25.12.16.4 The threads Table

The threads table contains a row for each server thread. Each row contains information about a thread and indicates whether monitoring and historical event logging are enabled for it:

mysql> SELECT * FROM performance_schema.threads\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
          THREAD_ID: 1
               NAME: thread/sql/main
               TYPE: BACKGROUND
     PROCESSLIST_ID: NULL
   PROCESSLIST_USER: NULL
   PROCESSLIST_HOST: NULL
     PROCESSLIST_DB: NULL
PROCESSLIST_COMMAND: NULL
   PROCESSLIST_TIME: 80284
  PROCESSLIST_STATE: NULL
   PROCESSLIST_INFO: NULL
   PARENT_THREAD_ID: NULL
               ROLE: NULL
       INSTRUMENTED: YES
            HISTORY: YES
    CONNECTION_TYPE: NULL
       THREAD_OS_ID: 489803
...
*************************** 4. row ***************************
          THREAD_ID: 51
               NAME: thread/sql/one_connection
               TYPE: FOREGROUND
     PROCESSLIST_ID: 34
   PROCESSLIST_USER: isabella
   PROCESSLIST_HOST: localhost
     PROCESSLIST_DB: performance_schema
PROCESSLIST_COMMAND: Query
   PROCESSLIST_TIME: 0
  PROCESSLIST_STATE: Sending data
   PROCESSLIST_INFO: SELECT * FROM performance_schema.threads
   PARENT_THREAD_ID: 1
               ROLE: NULL
       INSTRUMENTED: YES
            HISTORY: YES
    CONNECTION_TYPE: SSL/TLS
       THREAD_OS_ID: 755399
...

When the Performance Schema initializes, it populates the threads table based on the threads in existence then. Thereafter, a new row is added each time the server creates a thread.

The INSTRUMENTED and HISTORY column values for new threads are determined by the contents of the setup_actors table. For information about how to use the setup_actors table to control these columns, see Section 25.4.6, “Pre-Filtering by Thread”.

Removal of rows from the threads table occurs when threads end. For a thread associated with a client session, removal occurs when the session ends. If a client has auto-reconnect enabled and the session reconnects after a disconnect, the session becomes associated with a new row in the threads table that has a different PROCESSLIST_ID value. The initial INSTRUMENTED and HISTORY values for the new thread may be different from those of the original thread: The setup_actors table may have changed in the meantime, and if the INSTRUMENTED or HISTORY value for the original thread was changed after the row was initialized, the change does not carry over to the new thread.

You can enable or disable thread monitoring (that is, whether events executed by the thread are instrumented) and historical event logging. To control the initial INSTRUMENTED and HISTORY values for new foreground threads, use the setup_actors table. To control these aspects of existing threads, set the INSTRUMENTED and HISTORY columns of threads table rows. (For more information about the conditions under which thread monitoring and historical event logging occur, see the descriptions of the INSTRUMENTED and HISTORY columns.)

For a comparison of the threads table columns with names having a prefix of PROCESSLIST_ to other process information sources, see Sources of Process Information.

Important

For thread information sources other than the threads table, information about threads for other users is shown only if the current user has the PROCESS privilege. That is not true of the threads table; all rows are shown to any user who has the SELECT privilege for the table. Users who should not be able to see threads for other users by accessing the threads table should not be given the SELECT privilege for it.

The threads table has these columns:

• THREAD_ID

  A unique thread identifier.

• NAME

  The name associated with the thread instrumentation code in the server. For example, thread/sql/one_connection corresponds to the thread function in the code responsible for handling a user connection, and thread/sql/main stands for the main() function of the server.

• TYPE

  The thread type, either FOREGROUND or BACKGROUND. User connection threads are foreground threads. Threads associated with internal server activity are background threads. Examples are internal InnoDB threads, “binlog dump” threads sending information to replicas, and replication I/O and SQL threads.

• PROCESSLIST_ID

  For a foreground thread (associated with a user connection), this is the connection identifier. This is the same value displayed in the ID column of the INFORMATION_SCHEMA PROCESSLIST table, displayed in the Id column of SHOW PROCESSLIST output, and returned by the CONNECTION_ID() function within the thread.

  For a background thread (not associated with a user connection), PROCESSLIST_ID is NULL, so the values are not unique.

• PROCESSLIST_USER

  The user associated with a foreground thread, NULL for a background thread.

• PROCESSLIST_HOST

  The host name of the client associated with a foreground thread, NULL for a background thread.

  Unlike the HOST column of the INFORMATION_SCHEMA PROCESSLIST table or the Host column of SHOW PROCESSLIST output, the PROCESSLIST_HOST column does not include the port number for TCP/IP connections. To obtain this information from the Performance Schema, enable the socket instrumentation (which is not enabled by default) and examine the socket_instances table:

  mysql> SELECT * FROM performance_schema.setup_instruments
         WHERE NAME LIKE 'wait/io/socket%';
  +----------------------------------------+---------+-------+
  | NAME                                   | ENABLED | TIMED |
  +----------------------------------------+---------+-------+
  | wait/io/socket/sql/server_tcpip_socket | NO      | NO    |
  | wait/io/socket/sql/server_unix_socket  | NO      | NO    |
  | wait/io/socket/sql/client_connection   | NO      | NO    |
  +----------------------------------------+---------+-------+
  3 rows in set (0.01 sec)
  
  mysql> UPDATE performance_schema.setup_instruments
         SET ENABLED='YES'
         WHERE NAME LIKE 'wait/io/socket%';
  Query OK, 3 rows affected (0.00 sec)
  Rows matched: 3  Changed: 3  Warnings: 0
  
  mysql> SELECT * FROM performance_schema.socket_instances\G
  *************************** 1. row ***************************
             EVENT_NAME: wait/io/socket/sql/client_connection
  OBJECT_INSTANCE_BEGIN: 140612577298432
              THREAD_ID: 31
              SOCKET_ID: 53
                     IP: ::ffff:127.0.0.1
                   PORT: 55642
                  STATE: ACTIVE
  ...

