WordPress: MySQL
Friday, June 27th, 2008WordPress, as with many blogging and web applications, depends on MySQL to store data for producing output. Every request that WordPress makes to MySQL for reading or writing data puts load on the server.
WordPress is continuously optimized to reduce the transactions required to perform its functions; However, in high-traffic situations, many simultaneous connections to the database can cause excessive load on the server. In this case, connections to the server may not complete, causing the typical “Connection timed out” response in the visitor’s browser.
In most cases, MySQL connection rates can be improved by either adjusting settings for MySQL, or providing more memory and processing power to the overworked server.