17.8.10 Configuring Optimizer Statistics for InnoDB

This section describes how to configure persistent and non-persistent optimizer statistics for InnoDB tables.

Persistent optimizer statistics are persisted across server restarts, allowing for greater plan stability and more consistent query performance. Persistent optimizer statistics also provide control and flexibility with these additional benefits:

You can use the innodb_stats_auto_recalc configuration option to control whether statistics are updated automatically after substantial changes to a table.
You can use the STATS_PERSISTENT, STATS_AUTO_RECALC, and STATS_SAMPLE_PAGES clauses with CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements to configure optimizer statistics for individual tables.
You can query optimizer statistics data in the mysql.innodb_table_stats and mysql.innodb_index_stats tables.
You can view the last_update column of the mysql.innodb_table_stats and mysql.innodb_index_stats tables to see when statistics were last updated.
You can manually modify the mysql.innodb_table_stats and mysql.innodb_index_stats tables to force a specific query optimization plan or to test alternative plans without modifying the database.

The persistent optimizer statistics feature is enabled by default (innodb_stats_persistent=ON).

Non-persistent optimizer statistics are cleared on each server restart and after some other operations, and recomputed on the next table access. As a result, different estimates could be produced when recomputing statistics, leading to different choices in execution plans and variations in query performance.

This section also provides information about estimating ANALYZE TABLE complexity, which may be useful when attempting to achieve a balance between accurate statistics and ANALYZE TABLE execution time.