• PROCESSLIST_DB

  The default database for the thread, or NULL if none has been selected.

• PROCESSLIST_COMMAND

  For foreground threads, the type of command the thread is executing on behalf of the client, or Sleep if the session is idle. For descriptions of thread commands, see Section 8.14, “Examining Server Thread (Process) Information”. The value of this column corresponds to the COM_xxx commands of the client/server protocol and Com_xxx status variables. See Section 5.1.9, “Server Status Variables”

  Background threads do not execute commands on behalf of clients, so this column may be NULL.

• PROCESSLIST_TIME

  The time in seconds that the thread has been in its current state. For a replica SQL thread, the value is the number of seconds between the timestamp of the last replicated event and the real time of the replica host. See Section 16.2.3, “Replication Threads”.

• PROCESSLIST_STATE

  An action, event, or state that indicates what the thread is doing. For descriptions of PROCESSLIST_STATE values, see Section 8.14, “Examining Server Thread (Process) Information”. If the value if NULL, the thread may correspond to an idle client session or the work it is doing is not instrumented with stages.

  Most states correspond to very quick operations. If a thread stays in a given state for many seconds, there might be a problem that bears investigation.

• PROCESSLIST_INFO

  The statement the thread is executing, or NULL if it is executing no statement. The statement might be the one sent to the server, or an innermost statement if the statement executes other statements. For example, if a CALL statement executes a stored procedure that is executing a SELECT statement, the PROCESSLIST_INFO value shows the SELECT statement.

• PARENT_THREAD_ID

  If this thread is a subthread (spawned by another thread), this is the THREAD_ID value of the spawning thread.

• ROLE

  Unused.

• INSTRUMENTED

  Whether events executed by the thread are instrumented. The value is YES or NO.

  • For foreground threads, the initial INSTRUMENTED value is determined by whether the user account associated with the thread matches any row in the setup_actors table. Matching is based on the values of the PROCESSLIST_USER and PROCESSLIST_HOST columns.

    If the thread spawns a subthread, matching occurs again for the threads table row created for the subthread.

  • For background threads, INSTRUMENTED is YES by default. setup_actors is not consulted because there is no associated user for background threads.

  • For any thread, its INSTRUMENTED value can be changed during the lifetime of the thread.

  For monitoring of events executed by the thread to occur, these things must be true:

  • The thread_instrumentation consumer in the setup_consumers table must be YES.

  • The threads.INSTRUMENTED column must be YES.

  • Monitoring occurs only for those thread events produced from instruments that have the ENABLED column set to YES in the setup_instruments table.

• HISTORY

  Whether to log historical events for the thread. The value is YES or NO.

  • For foreground threads, the initial HISTORY value is determined by whether the user account associated with the thread matches any row in the setup_actors table. Matching is based on the values of the PROCESSLIST_USER and PROCESSLIST_HOST columns.

    If the thread spawns a subthread, matching occurs again for the threads table row created for the subthread.

  • For background threads, HISTORY is YES by default. setup_actors is not consulted because there is no associated user for background threads.

  • For any thread, its HISTORY value can be changed during the lifetime of the thread.

  For historical event logging for the thread to occur, these things must be true:

  • The appropriate history-related consumers in the setup_consumers table must be enabled. For example, wait event logging in the events_waits_history and events_waits_history_long tables requires the corresponding events_waits_history and events_waits_history_long consumers to be YES.

  • The threads.HISTORY column must be YES.

  • Logging occurs only for those thread events produced from instruments that have the ENABLED column set to YES in the setup_instruments table.

• CONNECTION_TYPE

  The protocol used to establish the connection, or NULL for background threads. Permitted values are TCP/IP (TCP/IP connection established without encryption), SSL/TLS (TCP/IP connection established with encryption), Socket (Unix socket file connection), Named Pipe (Windows named pipe connection), and Shared Memory (Windows shared memory connection).

• THREAD_OS_ID

  The thread or task identifier as defined by the underlying operating system, if there is one:

  • When a MySQL thread is associated with the same operating system thread for its lifetime, THREAD_OS_ID contains the operating system thread ID.

  • When a MySQL thread is not associated with the same operating system thread for its lifetime, THREAD_OS_ID contains NULL. This is typical for user sessions when the thread pool plugin is used (see Section 5.5.3, “MySQL Enterprise Thread Pool”).

  For Windows, THREAD_OS_ID corresponds to the thread ID visible in Process Explorer (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx).

  For Linux, THREAD_OS_ID corresponds to the value of the gettid() function. This value is exposed, for example, using the perf or ps -L commands, or in the proc file system (/proc/[pid]/task/[tid]). For more information, see the perf-stat(1), ps(1), and proc(5) man pages.

TRUNCATE TABLE is not permitted for the threads table.