--- title: "Set up Amazon RDS for MySQL | Database Observability documentation" description: "Set up Database Observability for Amazon RDS for MySQL using Grafana Alloy and send telemetry to Grafana Cloud." --- # Set up Amazon RDS for MySQL Set up Database Observability with Grafana Cloud to collect telemetry from Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for MySQL instances using Grafana Alloy. You configure your Amazon RDS instance and Alloy to forward telemetry to Grafana Cloud. ## What you’ll achieve In this article, you: - Configure Amazon RDS for MySQL parameter groups for monitoring. - Create monitoring users with required privileges. - Configure Alloy with the Database Observability components. - Forward telemetry to Grafana Cloud. ## Before you begin Review these requirements: - Amazon RDS for MySQL 8.0 or later. - Access to modify Amazon RDS parameter groups. - Grafana Alloy deployed and accessible to your Amazon RDS instance. - Network connectivity between Alloy and your Amazon RDS instance endpoint. For general MySQL setup concepts, refer to [Set up MySQL](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/set-up/mysql/). > Note > > Alloy should connect directly to the database host. Avoid connecting Alloy to the database through a load balancer or connection pooler as it would limit Alloy’s ability to collect accurate telemetry. ## Configure the DB parameter group Enable Performance Schema and related instrumentation by configuring your RDS MySQL parameter group. These parameters require an instance restart to take effect. ### Required parameters Expand table | Parameter | Value | Notes | |------------------------------------------|--------|------------------| | `performance_schema` | `1` | Requires restart | | `performance_schema_max_digest_length` | `4096` | Requires restart | | `performance_schema_max_sql_text_length` | `4096` | Requires restart | | `max_digest_length` | `4096` | Requires restart | ### Use the Amazon RDS console 1. Open the **RDS Console** and navigate to **Parameter groups**. 2. Create a new parameter group or modify an existing one with family `mysql8.0`. 3. Set the parameters listed above. 4. Apply the parameter group to your RDS instance. 5. Reboot the instance to apply changes. For detailed console instructions, refer to [Working with parameter groups](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_WorkingWithParamGroups.html) in the AWS documentation. ### Use Terraform Using Terraform with `aws_db_parameter_group`: hcl ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```hcl resource "aws_db_parameter_group" "rds_mysql_monitoring" { name = "-monitoring-params" family = "mysql8.0" parameter { name = "performance_schema" value = "1" apply_method = "pending-reboot" } parameter { name = "performance_schema_max_digest_length" value = "4096" apply_method = "pending-reboot" } parameter { name = "performance_schema_max_sql_text_length" value = "4096" apply_method = "pending-reboot" } parameter { name = "max_digest_length" value = "4096" apply_method = "pending-reboot" } } ``` Replace *<INSTANCE\_NAME>* with your RDS instance name. After applying the parameter group to your instance, restart the instance for the changes to take effect. ## Create a monitoring user and grant required privileges Connect to your RDS MySQL instance and create the monitoring user: Create the `db-o11y` user and grant base privileges: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql CREATE USER 'db-o11y'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY ''; GRANT PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* TO 'db-o11y'@'%'; GRANT SELECT ON performance_schema.* TO 'db-o11y'@'%'; ``` Replace *<DB\_O11Y\_PASSWORD>* with a secure password for the `db-o11y` MySQL user. ## Disable tracking of monitoring user queries Prevent tracking of queries executed by the monitoring user itself: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql UPDATE performance_schema.setup_actors SET ENABLED = 'NO', HISTORY = 'NO' WHERE USER = 'db-o11y'; ``` ## Grant object privileges for detailed data Grant access to specific schemas when you want detailed information: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql GRANT SELECT, SHOW VIEW ON .* TO 'db-o11y'@'%'; ``` Replace *<SCHEMA\_NAME>* with the name of the schema you want to monitor. Alternatively, if you’re unsure which specific schemas need access, grant broader read access to all schemas: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql GRANT SELECT, SHOW VIEW ON *.