[PLUG] Tuning MySQL

[Paul Heinlein]

We recently deployed a new set of (contractor-built) web apps at work
that use MySQL as the backing store. According to top, mysqld is using
about 75% of the cpu on our web server, a uniprocessor Sun V120
running Solaris 9.

That seems high to me, and vmstat/iostat indicate that most of the
work is cpu-bound, not i/o stuff.

If I were to start looking for mysqld options to tweak, what SHOW
STATUS variables are likely to provide good clues? I haven't done any
performance tuning with mysql, so don't feel bashful about making
suggestions that would seem obvious to anyone with a clue. :-)

--Paul Heinlein <heinlein at madboa.com>