MySQL with Database Observability

Database Observability gives you deep visibility into MySQL query performance. This slide’s path is for a database you run yourself.


What it monitors	Query performance, explain plans, wait events, query samples, table schemas
How it works	Grafana Alloy reads from MySQL Performance Schema (enabled by default in 8.0+)
What you see	Top queries by duration, explain plans with cost highlighting, wait events, query samples
This path	Self-managed MySQL 8.0 or later
Managed services	Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, and Azure Database each have a setup guide

What you’ll get

Queries Overview dashboard showing RED metrics for tracked queries
Explain plans revealing full table scans, missing indexes, and expensive joins
Wait events showing lock contention, I/O bottlenecks, and resource waits
Query samples with individual execution timing
Table schemas highlighting index coverage and constraints

A few things to keep in mind:

MySQL 8.0 or later is required. MariaDB isn’t supported.
Query statistics need PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT, and SELECT on performance_schema.
Schema details and explain plans also need SELECT and SHOW VIEW on each schema you monitor, or on all schemas if you want every schema. The path below grants all schemas.
Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, and Azure Database use a separate setup guide, not this path.

The path below walks you through each step.

Learning path

Set up Grafana Cloud Database Observability for MySQL to monitor query performance, explain plans, wait events, and query samples.

16 min

Intermediate

Docs & blog posts

Complete this learning path directly in your Grafana Cloud stack with an interactive learning experience.