.

The same principle applies in the world of database engineering. When working with MySQL or Percona Server, choosing the correct tool can be the difference between efficient diagnostics and unnecessary downtime.

In this post, I’ll highlight several of the most practical and commonly used utilities from the Percona Toolkit. While the toolkit includes many powerful commands, I’ll focus on the ones that provide the most value in day-to-day operations, troubleshooting, and gathering actionable details for support cases.

PT Summary

A Percona Toolkit utility that provides a concise, high-level overview of a system’s hardware, OS …