Database guides

Percona Server for MySQL

Updated 2026-08-11 · 2 min read

A drop-in MySQL distribution with extra instrumentation. AddisDB treats it exactly as MySQL — the full toolset applies.

Percona Server for MySQL is a drop-in replacement for MySQL: same wire protocol, same SQL, same information_schema, with additional instrumentation and the XtraDB storage engine. AddisDB connects with its MySQL driver on port 3306 and everything behaves as it does on stock MySQL.

Who it is for

Percona Server suits teams who want more visibility into what MySQL is doing than upstream provides — extended slow-query logging with per-query statistics, more granular InnoDB metrics, and user statistics tables — without changing anything about how their application talks to the database.

Percona XtraDB Cluster is the multi-primary clustering product built on the same base. It also speaks the MySQL protocol, so this entry connects to it as well; just point at whichever node you want.

Set up the server

  1. Note the host and confirm the port, 3306 by default.
  2. Check that bind-address in my.cnf allows connections from your address, not just 127.0.0.1.
  3. Create or identify an account with a host pattern that covers where you are connecting from — MySQL grants are per user-and-host.
  4. Grant SELECT on the schemas you need, plus PROCESS if you want the Live Monitor to show other sessions.
mysql -h percona.example.com -P 3306 -u root -p -e "SELECT VERSION(), @@version_comment;"

Connect from AddisDB

  1. New Connection → Percona Server. Port prefills to 3306 and username to root.
  2. Enter the host and credentials.
  3. Set SSL mode to require if the server terminates TLS, and attach a CA certificate to verify it.
  4. If the server is on this machine, you can use a Unix socket instead of a host and port.
  5. Test, then Save.

What AddisDB gives you

The complete MySQL toolset: schema tree, in-grid editing, structured create and alter table, database-user management, mock data, and query plans through EXPLAIN FORMAT=JSON.

The Live Monitor is real — information_schema.processlist for live sessions, table sizes from information_schema.tables, and KILL for cancelling or ending a session.

Statement statistics come from performance_schema, which Percona ships enabled. Percona’s own userstat tables carry more detail again and are worth querying directly when you want per-index usage.