* TO 'db-o11y'@'%'; ``` ## Grant privileges to auto-enable consumers Grant update privileges for `Performance Schema` consumers if you want Alloy to auto-enable them: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql GRANT UPDATE ON performance_schema.setup_consumers TO 'db-o11y'@'%'; ``` Then, enable the Alloy option `allow_update_performance_schema_settings` as described in the [reference](/docs/alloy/latest/reference/components/database_observability/database_observability.mysql/#arguments) documentation of the `database_observability.mysql` component. Alternatively, enable consumers manually as described in the Set up MySQL guide. ## Verify user privileges Verify that the user exists and has the expected privileges: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql SHOW GRANTS FOR 'db-o11y'@'%'; ``` Expected output: ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```none +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Grants for db-o11y@% | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | GRANT PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* TO `db-o11y`@`%` | | GRANT SELECT, SHOW VIEW ON *.* TO `db-o11y`@`%` | | GRANT SELECT ON `performance_schema`.* TO `db-o11y`@`%` | | GRANT INSERT, UPDATE ON `performance_schema`.`setup_actors` TO `db-o11y`@`%` | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ``` ## Verify parameter group settings Verify that the settings were applied correctly: SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'performance_schema'; ``` Expected result: Value is `ON`. SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'performance_schema_max_digest_length'; ``` Expected result: Value is `4096`. SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'performance_schema_max_sql_text_length'; ``` Expected result: Value is `4096`. SQL ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sql SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'max_digest_length'; ``` Expected result: Value is `4096`. ## Run and configure Alloy Run Alloy and add the Database Observability configuration for your RDS instance. ### Run the latest Alloy version Alloy `1.16.0` or later is required for Database Observability. Find the latest stable version on [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/grafana/alloy/tags). To update, refer to the [Alloy release notes](https://github.com/grafana/alloy/releases). ### Add the RDS MySQL configuration blocks Add these blocks to Alloy for RDS MySQL. Replace *<DB\_NAME>*. Create a `local.file` with the Data Source Name string, for example, `:@tcp(:)/`: Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy local.file "mysql_secret_" { filename = "/var/lib/alloy/mysql_secret_" is_secret = true } prometheus.exporter.mysql "mysql_" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_secret_.content enable_collectors = ["perf_schema.eventsstatements"] perf_schema.eventsstatements { limit = 100 text_limit = 0 } } database_observability.mysql "mysql_" { data_source_name = local.file.mysql_secret_.content forward_to = [loki.relabel.database_observability_mysql_.receiver] targets = prometheus.exporter.mysql.mysql_.targets cloud_provider { aws { arn = "" } } } loki.relabel "database_observability_mysql_" { forward_to = [loki.write.logs_service.receiver] // OPTIONAL: add any additional relabeling rules // (must be consistent with rules in "discovery.relabel") rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "" } } discovery.relabel "database_observability_mysql_" { targets = database_observability.mysql.mysql_.targets rule { target_label = "job" replacement = "integrations/db-o11y" } // OPTIONAL: add any additional relabeling rules // (must be consistent with rules in "loki.relabel") // OPTIONAL: relabel `instance` to `dsn` before overwriting `instance`; // the `dsn` label is used in the integration with the knowledge graph rule { source_labels = ["instance"] target_label = "dsn" } rule { target_label = "instance" replacement = "" } } prometheus.scrape "database_observability_mysql_" { targets = discovery.relabel.database_observability_mysql_.output forward_to = [prometheus.remote_write.metrics_service.receiver] } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `DB_NAME`: Database name Alloy uses in component identifiers (appears in component names and secret filenames). - `AWS_RDS_INSTANCE_ARN`: AWS RDS instance ARN for cloud provider integration. - `INSTANCE_LABEL`: Value that sets the `instance` label on logs and metrics (optional). - Secret file content DSN example: `DB_USER:DB_PASSWORD@tcp(INSTANCE_ENDPOINT:DB_PORT)/`. - `DB_USER`: Database user Alloy uses to connect (for example, `db-o11y`). - `DB_PASSWORD`: Password for the database user. - `INSTANCE_ENDPOINT`: RDS instance endpoint hostname. - `DB_PORT`: Database port number (default: `3306`). Find more about the options supported by the `database_observability.mysql` component in the [reference](/docs/grafana-cloud/send-data/alloy/reference/components/database_observability/database_observability.mysql/) documentation. ### Add Prometheus and Loki write configuration Add the Prometheus remote write and Loki