MariaDB Load Balancing
Expert MaxScale Load Balancer Services
Professional MaxScale Implementation for MariaDB High Availability
Partner with certified MaxScale experts to optimize MariaDB performance with intelligent routing, automatic failover, and advanced read/write splitting. Our MaxScale consultants deliver enterprise-grade high availability solutions for mission-critical database environments.
- MaxScale Installation
- Professional installation and initial configuration of MaxScale for your MariaDB environment.
- Performance Optimization
- Fine-tune MaxScale routing rules and connection pooling for optimal database performance.
- High Availability Setup
- Configure automatic failover and load balancing for zero-downtime MariaDB operations.
Complete MaxScale Suite
MaxScale Load Balancer Services We Provide
From initial setup to ongoing optimization, we provide end-to-end MaxScale services to ensure your MariaDB infrastructure delivers peak performance and reliability.
MaxScale Capabilities
What's Included in Our MaxScale Services
MaxScale at Enterprise Scale
Our MaxScale implementations deliver consistent, reliable performance across all MariaDB environments.
- Performance Improvement
- 40%
- High Availability
- 99.9%
- Implementation Success
- 100%
- Response Time
- <24h
Deep Dive
How MaxScale Works: Architecture Overview
Understanding MaxScale's internal architecture helps you make informed decisions about routing, filtering, and high availability configurations.
Router Types
Read/Write Split Router
The readwritesplit router automatically directs SELECT queries to replica servers while routing INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations to the primary. It maintains session consistency by tracking transactions and temporary tables, ensuring data integrity across distributed reads.
Read Connection Router
The readconnroute router provides simple round-robin or weighted load balancing across backend servers. Ideal for read-heavy workloads where you want even distribution without query analysis overhead.
Schema Router
Routes queries based on database schema names, enabling multi-tenant architectures where different databases reside on different backend servers. Perfect for SaaS applications with isolated customer data.
Filter Pipeline
MaxScale processes queries through a configurable filter pipeline, allowing you to inspect, modify, or reject queries before they reach backend servers.
Query Log All Filter
Captures every query for audit logging, performance analysis, or compliance requirements. Logs include query text, execution time, affected rows, and client information.
Database Firewall Filter
Blocks SQL injection attempts, restricts dangerous operations like DROP DATABASE, and enforces query allowlists. Essential for protecting production databases from malicious or accidental harm.
Query Cache Filter
Caches frequently executed queries to reduce backend load. Configurable TTL and cache invalidation rules ensure data freshness while improving response times for repetitive queries.
Connection Handling & Pooling
Connection Multiplexing
MaxScale can multiplex multiple client connections onto fewer backend connections, reducing connection overhead on MariaDB servers. This is especially valuable when applications open many short-lived connections.
Persistent Connections
Backend connections are maintained in a pool and reused across client sessions. Connection setup time is eliminated for subsequent queries, improving latency for high-throughput applications.
Graceful Failover
When a backend server fails, MaxScale automatically redirects connections to healthy servers without dropping client sessions. In-flight transactions are handled according to configurable policies.
Comparison
MaxScale vs ProxySQL: Choosing the Right Proxy
Both MaxScale and ProxySQL are excellent database proxies, but they excel in different scenarios. Here's a detailed comparison to help you choose.
| Feature | MaxScale | ProxySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Database | MariaDB (native support) | MySQL & MariaDB |
| Galera Cluster Support | Excellent (native Galera monitor) | Good (requires configuration) |
| Query Caching | Filter-based caching | Built-in query cache |
| Database Firewall | Advanced firewall filter | Query rules (limited) |
| Configuration | File-based + REST API | Runtime via SQL interface |
| License | BSL (MariaDB) | GPL v3 |
| Best For | MariaDB ecosystems, security-focused deployments | MySQL environments, query caching priority |
Choose MaxScale When:
- •You're running MariaDB and want native, optimized support
- •Database security is a top priority (firewall, audit logging)
- •You use Galera Cluster and need automatic topology detection
- •You need a modular filter pipeline for custom query processing
Choose ProxySQL When:
- •You need to support both MySQL and MariaDB in the same proxy
- •Query caching is critical for your read-heavy workload
- •You prefer runtime configuration via SQL commands
- •Open-source GPL licensing is required for your project
Configuration
MaxScale Configuration Best Practices
Real-world configuration examples for common MaxScale deployment scenarios. These configurations represent production-tested patterns our team implements.
