Database Optimization Techniques: Performance Tuning Guide

Database performance is critical for application scalability. Here are proven optimization techniques. 1. Indexing Strategy When to Index -- Index frequently queried columns CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON users(email); -- Index foreign keys CREATE INDEX idx_post_user_id ON posts(user_id); -- Composite indexes for multi-column queries CREATE INDEX idx_user_status_role ON users(status, role); When NOT to Index Columns with low cardinality (few unique values) Frequently updated columns Small tables (< 1000 rows) 2. Query Optimization Avoid SELECT * -- Bad SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 123; -- Good SELECT id, name, email FROM users WHERE id = 123; Use LIMIT -- Always limit large result sets SELECT * FROM posts ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20; Avoid N+1 Queries // Bad: N+1 queries users.forEach(user => { const posts = db.query('SELECT * FROM posts WHERE user_id = ?', [user.id]); }); // Good: Single query with JOIN const usersWithPosts = db.query(` SELECT u.*, p.* FROM users u LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id `); 3. Connection Pooling // Configure connection pool const pool = mysql.createPool({ connectionLimit: 10, host: 'localhost', user: 'user', password: 'password', database: 'mydb', waitForConnections: true, queueLimit: 0 }); 4. Caching Application-Level Caching // Cache frequently accessed data const cache = new Map(); async function getUser(id) { if (cache.has(id)) { return cache.get(id); } const user = await db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?', [id]); cache.set(id, user); return user; } Query Result Caching -- Use query cache (MySQL) SET GLOBAL query_cache_size = 67108864; SET GLOBAL query_cache_type = 1; 5. Database Schema Optimization Normalize Properly -- Avoid over-normalization -- Balance between normalization and performance Use Appropriate Data Types -- Use smallest appropriate type TINYINT instead of INT for small numbers VARCHAR(255) instead of TEXT when possible DATE instead of DATETIME when time not needed 6. Partitioning -- Partition large tables by date CREATE TABLE logs ( id INT, created_at DATE, data TEXT ) PARTITION BY RANGE (YEAR(created_at)) ( PARTITION p2023 VALUES LESS THAN (2024), PARTITION p2024 VALUES LESS THAN (2025), PARTITION p2025 VALUES LESS THAN (2026) ); 7. Query Analysis EXPLAIN Plan EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]'; Slow Query Log -- Enable slow query log SET GLOBAL slow_query_log = 'ON'; SET GLOBAL long_query_time = 1; 8. Batch Operations // Bad: Multiple individual inserts users.forEach(user => { db.query('INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)', [user.name, user.email]); }); // Good: Batch insert const values = users.map(u => [u.name, u.email]); db.query('INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ?', [values]); 9. Database Maintenance Regular Vacuuming (PostgreSQL) VACUUM ANALYZE; Optimize Tables (MySQL) OPTIMIZE TABLE users; 10. Monitoring Monitor query performance Track slow queries Monitor connection pool usage Watch for table locks Monitor disk I/O Best Practices Index strategically Optimize queries Use connection pooling Implement caching Normalize appropriately Use appropriate data types Partition large tables Analyze query performance Batch operations Regular maintenance Conclusion Database optimization requires: ...

October 20, 2024 · 4390 views
Abstract message queue illustration

RabbitMQ High Availability & Tuning

Queue types Prefer quorum queues for HA; classic for transient/high-throughput if loss acceptable. Set durability/persistence appropriately; avoid auto-delete for critical flows. Flow control Enable publisher confirms; set mandatory flag to catch unroutable messages. Use basic.qos to bound unacked messages; prefetch tuned per consumer. Watch memory/flow events; avoid oversized messages—use blob storage for big payloads. Topology & ops Mirror/quorum across AZs; avoid single-node SPOF. Use consistent hash/partitioning for hot-key spreading. Metrics: publish/consume rates, unacked count, queue depth, confirm latency, blocked connections. Checklist Queue type chosen (quorum vs classic) per workload. Publisher confirms + unroutable handling. Prefetch/qos tuned; consumers idempotent. Monitoring/alerts on depth, unacked, flow control.

October 18, 2024 · 3510 views

Java GC Tuning: G1 and ZGC in Practice

Choosing G1: balanced latency/throughput for heaps 4–64GB; predictable pauses. ZGC: sub-10ms pauses on large heaps; great for latency-sensitive APIs; slightly higher CPU. Baseline flags G1: -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch ZGC: -XX:+UseZGC -XX:+ZGenerational -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch Set -Xms = -Xmx for stable footprint; size heap from prod RSS data. Metrics to watch Pause p95/p99, GC CPU %, allocation rate, remembered set size (G1), heap occupancy. STW reasons: promotion failure, humongous allocations (G1), metaspace growth. Common fixes Reduce humongous allocations: avoid giant byte[]; use chunked buffers. Lower pause targets only after measuring; avoid over-constraining MaxGCPauseMillis. Cap thread counts: -XX:ParallelGCThreads, -XX:ConcGCThreads if CPU saturated. For ZGC, ensure kernel pages hugepage-friendly; watch NUMA pinning. Checklist Heap sized from live data; -Xms = -Xmx. GC logs on (JDK 17+): -Xlog:gc*:tags,level,time,uptime:file=gc.log:utctime,filesize=20M,files=10 Dashboards for pause/CPU/allocation. Load test changes before prod; compare pause histograms release to release.

