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MySQL 5.1 Reference Manual :: 4 MySQL Programs :: 4.5 MySQL Client Programs :: 4.5.7 mysqlslap — Load Emulation Client
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4.5.7. mysqlslap — Load Emulation Client

mysqlslap is a diagnostic program designed to emulate client load for a MySQL server and to report the timing of each stage. It works as if multiple clients are accessing the server. mysqlslap is available as of MySQL 5.1.4.

Invoke mysqlslap like this: 

shell> mysqlslap [options]

Some options such as --create or --query enable you to specify a string containing an SQL statement or a file containing statements. If you specify a file, by default it must contain one statement per line. (That is, the implicit statement delimiter is the newline character.) Use the --delimiter option to specify a different delimiter, which enables you to specify statements that span multiple lines or place multiple statements on a single line. You cannot include comments in a file; mysqlslap does not understand them.

mysqlslap runs in three stages:

  1. Create schema, table, and optionally any stored programs or data you want to using for the test. This stage uses a single client connection.

  2. Run the load test. This stage can use many client connections.

  3. Clean up (disconnect, drop table if specified). This stage uses a single client connection.

Examples:

Supply your own create and query SQL statements, with 50 clients querying and 200 selects for each: 

mysqlslap --delimiter=";" \
  --create="CREATE TABLE a (b int);INSERT INTO a VALUES (23)" \
  --query="SELECT * FROM a" --concurrency=50 --iterations=200

Let mysqlslap build the query SQL statement with a table of two INT columns and three VARCHAR columns. Use five clients querying 20 times each. Do not create the table or insert the data (that is, use the previous test's schema and data): 

mysqlslap --concurrency=5 --iterations=20 \
  --number-int-cols=2 --number-char-cols=3 \
  --auto-generate-sql

Tell the program to load the create, insert, and query SQL statements from the specified files, where the create.sql file has multiple table creation statements delimited by ';' and multiple insert statements delimited by ';'. The --query file will have multiple queries delimited by ';'. Run all the load statements, then run all the queries in the query file with five clients (five times each): 

mysqlslap --concurrency=5 \
  --iterations=5 --query=query.sql --create=create.sql \
  --delimiter=";"

mysqlslap supports the following options, which can be specified on the command line or in the [mysqlslap] and [client] option file groups. mysqlslap also supports the options for processing option files described at Section 4.2.3.3.1, “Command-Line Options that Affect Option-File Handling”.

