Beginning with MySQL 5.6.6, several MySQL Server parameter defaults differ from the defaults in previous releases. The motivation for these changes is to provide better out-of-box performance and to reduce the need for database administrators to change settings manually.

In some cases, a parameter has a different fixed default value. In other cases, the server autosizes a parameter at startup using a formula based on other related parameters or server host configuration, rather than using a fixed value. For example, the setting for back_log is its previous default of 50, adjusted up by an amount proportional to the value of max_connections. The idea behind autosizing is that when the server has information available to make a decision about a parameter setting likely to be better than a fixed default, it will.

The following table summarizes changes to defaults. The Version column indicates when each default changed. For variables that are autosized, the main variable description provides additional detail about the sizing algorithm. See Section 5.1.4, “Server System Variables”, and Section 14.2.6, “InnoDB Startup Options and System Variables”. Any of these default settings can be overridden by specifying an explicit value at server startup.

In MySQL 5.6.6, the default for innodb_checksum_algorithm was changed from INNODB to CRC32. For compatibility reasons, the default was returned in 5.6.7 to INNODB.