Question 1

How do I monitor multiple MySQL servers with one mysqld_exporter?

Accepted Answer

Use the multi-target support by sending HTTP requests to /probe?target=dsn and configure Prometheus with relabeling rules. Credentials can be managed via a config.my-cnf file with different sections, referenced using the auth_module parameter.

Question 2

What's the difference between mysqld_exporter and Percona Monitoring Plugins?

Accepted Answer

mysqld_exporter is designed for Prometheus integration with a pull-based model and standardized metrics, while Percona Plugins often use push-based methods or custom outputs. mysqld_exporter excels in cloud-native stacks, but Percona might offer more MySQL-specific tuning options.

Question 3

How to enable only specific collectors in mysqld_exporter?

Accepted Answer

Use the collect[] parameter in Prometheus scrape config or command-line flags like --collect.global_status. The README provides a full table of collectors, allowing selective enabling to reduce scrape load and focus on relevant metrics.

Question 4

Does mysqld_exporter support SSL/TLS for database connections?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can configure SSL by adding ssl-ca, ssl-key, and ssl-cert options to the .my.cnf file, as detailed in the 'Customizing Configuration for a SSL Connection' section. This ensures secure connections to MySQL servers.

Question 5

How to deploy mysqld_exporter with Docker securely?

Accepted Answer

Use the official prom/mysqld-exporter image, mount a .my.cnf file with database credentials, and set network policies. For endpoint security, configure TLS and basic authentication via the web.config.file parameter.

Question 6

What metrics are collected by default in mysqld_exporter?

Accepted Answer

Default collectors include global_status, global_variables, and slave_status, providing core performance and replication metrics. You can verify this in the collector flags table, where these are marked as enabled by default.

MySQL server exporter

What is MySQL server exporter?

Overview

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