Table 4.8. mysqlslap Options

Format Config File Description Introduction Deprecated Removed
--auto-generate-sql auto-generate-sql Generate SQL statements automatically when they are not supplied in files or via command options      
--auto-generate-sql-add-autoincrement auto-generate-sql-add-autoincrement Add AUTO_INCREMENT column to automatically generated tables 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-execute-number=# auto-generate-sql-execute-number Specify how many queries to generate automatically 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-guid-primary auto-generate-sql-guid-primary Add a GUID-based primary key to automatically generated tables 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-load-type=type auto-generate-sql-load-type Specify how many queries to generate automatically 5.1.16    
--auto-generate-sql-secondary-indexes=# auto-generate-sql-secondary-indexes Specify how many secondary indexes to add to automatically generated tables 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-unique-query-number=# auto-generate-sql-unique-query-number How many different queries to generate for automatic tests. 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-unique-write-number=# auto-generate-sql-unique-write-number How many different queries to generate for --auto-generate-sql-write-number 5.1.18    
--auto-generate-sql-write-number=# auto-generate-sql-write-number How many row inserts to perform on each thread 5.1.16    
--commit=# commit How many statements to execute before committing. 5.1.21    
--compress compress Compress all information sent between the client and the server      
--concurrency=# concurrency The number of clients to simulate when issuing the SELECT statement      
--create=value create The file or string containing the statement to use for creating the table      
--create-schema=value create-schema The schema in which to run the tests 5.1.5    
--csv=[file] csv Generate output in comma-separated values format      
--debug[=debug_options] debug Write a debugging log      
--debug-check debug-check Print debugging information when the program exits 5.1.21    
--debug-info debug-info Print debugging information, memory and CPU statistics when the program exits 5.1.21    
--delimiter=str delimiter The delimiter to use in SQL statements      
--detach=# detach Detach (close and reopen) each connection after each N statements 5.1.21    
--engine=engine_name engine The storage engine to use for creating the table      
--help   Display help message and exit      
--host=host_name host Connect to the MySQL server on the given host      
--iterations=# iterations The number of times to run the tests      
--lock-directory=path lock-directory The directory to use for storing locks 5.1.5   5.1.18
--number-char-cols=# number-char-cols The number of VARCHAR columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified      
--number-int-cols=# number-int-cols The number of INT columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified      
--number-of-queries=# number-of-queries Limit each client to approximately this number of queries 5.1.5    
--only-print only-print Do not connect to databases. mysqlslap only prints what it would have done 5.1.5    
--password[=password] password The password to use when connecting to the server      
--pipe   On Windows, connect to server via a named pipe      
--port=port_num port The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection      
--post-query=value post-query The file or string containing the statement to execute after the tests have completed 5.1.18    
--post-system=str post-system The string to execute via system() after the tests have completed 5.1.21    
--pre-query=value pre-query The file or string containing the statement to execute before running the tests 5.1.18    
--pre-system=str pre-system The string to execute via system()> before running the tests 5.1.21    
--preserve-schema preserve-schema Preserve the schema from the mysqlslap run 5.1.5   5.1.23
--protocol=type protocol The connection protocol to use      
--query=value query The file or string containg the SELECT statement to use for retrieving data      
--silent silent Silent mode      
--slave slave Follow master locks for other mysqlslap clients 5.1.5   5.1.18
--socket=path socket For connections to localhost      
--ssl-ca=file_name ssl-ca The path to a file that contains a list of trusted SSL CAs      
--ssl-capath=directory_name ssl-capath The path to a directory that contains trusted SSL CA certificates in PEM format      
--ssl-cert=file_name ssl-cert The name of the SSL certificate file to use for establishing a secure connection      
--ssl-cipher=cipher_list ssl-cipher A list of allowable ciphers to use for SSL encryption      
--ssl-key=file_name ssl-key The name of the SSL key file to use for establishing a secure connection      
--ssl-verify-server-cert ssl-verify-server-cert The server's Common Name value in its certificate is verified against the host name used when connecting to the server      
--use-threads use-threads On Unix, the default is to use fork() calls 5.1.6   5.1.18
--user=user_name, user The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server      
--verbose   Verbose mode      
--version   Display version information and exit      

  • --help, -?

    Display a help message and exit.

  • --auto-generate-sql, -a

    Generate SQL statements automatically when they are not supplied in files or via command options.

  • --auto-generate-sql-add-autoincrement

    Add an AUTO_INCREMENT column to automatically generated tables. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-execute-number=N

    Specify how many queries to generate automatically. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-guid-primary

    Add a GUID-based primary key to automatically generated tables. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-load-type=type

    Specify the test load type. The allowable values are read (scan tables), write (insert into tables), key (read primary keys), update (update primary keys), or mixed (half inserts, half scanning selects). The default is mixed. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.16.

  • --auto-generate-sql-secondary-indexes=N

    Specify how many secondary indexes to add to automatically generated tables. By default, none are added. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-unique-query-number=N

    How many different queries to generate for automatic tests. For example, if you run a key test that performs 1000 selects, you can use this option with a value of 1000 to run 1000 unique queries, or with a value of 50 to perform 50 different selects. The default is 10. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-unique-write-number=N

    How many different queries to generate for --auto-generate-sql-write-number. The default is 10. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --auto-generate-sql-write-number=N

    How many row inserts to perform on each thread. The default is 100. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.16.

  • --commit=N

    How many statements to execute before committing. The default is 0 (no commits are done). This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --compress, -C

    Compress all information sent between the client and the server if both support compression.

  • --concurrency=N, -c N

    The number of clients to simulate when issuing the SELECT statement.

  • --create=value

    The file or string containing the statement to use for creating the table.

  • --create-schema=value

    The schema in which to run the tests. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5.