Read/Write Splitting Configuration
Routes reads to replicas, writes to primary for optimal load distribution
[ReadWriteSplit-Service]
type=service
router=readwritesplit
servers=primary,replica1,replica2
user=maxscale_user
password=maxscale_password
# Route reads to replicas, writes to primary
master_accept_reads=false
# Maintain session consistency for transactions
transaction_replay=true
# Maximum lag allowed before removing replica
max_slave_replication_lag=10s
[ReadWriteSplit-Listener]
type=listener
service=ReadWriteSplit-Service
protocol=MariaDBClient
port=4006
address=0.0.0.0Galera Cluster Monitor Configuration
Automatic topology detection and health monitoring for Galera clusters
[Galera-Monitor]
type=monitor
module=galeramon
servers=node1,node2,node3
user=monitor_user
password=monitor_password
# Check interval in milliseconds
monitor_interval=2000ms
# Disable lagging nodes automatically
disable_master_failback=false
# Only use synced nodes for routing
available_when_donor=false
# Set priority for master selection
use_priority=trueDatabase Firewall Filter
Protect against SQL injection and restrict dangerous operations
[DBFirewall]
type=filter
module=dbfwfilter
rules=/etc/maxscale.d/firewall_rules.txt
# Example rules file content:
# Block DROP DATABASE commands
rule block_drop match regex '.*DROP\s+DATABASE.*' deny
# Block DELETE without WHERE clause
rule block_delete_all match regex 'DELETE\s+FROM\s+\w+\s*$' deny
# Allow only specific users to access admin tables
rule admin_only match columns admin_* users admin deny
# Log all queries matching pattern
rule audit_sensitive match regex '.*credit_card.*' logConfiguration Best Practices
- •Always use encrypted connections between MaxScale and backend servers
- •Set appropriate connection limits to prevent backend overload
- •Configure monitor intervals based on your failover requirements
- •Use dedicated MaxScale users with minimal required privileges
- •Enable query logging in staging before production deployment
- •Test failover scenarios regularly in non-production environments
Deployment
MaxScale Deployment Patterns
Common deployment architectures for different scale and availability requirements.
Single Node Deployment
Ideal for development, staging, and smaller production workloads. Simple setup with one MaxScale instance handling all routing decisions.
- ✓ Simple configuration and maintenance
- ✓ Lower infrastructure costs
- ✓ Suitable for <10K connections
- △ Single point of failure
High Availability Cluster
Two or more MaxScale instances with Keepalived or Pacemaker for automatic failover. Production-grade setup for mission-critical applications.
- ✓ Automatic failover (99.99% uptime)
- ✓ No single point of failure
- ✓ Rolling updates without downtime
- ✓ Recommended for production
Cloud Native / Kubernetes
MaxScale deployed as Kubernetes pods with horizontal scaling, service mesh integration, and cloud-native monitoring.
- ✓ Horizontal auto-scaling
- ✓ Container orchestration benefits
- ✓ GitOps deployment workflows
- ✓ Service mesh compatibility
Deployment Considerations
Network Placement
Deploy MaxScale close to your application servers to minimize latency. Consider VPC peering for cloud deployments.
Resource Sizing
Allocate 2-4 CPU cores and 4-8GB RAM for most workloads. Scale based on connection count and query complexity.
Monitoring Integration
Export metrics to Prometheus/Grafana. Monitor connection pools, query latency, and backend server health.
Security Hardening
Enable TLS for all connections, use firewall rules, and implement network segmentation for database traffic.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our MaxScale load balancer services and MariaDB high availability solutions.
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