MySQL max_connections on an EC2 m1.large instance

Question

I'm running a dedicated MySQL server on an m1.large EC2 instance, which has 7.5 GB of RAM.

What might be a good number to set my max_connections value to?

Answer 1

This blog describes a simple method to calculate MySQL connections. Adding link here just to make this page useful. May you have already found an answer.

http://mysqlhacker.com/kabir/performance/calculating-maximum-connections-for-mysql-server.html

Answer 2

The answer depends on the expected workload: the expected number of concurrent connections and the expected time of a connection. The default value is set to 100. For a good and dedicated machine, you can increase it to some value like: 200, 500, or even more! You can set it to some value and watch your database connections. When you feel there is a need, you can increase it more. Of course, the default value might be small and should be increased.

The max_connections is not the only parameter to look at. There are other things that need to be done to achieve a better performance (like query optimization). Increasing the max_connections might not be always the best thing to do.