October 5, 2024 · 4650 views

Go Database Pooling Patterns (sqlx/pgx)

Sizing Pool size ≈ CPU cores * 2–4 per service instance; avoid per-request opens. For PgBouncer tx-mode: disable session features; avoid session-prepared statements. Timeouts & limits Set ConnMaxLifetime, ConnMaxIdleTime, MaxOpenConns, MaxIdleConns. Add statement timeouts; enforce context deadlines on queries. Instrumentation Track pool acquire latency, in-use/idle, wait count, timeouts. Log slow queries; sample EXPLAIN ANALYZE in staging for heavy ones. Hygiene Use prepared statements judiciously; reuse sqlx.Named/pgx prepared for hot paths. Prefer keyset pagination; cap result sizes; parameterize everything. Checklist Pool sized and monitored. Query timeouts set; slow logs reviewed. No per-request connections; connections closed via context cancellation.

September 30, 2024 · 3607 views

Node.js Event Loop Internals (2024)

Phases refresher timers → pending → idle/prepare → poll → check → close callbacks. Microtasks (Promises/queueMicrotask) run after each phase; process.nextTick runs before microtasks. Pitfalls Long JS on main thread blocks poll → delays I/O; move CPU work to worker threads. nextTick storms can starve I/O; prefer setImmediate when deferring. Unhandled rejections crash (from Node 15+ default); handle globally in prod. Debugging NODE_DEBUG=async_hooks or --trace-events-enabled --trace-event-categories node.async_hooks. Measure event loop lag: perf_hooks.monitorEventLoopDelay(). Profile CPU with node --inspect + Chrome DevTools; use flamegraphs for hotspots. Practices Limit synchronous JSON/crypto/zlib; offload to worker threads or native modules. Keep microtask chains short; avoid deep promise recursion. Use AbortController for cancellable I/O; always clear timers. Checklist Monitor event loop lag & heap usage. Worker pool sized for CPU tasks; main loop kept light. Errors and rejections centrally handled; graceful shutdown in place.

September 18, 2024 · 3677 views
Elasticsearch optimization illustration

Elasticsearch Cluster Optimization: Performance Tuning and Best Practices

Elasticsearch is a powerful search and analytics engine, but optimizing it for production requires understanding indexing strategies, query patterns, and cluster configuration. This guide covers essential optimization techniques. Cluster architecture Node roles Configure nodes with specific roles: # Master node node.roles: [master] # Data node node.roles: [data] # Ingest node node.roles: [ingest] # Coordinating node (default) node.roles: [] # No specific role Shard strategy Primary shards: Set at index creation (cannot be changed) ...

September 10, 2024 · 3943 views

Laravel Performance & Caching Playbook (2024)

Low-effort wins php artisan config:cache, route:cache, view:cache; warm on deploy. Enable OPcache with sane limits; preloading for hot classes when applicable. Use queues for emails/webhooks; keep HTTP requests lean. Database hygiene Add missing indexes; avoid N+1 with eager loading; paginate large lists. Use read replicas where safe; cap per-request query count in logs. Measure slow queries; set alarms on p95 query time. HTTP layer Cache responses with tags (Redis) for fast invalidation. Use CDN for static/media; compress and set cache headers. Leverage middleware to short-circuit authenticated user cache when possible. Observability Laravel Telescope or Horizon for queues; metrics on throughput, failures, latency. Log DB/query counts; track opcache hit rate and memory usage. Checklist Config/route/view cached on deploy. OPcache enabled and monitored. DB queries optimized and indexed; N+1 checks in CI. Responses cached where safe; queues handle slow work.

August 14, 2024 · 4550 views

Node.js Redis Caching Patterns

Keys & TTLs Namespaced keys: app:domain:entity:id. Set TTLs per data volatility; use jitter to avoid thundering expirations. Version keys on schema changes to prevent stale reads. Stampede protection Use SETNX/lock around rebuild; short lock TTL with fallback. Serve stale-while-revalidate: return cached value, refresh asynchronously. Serialization & size Prefer JSON with bounded fields; compress only large blobs. Avoid massive lists/hashes; paginate or split keys. Operations Monitor hit rate, command latency, memory, evictions. Use connection pooling; set timeouts and retries with backoff. Cluster/replica for HA; read from replicas if consistency allows. Checklist Keys versioned; TTLs with jitter. Stampede controls in place. Metrics for hit/miss/latency/evictions; alerts configured.

August 9, 2024 · 4296 views

MySQL Optimizer Checklist for PHP Apps

Query hygiene Add composite indexes matching filters/order; avoid leading wildcards. Use EXPLAIN to verify index usage; watch for filesort/temp tables. Prefer keyset pagination over OFFSET for large tables. Config basics Set innodb_buffer_pool_size (50-70% RAM), innodb_log_file_size, innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit=1 (durable) or 2 (faster). max_connections aligned with app pool size; avoid connection storms. Enable slow query log with sane threshold; sample for tuning. App considerations Reuse connections (pooling); avoid long transactions. Limit selected columns; cap payload sizes; avoid large unbounded IN lists. For read-heavy workloads, add replicas; route reads carefully. Checklist Indexes audited; EXPLAIN reviewed. Buffer pool sized; slow log enabled. Pagination and payloads bounded; connections pooled.

July 28, 2024 · 4179 views