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MariaDB

This document describes a sample setup for sending MariaDB logs and metrics to Last9 via OpenTelemetry collector

This document lists step-by-step instructions for setting up MariaDB/MySQL monitoring using mysqld_exporter and OpenTelemetry Collector with Last9.

It collects host metrics, MySQL metrics, and MySQL logs and sends them to Last9.

Prerequisites

  1. Create a Last9 account by following Getting Started guide.
  2. Keep the following information handy after creating the account from the Integrations page:
    • $last9_otlp_endpoint: Last9 OpenTelemetry endpoint
    • $last9_basic_auth_header: OpenTelemetry Basic authorization header

Supported versions:

  • MySQL >= 5.6.
  • MariaDB >= 10.3

Installation

If you don’t have a MariaDB instance, you can follow the steps below to set it up. If you already have a MariaDB instance, you can skip this step.

1. MariaDB Setup

Terminal window
# Install MariaDB
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y mariadb-server mariadb-client


# Verify installation
sudo systemctl status mariadb


# Run security script
sudo mysql_secure_installation

Configure MariaDB:

Terminal window
sudo nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf

Add configuration:

[mysqld]
bind-address = 0.0.0.0
max_connections = 100
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 256M
thread_cache_size = 8
slow_query_log = 1
slow_query_log_file = /var/log/mysql/mariadb-slow.log
long_query_time = 2
Terminal window
# Restart MariaDB
sudo systemctl restart mariadb

2. Create Monitoring User

sudo mysql -u root -p


CREATE USER 'exporter'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password';
GRANT PROCESS, REPLICATION CLIENT, SELECT ON *.* TO 'exporter'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

3. Install mysqld_exporter

Terminal window
# Create system user
sudo useradd --no-create-home --shell /bin/false mysqld_exporter


# Download and install
cd /tmp
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/prometheus/mysqld_exporter/releases/latest \
  | grep browser_download_url \
  | grep linux-amd64 \
  | cut -d '"' -f 4 \
  | wget -qi -


tar xvf mysqld_exporter*.tar.gz
sudo mv mysqld_exporter-*.linux-amd64/mysqld_exporter /usr/local/bin/
sudo chown mysqld_exporter:mysqld_exporter /usr/local/bin/mysqld_exporter

Configure exporter:

Terminal window
sudo tee /etc/.mysqld_exporter.cnf << EOF
[client]
user=exporter
password=strong_password
EOF


sudo chown mysqld_exporter:mysqld_exporter /etc/.mysqld_exporter.cnf
sudo chmod 600 /etc/.mysqld_exporter.cnf

Create service:

Terminal window
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/mysqld_exporter.service << EOF
[Unit]
Description=MySQLd Exporter
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target


[Service]
User=mysqld_exporter
Group=mysqld_exporter
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/mysqld_exporter \
  --config.my-cnf=/etc/.mysqld_exporter.cnf \
  --collect.global_status \
  --collect.global_variables \
  --collect.info_schema.innodb_metrics \
  --collect.info_schema.processlist \
  --collect.info_schema.tables \
  --collect.info_schema.tables.databases='*' \
  --collect.perf_schema.eventsstatements \
  --collect.perf_schema.file_events \
  --collect.perf_schema.indexiowaits \
  --collect.perf_schema.tableiowaits \
  --collect.perf_schema.tablelocks \
  --collect.slave_status \
  --web.listen-address=:9104


[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF


sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start mysqld_exporter
sudo systemctl enable mysqld_exporter

This step ensures the mysqld_exporter is running and emitting metrics from MariaDB on port 9104.

4. Install OpenTelemetry Collector

Terminal window
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install wget systemctl
wget https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/download/v0.110.0/otelcol-contrib_0.110.0_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i otelcol-contrib_0.110.0_linux_amd64.deb

Configure collector:

Terminal window
sudo nano /etc/otelcol-contrib/config.yaml

Copy the configuration from here and update in /etc/otelcol-contrib/config.yaml. Make sure to update the OpenTelemetry endpoint to $last9_otlp_endpoint and authorization header to $last9_basic_auth_header.

Start collector:

Terminal window
otelcol-contrib --config /etc/otelcol-contrib/config.yaml

Verification

  1. Check MariaDB:
Terminal window
mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT VERSION();"
  1. Verify configuration:
Terminal window
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%max_connections%';"
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%innodb_buffer_pool_size%';"
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%slow_query%';"
  1. Test exporter:
Terminal window
mysql -u exporter -p -e "SELECT 1;"
curl http://localhost:9104/metrics | grep mysql_up

Troubleshooting

  1. MariaDB issues:
Terminal window
sudo systemctl status mariadb
sudo journalctl -u mariadb
  1. Exporter issues:
Terminal window
sudo systemctl status mysqld_exporter
sudo journalctl -u mysqld_exporter
  1. Collector issues:
Terminal window
sudo systemctl status otelcol-contrib
sudo journalctl -u otelcol-contrib

Verification

Visit Last9 to see the MariaDB metrics and logs.

Troubleshooting

Please get in touch with us on Discord or Email if you have any questions.