MySQL data transfer to different schema

It sounds like you've got this entirely back to front and upside down. Typically changes are tracked using scripts, which you would then apply to the production database. I've never encountered a case where it made sense to import production data to the next version created from development.

If your database isn't currently in source control, the articles linked to from Jeff Atwood's article Get Your Database Under Version Control are a good introduction. Also, the free Redgate ebook SQL Server Team Based Development includes a chapter on source control for databases.

If you've been making changes via GUI tools and don't have any record of what's changed your best bet is a database comparison tool, like Redgate SQLCompare or Apex SQLDiff. These tools will generate the scripts to upgrade your production database to match the schema of development.

If the boss won't part with the cash for a comparison tool, you could reconcile the changes manually using a diff tool like WinMerge or DiffMerge. Use SSMS Generate Script tools to script objects to individual files, then use the diff tool to identify differences. Finally, hand craft the necessary ALTER statements for any changes to tables.

To answer your first question about monitoring there are several options.

1. Slow query log (included with MySQL)

2. innotop (free)

3. Jet Profiler (free and enterprise version)

As to your second question, my first thought on optimizing the import would be to create the indexes after you import the data to reduce writes

Create the geodata table

CREATE TABLE `geodata` (
  `trackerId` smallint(5) NOT NULL,
  `time` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `sats` tinyint(2) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `lat` float(9,6) NOT NULL,
  `lon` float(9,6) NOT NULL,
  `course` smallint(3) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

Then

INSERT DATA

INSERT INTO goedata (trackerid, time, stats, lat, lon, course) values (1,.....)

Then

Create your indexes

CREATE INDEX idx_geodataTrackerID on geodata(trackerId);
CREATE INDEX idx_geodataTime on geodata(time);
CREATE INDEX idx_geodataLat on geodata(lat);
CREATE INDEX idx_geodataLon on geodata(lon);
CREATE INDEX geodataCourse on geodata(course);

It is usually faster to create indexes after data is imported.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3688731/is-it-better-to-create-an-index-before-filling-a-table-with-data-or-after-the-d

Craig