MySQL: Show full processlist has empty Host name. Why

MySQLreplication

I am executing SHOW FULL PROCESSLIST and from the response I get the "Host" field is empty.

Quoting from the docs here

Host

The host name of the client issuing the statement (except for system
user where there is no host). SHOW PROCESSLIST reports the host name
for TCP/IP connections in host_name:client_port format to make it
easier to determine which client is doing what.

Who is a system user? The root user?

I have permitted remote access to the root user.

The same case on my another system where there a root user with the remote access and executing SHOW FULL PROCESSLIST shows localhost:<thread-id> in the host field.

How to know in which case MySQL shows the host name in SHOW FULL PROCESSLIST`?

Best Answer

The system user is the user defined to execute MySQL Replication.

There are two DB Connections dedicated to performing MySQL Replication

  • IO Thread : This thread is responsible for downloading the latest Binary Log Entries from the Master and Storing those Entries in the Slave's Relay Logs.
  • SQL Thread : This thread is responsible for processing the relay logs like a FIFO queue. It basically reads the next available Relay Log Entry and processes the SQL of that Entry.

The system user is referred to as a non-client thread in the MySQL Documentation about SHOW PROCESSLIST;

As far seeing localhost:#####, that number after the colon is a really a port number within mysqld assigned to localhost.

UPDATE 2012-04-27 18:00 EDT

Questions from your comment

Can I rename the system user? Or any other properties of the system user? Also, is the system user is dedicated only for replication? Or any other MySQL processes are spawned by System User? I understand that system user cannot be accessed by a client, its an internal process spawned by MySQL.

Answers to Questions from your comment

No, you cannot rename the system user. It is dedicated to handle MySQL Replication only. The only way to manipulate properties of of the system user would be throught the GRANT command issued to create the replication user.

For example, when you setup a replication user, you issue a command like this:

GRANT REPLICATION SLAVE,REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* to 'repl'@'%';

When START SLAVE is issued on a Slave, the Master authenticates the DB Thread coming from the Slave and assign one thread on the Master. The thread on the Master will ship binary log entries to the I/O Thread on the Slave. The I/O Thread on the Slave is assigned to system user for handling communcation between Master and Slave. The SQL Thread on the Slave is also assigned to system user for handling intracommunication of local relay log entries to be processed FIFO (Frist In, First Out) by mysqld running on the Slave. No direct access is permitted via the MySQL Client on the Slave except for

  • STOP SLAVE; (Kills both I/O Thread and SQL Thread)
  • STOP SLAVE IO_THREAD;
  • STOP SLAVE SQL_THREAD;
  • START SLAVE; (Creates both I/O Thread and SQL Thread)
  • START SLAVE IO_THREAD;
  • START SLAVE SQL_THREAD;

Of course, you could issue KILL ####; where #### is the process ID of either the I/O Thread or SQL Thread. You would be totally respsonsible for reestablishing replication at the risk of losing the correct log file and position if the KILL command misses any communication because of an unnatural stoppage of a replicaton thread.

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