# Readwritesplit

This document provides a short overview of the **readwritesplit** router module
and its intended use case scenarios. It also displays all router configuration
parameters with their descriptions. A list of current limitations of the module
is included and use examples are provided.

## Overview

The **readwritesplit** router is designed to increase the read-only processing
capability of a cluster while maintaining consistency. This is achieved by
splitting the query load into read and write queries. Read queries, which do not
modify data, are spread across multiple nodes while all write queries will be
sent to a single node.

The router is designed to be used with a traditional Master-Slave replication
cluster. It automatically detects changes in the master server and will use the
current master server of the cluster. With a Galera cluster, one can achieve a
resilient setup and easy master failover by using one of the Galera nodes as a
Write-Master node, where all write queries are routed, and spreading the read
load over all the nodes.

## Configuration

Readwritesplit router-specific settings are specified in the configuration file
of MariaDB MaxScale in its specific section. The section can be freely named but
the name is used later as a reference in a listener section.

For more details about the standard service parameters, refer to the
[Configuration Guide](../Getting-Started/Configuration-Guide.md).

## Optional parameters

### `max_slave_connections`

**`max_slave_connections`** sets the maximum number of slaves a router session
uses at any moment. The default is to use all available slaves.

	max_slave_connections=<max. number, or % of available slaves>

### `max_slave_replication_lag`

**`max_slave_replication_lag`** specifies how many seconds a slave is allowed to
be behind the master. If the lag is bigger than the configured value a slave
can't be used for routing.

This feature is disabled by default.

	max_slave_replication_lag=<allowed lag in seconds>

This applies to Master/Slave replication with MySQL monitor and
`detect_replication_lag=1` options set. max_slave_replication_lag must be
greater than the monitor interval.

This option only affects Master-Slave clusters. Galera clusters do not have a
concept of slave lag even if the application of write sets might have lag.

### `use_sql_variables_in`

**`use_sql_variables_in`** specifies where should queries, which read session
variable, be routed. The syntax for `use_sql_variable_in` is:

    use_sql_variables_in=[master|all]

The default is to use SQL variables in all servers.

When value `all` is used, queries reading session variables can be routed to any
available slave (depending on selection criteria). Queries modifying session
variables are routed to all backend servers by default, excluding write queries
with embedded session variable modifications, such as:

    INSERT INTO test.t1 VALUES (@myid:=@myid+1)

In above-mentioned case the user-defined variable would only be updated in the
master where the query would be routed to due to the `INSERT` statement.

**Note:** As of version 2.1 of MaxScale, all of the router options can also be
defined as parameters. The values defined in _router_options_ will have priority
over the parameters.

```
[Splitter Service]
type=service
router=readwritesplit
servers=dbserv1, dbserv2, dbserv3
user=maxscale
passwd=96F99AA1315BDC3604B006F427DD9484
disable_sescmd_history=true
master_failure_mode=fail_on_write
```

### `connection_keepalive`

Send keepalive pings to backend servers. This feature was introduced in MaxScale
2.2.0 and is disabled by default.

The parameter value is the interval in seconds between each keepalive ping. A
keepalive ping will be sent to a backend server if the connection is idle and it
has not been used within `n` seconds where `n` is greater than or equal to the
value of _connection_keepalive_. The keepalive pings are only sent when the
client executes a query.

This functionality allows the readwritesplit module to keep all backend
connections alive even if they are not used. This is a common problem if the
backend servers have a low _wait_timeout_ value and the client connections live
for a long time.

## Router options

**`router_options`** may include multiple **readwritesplit**-specific options.
All the options are parameter-value pairs. All parameters listed in this section
must be configured as a value in `router_options`.

Multiple options can be defined as a comma-separated list of parameter-value
pairs.

```
router_options=<option>,<option>
```

For example, to set **`slave_selection_criteria`** and
**`disable_sescmd_history`**, write

```
router_options=slave_selection_criteria=LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS,disable_sescmd_history=true
```

### `slave_selection_criteria`

This option controls how the readwritesplit router chooses the slaves it
connects to and how the load balancing is done. The default behavior is to route
read queries to the slave server with the lowest amount of ongoing queries i.e.
`LEAST_CURRENT_OPERATIONS`.