  • --csv[=file_name]

    Generate output in comma-separated values format. The output goes to the named file, or to the standard output if no file is given. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5.

  • --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

    Write a debugging log. A typical debug_options string is 'd:t:o,file_name'. The default is 'd:t:o,/tmp/mysqlslap.trace'.

  • --debug-check

    Print some debugging information when the program exits. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --debug-info, -T

    Print debugging information and memory and CPU usage statistics when the program exits. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --delimiter=str, -F str

    The delimiter to use in SQL statements supplied in files or via command options.

  • --detach=N

    Detach (close and reopen) each connection after each N statements. The default is 0 (connections are not detached). This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --engine=engine_name, -e engine_name

    The storage engine to use for creating tables.

  • --host=host_name, -h host_name

    Connect to the MySQL server on the given host.

  • --iterations=N, -i N

    The number of times to run the tests.

  • --lock-directory=path

    The directory to use for storing locks. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5 and removed in 5.1.18.

  • --number-char-cols=N, -x N

    The number of VARCHAR columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified.

  • --number-int-cols=N, -y N

    The number of INT columns to use if --auto-generate-sql is specified.

  • --number-of-queries=N

    Limit each client to approximately this many queries. Query counting takes into account the statement delimiter. For example, if you invoke mysqlslap as follows, the ; delimiter is recognized so that each instance of the query string counts as two queries. As a result, 5 rows (not 10) are inserted. 

    shell> mysqlslap --delimiter=";" --number-of-queries=10
         --query="use test;insert into t values(null)"

    This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5.

  • --only-print

    Do not connect to databases. mysqlslap only prints what it would have done. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5.

  • --password[=password], -p[password]

    The password to use when connecting to the server. If you use the short option form (-p), you cannot have a space between the option and the password. If you omit the password value following the --password or -p option on the command line, mysqlslap prompts for one.

    Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 5.3.2.2, “End-User Guidelines for Password Security”. You can use an option file to avoid giving the password on the command line.

  • --pipe, -W

    On Windows, connect to the server via a named pipe. This option applies only if the server supports named-pipe connections.

  • --port=port_num, -P port_num

    The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection.

  • --post-query=value

    The file or string containing the statement to execute after the tests have completed. This execution is not counted for timing purposes. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --shared-memory-base-name=name

    On Windows, the shared-memory name to use, for connections made via shared memory to a local server. This option applies only if the server supports shared-memory connections.

  • --post-system=str

    The string to execute via system() after the tests have completed. This execution is not counted for timing purposes. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --pre-query=value

    The file or string containing the statement to execute before running the tests. This execution is not counted for timing purposes. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.18.

  • --pre-system=str

    The string to execute via system() before running the tests. This execution is not counted for timing purposes. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.21.

  • --preserve-schema

    Preserve the schema from the mysqlslap run. The --auto-generate-sql and --create options disable this option. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5 and removed in MySQL 5.1.23.

  • --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY}

    The connection protocol to use for connecting to the server. It is useful when the other connection parameters normally would cause a protocol to be used other than the one you want. For details on the allowable values, see Section 4.2.2, “Connecting to the MySQL Server”.

  • --query=value, -q value

    The file or string containing the SELECT statement to use for retrieving data.

  • --silent, -s

    Silent mode. No output.

  • --slave

    Follow master locks for other mysqlslap clients. Use this option if you are trying to synchronize around one master server with --lock-directory plus NFS. This option was added in MySQL 5.1.5 and removed in 5.1.18.

  • --socket=path, -S path

    For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

  • --ssl*

    Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to connect to the server via SSL and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. See Section 5.5.6.3, “SSL Command Options”.

  • --use-threads

    On Unix, the default is to use fork() calls and this option causes pthread calls to be used instead. (On Windows, the default is to use pthread calls and the option has no effect.) This option was added in MySQL 5.1.6 and removed in 5.1.18.

  • --user=user_name, -u user_name

    The MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server.

  • --verbose, -v

    Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does. This option can be used multiple times to increase the amount of information.

  • --version, -V

    Display version information and exit.