Here are the most important ways to improve your database performance:
𝟭. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴
Add indexes to columns you frequently search, filter, or join. Think of indexes as the book's table of contents - they help the database find information without scanning every record. But remember: too many indexes slow down write operations.
💡 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Regularly drop unused indexes. They waste space and slow down writing without providing any benefit.
𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀
Pre-compute and store complex query results. This saves processing time when users need the data again. Schedule regular refreshes to keep the data current.
𝟯. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
Add more CPU, RAM, or faster storage to your database server. This is the most straightforward approach, but has physical and cost limitations.
𝟰. 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Duplicate some data to reduce joins. This technique trades storage space for speed and works well when reads outnumber writes significantly.
𝟱. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
Store frequently accessed data in memory. This reduces disk I/O and dramatically speeds up read operations. Popular options include Redis and Memcached.
𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Create copies of your database to distribute read operations. This works well for read-heavy workloads but requires managing data consistency.
𝟳. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
Split your database horizontally across multiple servers. Each shard contains a subset of your data based on a key like user_id or geography. This distributes both read and write loads.
𝟴. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
Divide large tables into smaller, more manageable pieces within the same database. This improves query and maintenance operations on huge tables.
🎁 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀:
🔹 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀. Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to see precisely how your database executes queries. This reveals hidden bottlenecks and helps you target optimization efforts where they matter most.
🔹 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. These run once for every row the outer query returns, creating a performance nightmare. Rewrite them as JOINs for dramatic speed improvements.
🔹 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀. Using VARCHAR(4000) when VARCHAR(40) would work wastes space and slows performance. Right-size your data types to match what you're storing.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲?
Here are the most important ways to improve your database performance:
𝟭. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴
Add indexes to columns you frequently search, filter, or join. Think of indexes as the book's table of contents - they help the database find information without scanning every record. But remember: too many indexes slow down write operations.
💡 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Regularly drop unused indexes. They waste space and slow down writing without providing any benefit.
𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀
Pre-compute and store complex query results. This saves processing time when users need the data again. Schedule regular refreshes to keep the data current.
𝟯. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
Add more CPU, RAM, or faster storage to your database server. This is the most straightforward approach, but has physical and cost limitations.
𝟰. 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Duplicate some data to reduce joins. This technique trades storage space for speed and works well when reads outnumber writes significantly.
𝟱. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
Store frequently accessed data in memory. This reduces disk I/O and dramatically speeds up read operations. Popular options include Redis and Memcached.
𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Create copies of your database to distribute read operations. This works well for read-heavy workloads but requires managing data consistency.
𝟳. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
Split your database horizontally across multiple servers. Each shard contains a subset of your data based on a key like user_id or geography. This distributes both read and write loads.
𝟴. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
Divide large tables into smaller, more manageable pieces within the same database. This improves query and maintenance operations on huge tables.
🎁 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀:
🔹 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀. Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to see precisely how your database executes queries. This reveals hidden bottlenecks and helps you target optimization efforts where they matter most.
🔹 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. These run once for every row the outer query returns, creating a performance nightmare. Rewrite them as JOINs for dramatic speed improvements.
🔹 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀. Using VARCHAR(4000) when VARCHAR(40) would work wastes space and slows performance. Right-size your data types to match what you're storing.