When Query Optimization Isn’t Enough

You’ve optimized your queries. You’ve tuned indexes, analyzed execution plans, and warmed the cache. But your database still lags. Your users are still impacted. Why?

Because even fast queries, when run thousands of times per second, can overwhelm a system. In our latest performance analysis, we tested the same SQL query across three conditions:

• Cold Cache – data fetched from disk
• Warm Cache – data served from memory
• External Cache Layer – query offloaded to an in-memory SQL cache via Readyset

What We Found

• Memory caching cut latency in half (10.4s to 5.4s), but CPU overhead remained high
• Query offloading with Readyset cut CPU cycles by 38%, cache misses by 42%, and slashed wall-clock latency from 10.4s to 0.12s
• High-frequency reads still strained the CPU after tuning and warming; Readyset dropped that overhead substantially

Why This Matters

Query tuning makes the work faster, but caching eliminates the work entirely. Offloading reduces system load, not just latency. If your queries are optimized but your database is still under pressure, tuning isn’t the solution, caching is.

For a complete breakdown with perf stat output and detailed results, you can read the full post here.

🔍 What We’re Watching in the Database Ecosystem

A natural language version of Navicat — a new AI-powered way to manage MySQL! An interesting open source project. Telegram-deepseek-bot now uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to query, inspect, and optimize MySQL databases; all via natural language. It can detect slow queries, suggest index changes, export results to CSV, and even execute admin commands, making database ops accessible to non-developers.

This AI Agent Should Have Been a SQL Query A fresh take on AI agent design: using streaming SQL (via Apache Flink) instead of orchestration code. This post shows how combining Flink SQL with LLMs, context management, and real-time data makes it easier for data engineers to build scalable, production-ready agents with familiar tools.

Cloud Repatriation: Rethinking the Cloud-Only Strategy As infra teams reassess the cost-performance balance of cloud-first strategies, many are turning to hybrid setups or tuning their cloud stack to feel more local. This piece outlines the repatriation trend, but the real opportunity isn’t abandoning the cloud, it’s making it efficient.

In Case You Missed It

Readyset will be at the following events in July:

AWS Summit New York City - July 16, 2025 Tanmay is heading to New York City for AWS Summit! If you're interested in database performance or want to learn more about Readyset, he’s happy to connect. Whether you're attending the summit or in the area, you can book time with Tanmay here.

MySQL Summit Online - July 22, 2025 @ 10:00 am PDT Marcelo will be speaking at MySQL Summit Online. Join him for a deep dive into how Readyset uses MySQL’s binary log and dataflow graphs to solve one of the hardest problems in computing. This isn't just theory; he’ll decode real binlog events at the byte level and explore how this powers Readyset’s real-time, low latency cache. If you're scaling systems or passionate about database internals, this talk is for you.