write configuration. From Grafana Cloud, open your stack to get the URLs and generate API tokens: Alloy ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```alloy prometheus.remote_write "metrics_service" { endpoint { url = sys.env("GCLOUD_HOSTED_METRICS_URL") basic_auth { password = sys.env("GCLOUD_RW_API_KEY") username = sys.env("GCLOUD_HOSTED_METRICS_ID") } } } loki.write "logs_service" { endpoint { url = sys.env("GCLOUD_HOSTED_LOGS_URL") basic_auth { password = sys.env("GCLOUD_RW_API_KEY") username = sys.env("GCLOUD_HOSTED_LOGS_ID") } } } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `GCLOUD_HOSTED_METRICS_URL`: Your Grafana Cloud Prometheus remote write URL. - `GCLOUD_HOSTED_METRICS_ID`: Your Grafana Cloud Prometheus instance ID (username). - `GCLOUD_HOSTED_LOGS_URL`: Your Grafana Cloud Loki write URL. - `GCLOUD_HOSTED_LOGS_ID`: Your Grafana Cloud Loki instance ID (username). - `GCLOUD_RW_API_KEY`: Grafana Cloud API token with write permissions. ## Run and configure Alloy with the Grafana Kubernetes Monitoring Helm chart Extend your `values.yaml` when you use the k8s-monitoring Helm chart and set `databaseObservability.enabled` to true within the MySQL integration. YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```yaml integrations: collector: alloy-singleton mysql: instances: - name: jobLabel: integrations/db-o11y exporter: enabled: true collectors: perfSchemaEventsStatements: enabled: true dataSource: host: auth: usernameKey: passwordKey: databaseObservability: enabled: true allowUpdatePerformanceSchemaSettings: true extraConfig: | cloud_provider { aws { arn = "" } } secret: create: false name: namespace: mysql logs: enabled: true labelSelectors: app.kubernetes.io/instance: ``` Replace the placeholders: - `DB_NAME`: Database name Alloy uses in component identifiers (appears in component names and secrets). - `INSTANCE_ENDPOINT`: RDS instance endpoint hostname. - `DB_USERNAME_SECRET_KEY`: Kubernetes secret key containing database user. - `DB_PASSWORD_SECRET_KEY`: Kubernetes secret key containing database password. - `AWS_RDS_INSTANCE_ARN`: AWS RDS instance ARN for cloud provider integration. To see the full set of values, check out the k8s-monitoring Helm chart [documentation](https://github.com/grafana/k8s-monitoring-helm/blob/main/charts/k8s-monitoring/charts/feature-integrations/docs/integrations/mysql.md#database-observability) or the [example configuration](https://github.com/grafana/k8s-monitoring-helm/tree/main/charts/k8s-monitoring/docs/examples/features/database-observability/mysql). ## Optional: Configure AWS Secrets Manager and Kubernetes If you use AWS Secrets Manager with External Secrets Operator to manage database credentials, configure them as follows. ### Secret path convention Store monitoring credentials in AWS Secrets Manager at a path following this convention: ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```none /kubernetes/rds//monitoring ``` ### MySQL secret format Store the secret as JSON with the following format: JSON ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```json { "username": "db-o11y", "password": "", "engine": "mysql", "host": ".rds.amazonaws.com", "port": 3306, "dbInstanceIdentifier": "" } ``` Replace the placeholders: - `DB_O11Y_PASSWORD`: Password for the `db-o11y` MySQL user. - `INSTANCE_ENDPOINT`: RDS instance endpoint hostname. - `INSTANCE_NAME`: RDS instance name. ### Create the secret via AWS CLI Bash ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```bash aws secretsmanager create-secret \ --name "/kubernetes/rds//monitoring" \ --description "Alloy monitoring credentials for RDS MySQL instance" \ --secret-string '{"username":"db-o11y","password":"","engine":"mysql","host":".rds.amazonaws.com","port":3306,"dbInstanceIdentifier":""}' ``` ### Kubernetes External Secrets configuration Use the External Secrets Operator to sync the AWS secret into Kubernetes: YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```yaml --- apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1 kind: SecretStore metadata: name: -db-monitoring-secretstore spec: provider: aws: service: SecretsManager region: --- apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1 kind: ExternalSecret metadata: name: -db-monitoring-secret spec: refreshInterval: 1h secretStoreRef: kind: SecretStore name: -db-monitoring-secretstore dataFrom: - extract: conversionStrategy: Default decodingStrategy: None key: /kubernetes/rds//monitoring metadataPolicy: None version: AWSCURRENT ``` Replace the placeholders: - `INSTANCE_NAME`: RDS instance name. - `AWS_REGION`: AWS region where the secret is stored. ## Next steps - [Introduction to Database Observability](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/introduction/) - [Troubleshoot](/docs/grafana-cloud/monitor-applications/database-observability/troubleshoot/)