Instrumenting Read Only Transactions in InnoDB

Probably not well known but quite an important optimization was introduced in MySQL 5.6 – reduced overhead for “read only transactions” . While usually by a “transaction” we mean a query or a group of queries that change data, with transaction engines like InnoDB, every data read or write operation is a transaction.

Now, as a non-locking read operation obviously has less impact on the data, it does not need all the instrumenting overhead a write transaction has. The main thing that can be avoided, as described by documentation, is the transaction ID. So, since MySQL 5.6, a read only transaction does not have a transaction ID. Moreover, such a transaction is not visible in the SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS output, though I will not go deeper on what really that means under the hood in this article. The fact is that this optimization allows for better scaling of workloads with many RO threads. An example RO benchmark, where 5.5 vs 5.6/5.7 difference is well seen, may be found here: https://www.percona.com/blog/2016/04/07/mysql-5-7-sysbench-oltp-read-results-really-faster/

To benefit from this optimization in MySQL 5.6, either a transaction has to start with the explicit START TRANSACTION READ ONLY clause or it must be an autocommit, non-locking SELECT statement. In version 5.7 and newer , it goes further, as a new transaction is treated as read-only until a locking read or write is executed, at which point it gets “upgraded” to a read-write one.

Information Schema Instrumentation

Let’s see how it looks like (on MySQL 8.0.12) by looking at information_schema.innodb_trx and information_schema.innodb_metrics tables. The second of these, by default, has transaction counters disabled, so before the test we have to enable it with:

SET GLOBAL innodb_monitor_enable = 'trx%comm%';

or by adding a parameter to the [ mysqld ] section of the configuration file and restarting the instance:

innodb_monitor_enable = "trx_%"

Now, let’s start a transaction which should be read only according to the rules:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > START TRANSACTION; SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT trx_id,trx_weight,trx_rows_locked,trx_rows_modified,trx_is_read_only,trx_autocommit_non_locking 
FROM information_schema.innodb_trx\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
                    trx_id: 421988493944672
                trx_weight: 0
           trx_rows_locked: 0
         trx_rows_modified: 0
          trx_is_read_only: 0
trx_autocommit_non_locking: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Transaction started as above, did not appear in SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS, and its trx_id looks strangely high. And first surprise—for some reason, trx_is_read_only is 0. Now, what if we commit such a transaction—how do the counters change? (I reset them before the test):

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > commit;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     0 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     1 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     0 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.01 sec)

OK, so clearly it was a read-only transaction overall, just the trx_is_read_only property wasn’t set as expected. I had to report this problem here: https://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=92558

What about an explicit RO transaction:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > START TRANSACTION READ ONLY; SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT trx_id,trx_weight,trx_rows_locked,trx_rows_modified,trx_is_read_only,trx_autocommit_non_locking 
FROM information_schema.innodb_trx\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
                    trx_id: 421988493944672
                trx_weight: 0
           trx_rows_locked: 0
         trx_rows_modified: 0
          trx_is_read_only: 1
trx_autocommit_non_locking: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > commit;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     0 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     2 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     0 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.01 sec)

OK, both transactions are counted as the same type. Moreover, the two transactions shared the same strange trx_id, which appears to be a fake one. For a simple read executed in autocommit mode, the counters increase as expected too:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > select @@autocommit; SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1;
+--------------+
| @@autocommit |
+--------------+
|            1 |
+--------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     0 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     2 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     1 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Now, let’s test how a transaction looks when we upgrade it to RW later:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > START TRANSACTION; SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT trx_id,trx_weight,trx_rows_locked,trx_rows_modified,trx_is_read_only,trx_autocommit_non_locking 
FROM information_schema.innodb_trx\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
                    trx_id: 421988493944672
                trx_weight: 0
           trx_rows_locked: 0
         trx_rows_modified: 0
          trx_is_read_only: 0
trx_autocommit_non_locking: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1 FOR UPDATE;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT trx_id,trx_weight,trx_rows_locked,trx_rows_modified,trx_is_read_only,trx_autocommit_non_locking 
FROM information_schema.innodb_trx\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
                    trx_id: 4106
                trx_weight: 2
           trx_rows_locked: 4
         trx_rows_modified: 0
          trx_is_read_only: 0
trx_autocommit_non_locking: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > commit;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     1 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     2 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     1 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

OK, as seen above, after a locking read was done, our transaction has transformed: it got a real, unique trx_id assigned. Then, when committed, the RW counter increased.