The option syntax:

```
router_options=slave_selection_criteria=<criteria>
```

Where `<criteria>` is one of the following values.

* `LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS`, the slave with least connections from MariaDB MaxScale
* `LEAST_ROUTER_CONNECTIONS`, the slave with least connections from this service
* `LEAST_BEHIND_MASTER`, the slave with smallest replication lag
* `LEAST_CURRENT_OPERATIONS` (default), the slave with least active operations

The `LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS` and `LEAST_ROUTER_CONNECTIONS` use the
connections from MariaDB MaxScale to the server, not the amount of connections
reported by the server itself.

`LEAST_BEHIND_MASTER` does not take server weights into account when choosing a
server.

#### Server Weights and `slave_selection_criteria`

The following formula is used to calculate a score for a server when the
`weightby` parameter is defined.

```
score = x / w
```

`x` is the absolute value of the chosen metric (queries, connections) and
`w` is the weight of the server. The value of `w` is the relative weight
of the server in relation to all the servers configured for the
service. The server with the highest score that fulfills all other
criteria is chosen as the target server.

Read the [configuration guide](../Getting-Started/Configuration-Guide.md#weightby)
for a more detailed example on how the weights are calculated.

For `LEAST_CURRENT_OPERATIONS`, the metric is number of active queries on
the candidate server, for `LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS` and
`LEAST_ROUTER_CONNECTIONS` it is the number of open connections and for
`LEAST_BEHIND_MASTER` it is the number of seconds a server is behind the
master.

#### Interaction Between `slave_selection_criteria` and `max_slave_connections`

Depending on the value of `max_slave_connections`, the slave selection criteria
behave in different ways. Here are a few example cases of how the different
criteria work with different amounts of slave connections.

* With `slave_selection_criteria=LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS` and
`max_slave_connections=1`, each session picks one slave and one master

* With `slave_selection_criteria=LEAST_CURRENT_OPERATIONS` and
`max_slave_connections=100%`, each session picks one master and as many slaves
as possible

* With `slave_selection_criteria=LEAST_CURRENT_OPERATIONS` each read is load
balanced based on how many queries are active on a particular slave

* With `slave_selection_criteria=LEAST_GLOBAL_CONNECTIONS` each read is sent to
the slave with the least amount of connections

### `max_sescmd_history`

**`max_sescmd_history`** sets a limit on how many session commands each session
can execute before the session command history is disabled. The default is an
unlimited number of session commands.

```
# Set a limit on the session command history
router_options=max_sescmd_history=1500
```

When a limitation is set, it effectively creates a cap on the session's memory
consumption. This might be useful if connection pooling is used and the sessions
use large amounts of session commands.

### `disable_sescmd_history`

This option disables the session command history. This way no history is stored
and if a slave server fails, the router will not try to replace the failed
slave. Disabling session command history will allow long-lived connections
without causing a constant growth in the memory consumption.

This option is only intended to be enabled if the value of
`max_slave_connections` is lowered below the default value. This will allow a
failed slave to be replaced with a standby slave server.

In versions 2.0 and older, the session command history is enabled by default.
Starting with version 2.1, the session command history is disabled by default.

```
# Disable the session command history
router_options=disable_sescmd_history=true
```

### `master_accept_reads`

**`master_accept_reads`** allows the master server to be used for reads. This is
a useful option to enable if you are using a small number of servers and wish to
use the master for reads as well.

By default, no reads are sent to the master.

```
# Use the master for reads
router_options=master_accept_reads=true
```

### `strict_multi_stmt`

This option is disabled by default since MaxScale 2.2.1. In older versions, this
option was enabled by default.

When a client executes a multi-statement query, it will be treated as if it were
a DML statement and routed to the master. If the option is enabled, all queries
after a multi-statement query will be routed to the master to guarantee a
consistent session state.

If the feature is disabled, queries are routed normally after a multi-statement
query.

**Warning:** Enable the strict mode only if you know that the clients will send
  statements that cause inconsistencies in the session state.

```
# Enable strict multi-statement mode
router_options=strict_multi_stmt=true
```

### `strict_sp_calls`

Similar to `strict_multi_stmt`, this option allows all queries after a CALL
operation on a stored procedure to be routed to the master. This option is
disabled by default and was added in MaxScale 2.1.9.

