[ale] mysql and high load levels

[djinn]

Does anyone out there have experience running mysql in a production
environment with medium sized tables?  We're talking 80 - 150MB data
files...

Mysql's official word is that the tables can be as big as the OS will
let them but we're having some really hideous problems recently with
load levels going absolutely thru the roof in seconds...I watch as my
normal 1 - 3 load level jumps to 20 in 10 seconds...then to 40..then to
80...and I have to kill mysql and wait for everything to close and calm
back down before I can restart it.  Needless to say, this is NOT good.

I have been successfully running mysql in a production environment for 2
years now, on lesser boxen than I'm running on.  There's no problem with
CPU or RAM (tho when the load level gets so high, the CPU utilization
goes thru the roof too).  

Here are my theories, if someone could help me troubleshoot...I'm in the
5th day of this.  I've searched the web and turned up nothing...but I
know I'm just not asking the right questions.

1) Using a new version of mysql...3.23.41.  Installed 3.23.38 and had
the same problems.  I know they're trying to introduce all sorts of
"real database" type stuff...could that be a problem?  

2) I have a handful of heavily hit, large tables.  The load levels seem
to go insane when two of the large tables are hit about the same time. 
But not consistantly.  I'm taking steps to reduce the size of the
tables, but the largest one is only about 150Mb and I'm having trouble
believing that MySQL could be balking at that.

3) Using kernel 2.4.7...which is my first time out with the 2.4 kernel. 
Is there possibly something that I'm missing in my config, should I have
compiled in to use the new mysql (maybe a dumb question, but i'm rnning
out of thoughts)?? 


Any suggestions?

Thanks
jenn
--
To unsubscribe: mail majordomo at ale.org with "unsubscribe ale" in message body.