Performance Schema Problem

Nowadays it may feel natural to use performance_schema for monitoring everything. And, indeed, we can monitor types of transactions with it as well. Let’s enable the needed consumers and instruments:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > UPDATE performance_schema.setup_consumers SET ENABLED = 'YES' WHERE NAME LIKE '%transactions%';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Rows matched: 3  Changed: 0  Warnings: 0
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > UPDATE performance_schema.setup_instruments SET ENABLED = 'YES', TIMED = 'YES' WHERE NAME = 'transaction';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)
Rows matched: 1  Changed: 0  Warnings: 0
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT * FROM performance_schema.setup_instruments WHERE NAME = 'transaction';
+-------------+---------+-------+------------+------------+---------------+
| NAME        | ENABLED | TIMED | PROPERTIES | VOLATILITY | DOCUMENTATION |
+-------------+---------+-------+------------+------------+---------------+
| transaction | YES     | YES   |            |          0 | NULL          |
+-------------+---------+-------+------------+------------+---------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT * FROM performance_schema.setup_consumers WHERE NAME LIKE '%transactions%';
+----------------------------------+---------+
| NAME                             | ENABLED |
+----------------------------------+---------+
| events_transactions_current      | YES     |
| events_transactions_history      | YES     |
| events_transactions_history_long | YES     |
+----------------------------------+---------+
3 rows in set (0.01 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT COUNT_STAR,COUNT_READ_WRITE,COUNT_READ_ONLY 
FROM performance_schema.events_transactions_summary_global_by_event_name\G  
*************************** 1. row ***************************
      COUNT_STAR: 0
COUNT_READ_WRITE: 0
 COUNT_READ_ONLY: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

And let’s do some simple tests:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > START TRANSACTION; COMMIT;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT COUNT_STAR,COUNT_READ_WRITE,COUNT_READ_ONLY 
FROM performance_schema.events_transactions_summary_global_by_event_name\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
      COUNT_STAR: 1
COUNT_READ_WRITE: 1
 COUNT_READ_ONLY: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     0 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     0 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     0 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

A void transaction caused an increase to this RW counter in Performance Schema view! Moreover, a simple autocommit select increases it too:

mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT count(*) FROM db1.t1;
+----------+
| count(*) |
+----------+
|        3 |
+----------+
1 row in set (0.01 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT COUNT_STAR,COUNT_READ_WRITE,COUNT_READ_ONLY 
FROM performance_schema.events_transactions_summary_global_by_event_name\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
      COUNT_STAR: 2
COUNT_READ_WRITE: 2
 COUNT_READ_ONLY: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > START TRANSACTION READ ONLY; COMMIT;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT COUNT_STAR,COUNT_READ_WRITE,COUNT_READ_ONLY 
FROM performance_schema.events_transactions_summary_global_by_event_name\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
      COUNT_STAR: 3
COUNT_READ_WRITE: 2
 COUNT_READ_ONLY: 1
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
mysql [localhost] {msandbox} (db1) > SELECT name, comment, status, count 
FROM information_schema.innodb_metrics   WHERE name like 'trx%comm%';
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| name                      | comment                                                            | status  | count |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
| trx_rw_commits            | Number of read-write transactions  committed                       | enabled |     0 |
| trx_ro_commits            | Number of read-only transactions committed                         | enabled |     0 |
| trx_nl_ro_commits         | Number of non-locking auto-commit read-only transactions committed | enabled |     1 |
| trx_commits_insert_update | Number of transactions committed with inserts and updates          | enabled |     0 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.01 sec)

As seen above, with regard to monitoring transactions via Performance Schema, everything seems completely broken, empty transactions increase counters, and the only way to increase RO counter is to call a read-only transaction explicitly, but again, it should not count when no real read was done from a table. For this reason I filed another bug report: https://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=92364

PMM Dashboard

We implemented a transactions information view in PMM, based on Information_schema.innodb_metrics, which—as presented above—is reliable and shows the correct counters. Therefore, I encourage everyone to use the innodb_monitor_enable setting to enable it and have the PMM graph it. It will look something like this: