Please notice the makeup of mysql.user:
mysql> show create table mysql.user\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Table: user
Create Table: CREATE TABLE `user` (
`Host` char(60) COLLATE utf8_bin NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
`User` char(16) COLLATE utf8_bin NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
`Password` char(41) CHARACTER SET latin1 COLLATE latin1_bin NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
`Select_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Insert_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Update_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Delete_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Drop_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Reload_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Shutdown_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Process_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`File_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Grant_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`References_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Index_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Alter_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Show_db_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Super_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_tmp_table_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Lock_tables_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Execute_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Repl_slave_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Repl_client_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_view_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Show_view_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_routine_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Alter_routine_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_user_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Event_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Trigger_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`Create_tablespace_priv` enum('N','Y') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT 'N',
`ssl_type` enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') CHARACTER SET utf8 NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
`ssl_cipher` blob NOT NULL,
`x509_issuer` blob NOT NULL,
`x509_subject` blob NOT NULL,
`max_questions` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`max_updates` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`max_connections` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`max_user_connections` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`plugin` char(64) COLLATE utf8_bin DEFAULT '',
`authentication_string` text COLLATE utf8_bin,
PRIMARY KEY (`Host`,`User`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COLLATE=utf8_bin COMMENT='Users and global privileges'
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Notice the column max_user_connections. It puts a moratorium on the number of connections a user may make per hour. Check and make sure the user '557574_prod' isn't connecting to mysql a ton of times within less than an hour.
This is used in conjunction with the option max_user_connections that you can set in /etc/my.cnf
Please change either max_user_connections in /etc/my.cnf or, if the individual user has this column set, that column mysql.user.max_user_connections. If you have no config control over my.cnf and you cannot do SQL against the mysql schema, then you beg and implore your hosting company to raise those limits for you.
I believe you can set the max_user_connections as a session variable, but you may need certain privileges, probably SUPER.
As for establish connections, you need to keep those connections open. Perhaps sending a heartbeat of some kind by doing a SELECT. But guess what ??? The db columns max_questions monitor SELECT queries per hour and max_updates monitors INSERTs, UPDATEs, DELETEs per hour. YOu may need to check these columns in mysql.user. You can quickly check those number with:
SHOW GRANTS;
I am not sure if the the user's per-hour connection limits are per thread or per user. You could answer that quickly by connecting to the DB aggressively using 2 or 3 DB connecitons at the same time and the error message should manifest itself. It is up you how to count the number of connections, perhaps "SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Connections';" It should reach either the max limits of the connection within the one connections or it could be the sum of all connections' connection status value.
Please also check the wait_timeout and interactive_timeout values. The default is 28800 in a standalone server. They may be set already. You cannot set them within a current connection. You must be able to set them as follows: (for new conenctions coming)
SET GLOBAL interactive_timeout = 86400;
SET GLOBAL wait_timeout = 86400;
If you cannot run even these commands, my condolences !!! :(
This limit applies to the total TCP socket connections and Unix socket connections, combined, so connecting via the Unix socket won't help you if your connection count reaches the configured max.
However, the slot reserved for a user with SUPER privilege is not a single slot in the way your question implies. Any time the server's current client thread count is equal to the value of max_connections, one more user with the SUPER privilege will be allowed to connect, regardless of how many SUPER connections are currently already established.
So the max+1 allowance refers not to a single slot that can be occupied and whose occupancy is remembered, but rather to an exception in the code that bypasses the logic that denies new connections connections when current == max and new attempt comes from a user with super, each time that condition is encountered.
This is one good reason, among others, that your application should never use an account with SUPER.
Best Answer
First of all, the GUC
max_connections- a setting inpostgresql.conf. It can only be set at server start.Heroku obviously limits this to 20 for the "Starter Tier" and 500 for the "Production Tier".
The maximum number is not limited by Postgres itself, but by available system resources. Typically, performance degrades with too many concurrent connections, so even if you can set
max_connections = 1000, it's probably unwise. Idle sessions don't matter much. But concurrently active sessions compete for resources, the bottleneck typically being I/O.Here is a blog with instructions by someone who did.