BLASTA

MySQL / MariaDB reads load testing template

Read-only queries against MySQL or MariaDB.

Category DatabaseStack MySQL / MariaDBJobs 15

About this MySQL / MariaDB reads load test

Load tests MySQL or MariaDB with read-only queries: a single-row select, COUNT(*), an indexed lookup and a connection pool saturation test. It shows query latency under concurrency and the point where the connection limit is hit. Nothing is written.

It holds 15 ready-made jobs: 4 single scenarios and an enterprise test plan of 11 stages to run in order, 9 of them with pass/fail targets (SLOs). Each job is a plain request pattern you can change before running.

Scenarios include mysql single-row select, mysql COUNT(*), mysql indexed lookup and mysql pool saturation.

How to load test MySQL / MariaDB reads

  1. Open the template in BLASTA.
  2. Check the settings so they point at your own MySQL / MariaDB reads system, ideally a staging copy.
  3. Pick a job and choose the rate and duration.
  4. Start the run and watch requests per second, latency percentiles and errors live; the result is saved to your history.

What you set before running

table
An existing table to read

Test scenarios (4)

mysql COUNT(*)

Read-only

A full scan. On InnoDB this is the usual first query to exhaust the buffer pool.

mysql pool saturation

Read-only

Concurrency above maxOpen to expose connection pressure. This is the classic WordPress failure mode: max_connections exhausted under PHP-FPM.

Enterprise test plan (11)

Run in order: smoke, baseline, load, stress, spike, soak, breakpoint and failover window, each with pass/fail targets.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 01 smoke

Read-only

Enterprise plan, step 1 of 10. One request a second for 30 seconds. Run this first, every time: it proves the address, credentials and headers are right and that the environment is up before any real load is applied. Gate: zero errors. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 02 baseline (20% load)

Read-only

Step 2 of 10. About a fifth of normal traffic for 5 minutes: the uncontended latency of this request. Every later result is judged against it, so record p50 and p95. Gate: at most 0.5% errors and the default latency targets. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 03 average load (SLO check)

Read-only

Step 3 of 10. Normal busy-hour traffic for 10 minutes. The rate is the reference job's rate: raise it to your measured production peak-hour rate. This is the run that proves (or breaks) your SLO. Gate: at most 1% errors, p95 and p99 inside the targets. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 04 peak load (2x average)

Read-only

Step 4 of 10. Twice the average for 10 minutes: the busiest hour of the year plus headroom. Latency may rise, but must stay in SLO; if it does not, you have no headroom. Gate: at most 2% errors, latency targets doubled. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 05 stress (ramp to 4x)

Read-only

Step 5 of 10. Ramps to four times average over 10 minutes, then holds for 2. Finds where it degrades and HOW: gracefully (latency rises, errors stay low) or badly (errors, timeouts, crashes, restarts). Observation only, no gate. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 06 spike (10x in 10 s)

Read-only

Step 6 of 10. Reaches ten times average within 10 seconds and holds for 2 minutes: a campaign email, a news link, a failover. Checks autoscaling, queue limits and load shedding. Gate: at most 5% errors, because shedding load is acceptable and crashing is not. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 07 recovery after the spike

Read-only

Step 7 of 10. Run IMMEDIATELY after the spike, at average load for 5 minutes. Latency and errors must return to the baseline from step 2. If they do not, something is stuck: queues, connection pools, GC, an autoscaler cool-down. Gate: same as average load. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 08 soak (1 hour at 60%)

Read-only

Step 8 of 10. One hour of steady load. Finds leaks and slow decay in memory, connections, file descriptors, disk, log volume and cache churn. Watch the resource graphs: any line that climbs and never flattens is a finding. Gate: at most 0.5% errors. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 09 breakpoint (find the ceiling)

Read-only

Step 9 of 10. Ramps to twenty times average over 20 minutes. Stop it when errors pass about 5%: the rate at that moment is your ceiling, and ceiling divided by peak is your capacity margin. Use a production-like environment, never production. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: 10 resilience window (failover / deploy)

Read-only

Step 10 of 10. Average load for 15 minutes. About 5 minutes in, cause the event you are testing: kill a pod or node, fail over the database, roll out a new version, drain a zone. Errors in the window are your real availability loss. Gate: at most 1% errors overall; read the time series for how long the dip lasted. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

MySQL / MariaDB reads: connection pool exhaustion

Read-only

Runs four times more workers than the pool has connections, so most requests queue for a connection. Shows how the database and your pool behave when the app is slower than the traffic: latency should rise smoothly, not fall off a cliff. Reference request: mysql indexed lookup.

Frequently asked questions

What does the MySQL / MariaDB reads load test cover?

The MySQL / MariaDB reads template has 15 jobs: 4 single scenarios and an enterprise test plan of 11 stages (smoke, baseline, load, stress, spike, soak, breakpoint and failover window). Scenarios include mysql single-row select, mysql COUNT(*), mysql indexed lookup and mysql pool saturation. 9 of them have pass/fail targets (SLOs), so a run can be judged against limits you set.

How do I load test MySQL / MariaDB reads with BLASTA?

Open the template in BLASTA, enter the address of your MySQL / MariaDB reads system, then pick a job and start it. Results stream live: requests per second, latency percentiles and errors, and the run is kept in your history. To run from the command line, use blasta preset new mysql-read with your address.

Is it safe to run the MySQL / MariaDB reads load test against production?

All 15 jobs in this template are read-only: they request pages or data and do not change anything. Even so, a load test can slow a live system down, so start with a low rate and prefer a staging copy. Only test systems you own or have permission to test.

Related templates

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