All warnings and restrictions that apply to `strict_multi_stmt` also apply to
`strict_sp_calls`.

### `master_failure_mode`

This option controls how the failure of a master server is handled. By default,
the router will close the client connection as soon as the master is lost.

The following table describes the values for this option and how they treat the
loss of a master server.

| Value        | Description|
|--------------|-----------|
|fail_instantly | When the failure of the master server is detected, the connection will be closed immediately.|
|fail_on_write | The client connection is closed if a write query is received when no master is available.|
|error_on_write | If no master is available and a write query is received, an error is returned stating that the connection is in read-only mode.|

These also apply to new sessions created after the master has failed. This means
that in _fail_on_write_ or _error_on_write_ mode, connections are accepted as
long as slave servers are available.

**Note:** If _master_failure_mode_ is set to _error_on_write_ and the connection
to the master is lost, clients will not be able to execute write queries without
reconnecting to MariaDB MaxScale once a new master is available.

### `retry_failed_reads`

This option controls whether autocommit selects are retried in case of failure.
This option is enabled by default.

When a simple autocommit select is being executed outside of a transaction and
the slave server where the query is being executed fails, readwritesplit can
retry the read on a replacement server. This makes the failure of a slave
transparent to the client.

## Routing hints

The readwritesplit router supports routing hints. For a detailed guide on hint
syntax and functionality, please read [this](../Reference/Hint-Syntax.md)
document.

**Note**: Routing hints will always have the highest priority when a routing
decision is made. This means that it is possible to cause inconsistencies in
the session state and the actual data in the database by adding routing hints
to DDL/DML statements which are then directed to slave servers. Only use routing
hints when you are sure that they can cause no harm.

## Limitations

For a list of readwritesplit limitations, please read the
[Limitations](../About/Limitations.md) document.

## Examples

Examples of the readwritesplit router in use can be found in the
[Tutorials](../Tutorials) folder.

## Readwritesplit routing decisions

Here is a small explanation which shows what kinds of queries are routed to
which type of server.

### Routing to Master

Routing to master is important for data consistency and because majority of
writes are written to binlog and thus become replicated to slaves.

The following operations are routed to master:

* write statements,
* all statements within an open transaction,
* stored procedure calls
* user-defined function calls
* DDL statements (`DROP`|`CREATE`|`ALTER TABLE` … etc.)
* `EXECUTE` (prepared) statements
* all statements using temporary tables

In addition to these, if the **readwritesplit** service is configured with the
`max_slave_replication_lag` parameter, and if all slaves suffer from too much
replication lag, then statements will be routed to the _Master_. (There might be
other similar configuration parameters in the future which limit the number of
statements that will be routed to slaves.)

### Routing to Slaves

The ability to route some statements to slaves is important because it also
decreases the load targeted to master. Moreover, it is possible to have multiple
slaves to share the load in contrast to single master.

Queries which can be routed to slaves must be auto committed and belong to one
of the following group:

* read-only database queries,
* read-only queries to system, or user-defined variables,
* `SHOW` statements
* system function calls.

### Routing to every session backend

A third class of statements includes those which modify session data, such as
session system variables, user-defined variables, the default database, etc. We
call them session commands, and they must be replicated as they affect the
future results of read and write operations. They must be executed on all
servers that could execute statements on behalf of this client.

Session commands include for example:

* `SET` statements
* `USE `*`<dbname>`*
* system/user-defined variable assignments embedded in read-only statements, such
as `SELECT (@myvar := 5)`
* `PREPARE` statements
* `QUIT`, `PING`, `STMT RESET`, `CHANGE USER`, etc. commands

**NOTE**: if variable assignment is embedded in a write statement it is routed
to _Master_ only. For example, `INSERT INTO t1 values(@myvar:=5, 7)` would be
routed to _Master_ only.

The router stores all of the executed session commands so that in case of a
slave failure, a replacement slave can be chosen and the session command history
can be repeated on that new slave. This means that the router stores each
executed session command for the duration of the session. Applications that use
long-running sessions might cause MariaDB MaxScale to consume a growing amount
of memory unless the sessions are closed. This can be solved by setting a
connection timeout on the application side.
