Configuring the InnoDB buffer pool size for MySQL performance
Jul 08, 2025 am 02:38 AMSetting the InnoDB buffer pool size should be reasonably configured according to the purpose of the server and memory resources. 1. The server dedicated to MySQL can be set to 50%~80% of the physical memory; 2. 1GB~4GB for small applications, several GB to dozens of GB for medium environments, and hundreds of GB for large high-concurrency systems; 3. You can use SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS or specific SQL query buffer pool usage; 4. To modify the configuration, you need to set innodb_buffer_pool_size in my.cnf or my.ini and restart MySQL; 5. Pay attention to shared memory, warm-up problems and version differences among multiple instances. MySQL 8.0 supports dynamic adjustment. Rational configuration of buffer pools can significantly improve performance, and it is necessary to combine data volume and access mode tuning.
Setting the size of the InnoDB buffer pool has a great impact on MySQL performance. Buffer pools are where MySQL uses to cache table data and indexes. Rational configuration can significantly improve the database's response speed and concurrent processing capabilities.

Basic principles for determining the size of the buffer pool
The InnoDB buffer pool ( innodb_buffer_pool_size
) should be large enough to hold common data and reduce disk I/O. Generally speaking, if your database server is dedicated to MySQL, you can allocate 50% to 80% of the physical memory to the buffer pool. But be careful not to set it too large, otherwise it may cause system swap, which will slow down performance.

Some common suggestions:
- Small application or development environment: 1GB~4GB is enough.
- Medium-scale production environment: usually set to several GB to several dozen GB.
- Large, high-concurrency database: can be hundreds of GB or even higher, depending on the hardware resources.
It also needs to be judged based on your data volume and access mode. For example, if the data volume is not large but access is frequent, it will be more effective to increase the buffer pool appropriately.

How to view current usage
You can view the usage status of the buffer pool through the following SQL:
SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS\G
Look for BUFFER POOL AND MEMORY
section in the output result, and you can see the buffer pool size, number of free pages and other information that have been used.
In addition, you can also view the overall usage rate of the buffer pool through the following query:
SELECT (Pages_used * 100) / pool_size AS 'Buffer Pool Usage (%)', (Pages_free * 100) / pool_size AS 'Buffer Pool Free (%)' FROM ( SELECT VARIABLE_VALUE AS pool_size FROM information_schema.global_status WHERE VARIABLE_NAME = 'Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total' ) AS total, ( SELECT VARIABLE_VALUE AS Pages_used FROM information_schema.global_status WHERE VARIABLE_NAME = 'Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_used' ) AS used, ( SELECT VARIABLE_VALUE AS Pages_free FROM information_schema.global_status WHERE VARIABLE_NAME = 'Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free' ) AS free;
These metrics can help you determine whether the current buffer pool is tight and thus decide whether you need to resize it.
How to modify configuration
Modifying the buffer pool size is very simple. You only need to find or add the following line in MySQL's configuration file (usually my.cnf
or my.ini
):
[mysqld] innodb_buffer_pool_size = 2G
Replace 2G
with appropriate values ??according to actual needs, such as 4G
, 30G
, etc.
After modification, restart the MySQL service to make the configuration take effect:
sudo systemctl restart mysql
It should be noted that in some cloud database environments (such as AWS RDS or Alibaba Cloud RDS), you cannot directly modify the configuration file, but adjust it through the console or parameter group.
A few small details that are easy to ignore
- Be careful when sharing memory for multiple instances : If you run multiple MySQL instances on the same machine, make sure that the sum of their buffer pools does not exceed system memory.
- Warm-up problem : When MySQL is just started, the buffer pool is empty, and the performance may be unstable at this time. Common data can be preloaded into the buffer pool through regular backup and recovery mechanisms, or scripts can be preloaded.
- Version differences : MySQL 5.7 and previous versions need to restart after buffer pool size is adjusted; starting from MySQL 8.0, it supports dynamic online adjustment of buffer pool size without restarting.
Basically that's it. Although configuring a buffer pool is not complicated, it directly affects performance, so it is worth taking some time to carefully tune it.
The above is the detailed content of Configuring the InnoDB buffer pool size for MySQL performance. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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