MySQL

Overview

MySQL exposes comprehensive metrics through its performance schema and status variables that can be collected using the OpenTelemetry Collector's MySQL receiver. This integration provides deep visibility into database performance, connection management, buffer pool efficiency, and resource utilization.

Prerequisites

Before setting up MySQL monitoring, ensure:

• MySQL is running and accessible
• You have administrative credentials to create a monitoring user
• The Performance Schema is enabled (enabled by default in MySQL 5.6+)
• OpenTelemetry Collector is deployed in your environment using the OpenTelemetry Collector Contrib distribution.

Create Monitoring User

For security best practices, create a dedicated monitoring user with the minimum required privileges.

Connect to your MySQL database and run:

The required grants are:

• SELECT: Access to performance schema tables
• PROCESS: View running processes and threads
• REPLICATION CLIENT: Monitor replication status

Verify Performance Schema

Ensure the Performance Schema is enabled (it's enabled by default in MySQL 5.6+):

If it's disabled, enable it by adding this to your my.cnf:

Collector Configuration

The OpenTelemetry Collector uses the MySQL receiver to collect metrics from MySQL's performance schema and status variables. Add the following configuration to your OpenTelemetry collector:

Configuration Options

• endpoint: MySQL server hostname and port (format: host:port)
• username: MySQL user for monitoring
• password: Password for the monitoring user (use environment variables for security)
• collection_interval: How often to collect metrics (default: 10s)
• initial_delay: Delay before first collection (default: 1s)
• statement_events: Configuration for collecting query performance data from Performance Schema
  • digest_text_limit: Maximum length of query text to collect
  • time_limit: How far back to look for query data
  • limit: Maximum number of queries to track

For more configuration options, see the MySQL receiver documentation.

Environment Variables

Configure the following environment variable for the collector:

Collector Deployment

Deploy the OpenTelemetry Collector with the MySQL receiver configuration. For detailed deployment instructions, see our other integrations for deploying the OpenTelemetry Collector:

• OpenTelemetry Operator for Kubernetes

• Helm Chart for The OpenTelemetry Collector

Verification

After configuring the collector, verify that metrics are being collected:

1. Check the collector logs for successful connections to MySQL
2. Navigate to the Metrics Explorer in Dash0
3. Search for metrics with prefix mysql.*
4. Confirm key metrics are visible:
   • mysql.uptime (server uptime in seconds)
   • mysql.threads (connection and thread counts)
   • mysql.connections (connection metrics)
   • mysql.buffer_pool.usage (InnoDB buffer pool usage)
   • mysql.operations (database operations rate)

References

• OpenTelemetry MySQL Receiver Documentation
• MySQL Performance Schema
• MySQL Monitoring Best Practices
• MySQL InnoDB Buffer Pool