Database Autonomy Service:Parameter inspection and comparison

Background information

The parameter inspection and comparison feature supports custom rule templates. The templates allow parameter inspection or comparison tasks to be automatically or manually initiated on a regular basis. The task results are returned in a report. The report contains recommendations from parameter diagnostics and details about parameter differences between instances.

Use scenarios

• Parameter inspection: checks the parameter settings of multiple instances at a time based on user-defined or default parameter values.

  • User-defined parameter values: the values specified by users based on their specific needs.

  • Default parameter values: the default values recommended by DAS, which are the same as the recommended values from parameter diagnostics. Values are recommended based on information such as the instance status, parameter template, benchmark concepts for additional parameters, formulas, and expertise.

• Parameter comparison: compares parameter values between different instances, or between the instance parameter values and user-defined parameter values.

Limits

• Your database instance must run one of the following database engines:

  • ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL (excluding ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL Cluster Edition)

  • PolarDB for MySQL

• Your database instance must be connected to DAS and in the Normal Access state. For more information, see Connect a database instance to DAS.

• You can inspect and compare only parameters that are modifiable in the console.

• You can configure a maximum of 100 rules.

  • You can customize the basic rules for parameter inspection and comparison, including the rule alias, rule description, supported engine, and rule type. You can also configure the parameter values used in inspection or comparison.

• You can configure a maximum of 100 templates.

  • You can create a template for parameter inspection or comparison based on rules. In the template, you can specify parameters, such as the template alias, template description, associated rules, automatic inspection cycle, and template status. You can also select instances to which the template is applied.

• You can associate a parameter inspection template with a maximum of 100 instances.

• You can associate a parameter comparison template with a maximum of 10 instances.

• You cannot associate an instance with a parameter inspection template and a parameter comparison template at the same time. The new association overwrites the old association.

• Only parameter inspection tasks can be automatically initiated. You can configure a cycle only for parameter inspection templates.

Feature introduction

• Create a rule and a template.

  • Create and manage a rule.

    

    • You can customize rules for parameter inspection and comparison for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances or PolarDB for MySQL clusters, and set the corresponding parameter values.

      The task inspects or compares the parameters based on the following priority: specific parameter values (if configured) > instance parameter values (if selected) > default values (the same as the recommended values from parameter diagnostics).

    • You can view, modify, and delete rules on the Rule Management page.

  • Create and manage a template.

    

    • You can create a template for parameter inspection or comparison based on rules. You can customize the automatic inspection cycle, template status, and instances to which the template is applied.

      Important

      You cannot configure a cycle for parameter comparison templates.

    • In the Rule Management panel, you can view, modify, and delete templates, and modify the association relationship between instances and templates.

• Initiate a task.

  • Automatic: The system automatically initiates parameter inspection tasks on a periodic basis based on the inspection template that you have enabled.

  • Manual: You can select a template on the feature page to manually initiate a parameter inspection task or a parameter comparison task. You can also select instances to compare parameter settings between the instances.

• View results.

  • You can view the overview information and report details of historical tasks on the feature page.

    

    • Parameter inspection: View the report to learn about recommendations from parameter diagnostics.

    • Parameter comparison: View the report to obtain comparison results of parameter settings.

Procedure

1. Log on to the DAS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Inspection and Scoring. On the page that appears, click the Parameter Inspection and Comparison tab.

3. Click Settings. On the Rule Templates page, you can perform the following operations:

   1. Configure a rule.

      1. Click Rule Management in the upper-left corner. In the panel that appears, click Create Rule.

      2. You can search for and view rules by rule ID, alias, engine, or type.

      3. Click View Details in the Actions column corresponding to a rule to view and modify the rule. You can delete one or more rules at a time.

      Parameter	Description
      Rule Alias	The alias of the rule. The alias is used to quickly identify the rule.
      Rule Description	The description of the rule.
      Engine Type	The type of the engine to which the rule is applied. Valid values: MySQL: The rule supports only ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances. PolarDBMySQL: The rule supports only PolarDB for MySQL clusters.
      Type	The type of the rule. Valid values: Parameter Inspection Parameter Comparison
      Parameter Value	The baseline parameter values used for inspection or comparison. The default values are the same as the recommended values from parameter diagnostics. If you select an instance parameter value, a snapshot of the value is created in real time. The task performs analysis based on the parameter settings in the snapshot. If you select a specific parameter value, the task performs analysis based on the value. Important The task inspects or compares the parameters based on the following priority: specific parameter values (if configured) > instance parameter values (if selected) > default values. Make sure that you enter valid parameter names and values.

   2. Configure a template.

      1. Click Create Template in the upper-left corner. In the dialog box that appears, you can create a template.

      2. You can search for and view templates by template ID, alias, engine, type, or status.

      3. Click View Details in the Actions column corresponding to a template to view and modify the template. You can delete, enable, or disable one or more rules at a time. Click Select Instance in the Actions column corresponding to a template to modify the association between the instance and the template.

         Parameter	Description
         Template Alias	The alias of the template. The alias is used to quickly identify the template.
         Template Description	The description of the template.
         Status	The status of the template. Note When you create a task, you can select only an enabled template.
         Associated Rule	Each template must be associated with a rule. Important After a template is associated with a rule, this template can be associated only with another rule that has the same engine and type as the first associated rule.
         Cycle	The running cycle of the template. Important Parameter inspection can be performed only based on a custom cycle. If the type of the selected associated rule is Parameter Comparison, the cycle option is unavailable.
         Select Instance	The instance to which the template is applied. Important You can associate a parameter inspection template with a maximum of 100 instances. You can associate a parameter comparison template with a maximum of 10 instances. An instance cannot be associated with a parameter inspection template and a parameter comparison template at the same time. The new association overwrites the old association. Associated instances that have expired are cleared during template-based analysis.

4. After the template is configured, a parameter inspection task is automatically initiated based on the template content. You can also click Initiate Task on the Parameter Inspection and Comparison tab to manually create a parameter inspection task or a parameter comparison task.

   Task type	Manual task initiation method
   Parameter inspection	Select an enabled parameter inspection template to initiate a task.
   Parameter comparison	Select an enabled parameter comparison template to initiate a task. Select an instance to quickly initiate a parameter comparison task.

5. On the MySQL or PolarDBMySQL tab, view the parameter inspection and comparison results.

   1. You can filter results by task type or task initiation type.

   2. Click View Report in the Actions column to view the inspection and comparison results.

      The following table describes the recommendation levels in the diagnostic results.

      Recommendation level	Description
      Important	The parameter value is user-defined.
      Critical	We recommend you modify the parameter value immediately.
      Warn	We recommend you modify the parameter value as necessary.
      Notice	The parameter value is different from the value in the default parameter template of your instance.

References

Practices of parameter inspection and comparison