Telemetry and data collection¶

Percona Server for MySQL includes two telemetry systems. Each system is optional.

Installation-time telemetry runs once at package install or container startup.
Continuous telemetry uses a database (DB) component and the percona-telemetry-agent host process. The pair collects metrics and sends them on a daily schedule.

You control whether to share telemetry data. Disable either system, or both, when you do not want anonymous usage data sent to Percona.

Percona does not collect personal information. All telemetry data is anonymous. See the Percona Privacy policy .

Packages, compressed archives (tarballs), and Docker images include telemetry. Tarball deployments require the telemetry agent and a writable directory under /usr/local/percona/telemetry.

Telemetry overview¶

Telemetry reports anonymous deployment and usage metrics to Percona. Percona uses the data to prioritize fixes and feature work. Telemetry does not include database names, credentials, or user data.

Installation-time telemetry¶

Installation-time telemetry runs once. The process collects host and version metadata during package installation or container startup. The process does not run again after installation completes.

Installation-time telemetry file example¶

The following JSON shows a typical installation-time payload:

[{"id" : "c416c3ee-48cd-471c-9733-37c2886f8231",
"product_family" : "PRODUCT_FAMILY_PS",
"instanceId" : "6aef422e-56a7-4530-af9d-94cc02198343",
"createTime" : "2026-03-26T15:43:18Z",
"metrics":
[{"key" : "deployment","value" : "PACKAGE"},
{"key" : "pillar_version","value" : "8.4.8-8"},
{"key" : "OS","value" : "Oracle Linux Server 10"},
{"key" : "hardware_arch","value" : "x86_64 x86_64"}]}]

Disable installation-time telemetry¶

Installation-time telemetry is enabled by default. Set the environment variable PERCONA_TELEMETRY_DISABLE=1 before you install packages or start a container. The variable does not disable continuous telemetry. Installation-time telemetry uses PERCONA_TELEMETRY_DISABLE; continuous telemetry uses the server option percona_telemetry_disable.

Debian-derived distributionRed Hat-derived distributionDocker

sudo PERCONA_TELEMETRY_DISABLE=1 apt install percona-server-server

sudo PERCONA_TELEMETRY_DISABLE=1 dnf install percona-server-server

docker run -d -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=test1234# -e PERCONA_TELEMETRY_DISABLE=1 --name=percona-server percona/percona-server:8.4

Continuous telemetry¶

Continuous telemetry combines a Percona telemetry DB component with the percona-telemetry-agent service. The component writes metrics files on disk. The agent uploads the files to the Percona telemetry service. The agent waits 24 hours after startup before the first upload attempt.

Continuous telemetry: database component, metrics file, host agent, and Percona Platform

Elements of the continuous telemetry system¶

The continuous telemetry system includes these host-side and platform-side pieces:

Piece	Role
Percona telemetry DB component	Collects metrics inside the server and writes a metrics file on disk
Metrics file	JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file on the host that stores collected metrics
Telemetry agent (`percona-telemetry-agent`)	Host process that collects operating system metrics, reads metrics files, merges payloads, and queries the package manager for Percona packages
Telemetry service	Application programming interface (API) endpoint that receives telemetry payloads
Telemetry storage	Long-term storage for telemetry data on the Percona platform

Overview of the DB component¶

Percona Server for MySQL installs the telemetry DB component by default. The component registers as file://component_percona_telemetry.

The DB component performs these tasks:

Collects database metrics once per day
Writes a timestamped .json file under the telemetry directory
Retains metrics files for seven days and deletes older files before creating a new file

The DB component does not collect these data types:

Database names
User names or credentials
Application or user data

Locations of metrics files and telemetry history¶

The telemetry root path on the host is /usr/local/percona/telemetry.

Product-specific directories use the following paths under the root:

Product	Path
Percona Server for MySQL	`${telemetry root}/ps/`
Percona Server for MongoDB (`mongod`)	`${telemetry root}/psmdb/`
Percona Server for MongoDB (`mongos`)	`${telemetry root}/psmdbs/`
Percona XtraDB Cluster	`${telemetry root}/pxc/`
PostgreSQL products	`${telemetry root}/pg/`

After a successful upload, the agent stores a copy under ${telemetry root}/history/.

Metrics file format¶

Metrics files use JSON. Percona may extend the schema in future releases. Production files can list many active_plugins entries. The following example shows the core fields:

{
  "db_instance_id": "e83c568c-e140-11ee-8320-7e207666b18a",
  "pillar_version": "8.4.8-8",
  "active_plugins": [
    "binlog",
    "caching_sha2_password",
    "InnoDB",
    "PERFORMANCE_SCHEMA"
  ],
  "active_components": [
    "file://component_percona_telemetry"
  ],
  "uptime": "6185",
  "databases_count": "7",
  "databases_size": "33149",
  "se_engines_in_use": [
    "InnoDB"
  ],
  "replication_info": {
    "is_semisync_source": "1",
    "is_replica": "1"
  }
}

Percona telemetry agent¶

The percona-telemetry-agent process runs on the database host. The agent manages JSON files under the telemetry root path.

The agent follows the following schedule:

Log file path: /var/log/percona/telemetry-agent.log
First 24 hours: no collection and no upload
After 24 hours: one upload attempt per day, with up to five retries on failure
After a successful upload: copy the file to history/ and delete the source file from the DB component directory
When the telemetry directory has no Percona product files: send nothing

Network access and corporate proxies¶

Continuous telemetry uploads use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). The default endpoint is:

https://check.percona.com/v1/telemetry/GenericReport

Firewall teams must allow outbound HTTPS on port 443 to check.percona.com. Override the endpoint with PERCONA_TELEMETRY_URL or the --telemetry.url argument for percona-telemetry-agent.

To send traffic through a corporate proxy, add environment variables in a systemd drop-in for percona-telemetry-agent.service:

[Service]
Environment="HTTPS_PROXY=http://PROXY_HOST:PROXY_PORT"
Environment="NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1"

Apply the drop-in and restart the agent:

sudo systemctl edit percona-telemetry-agent
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart percona-telemetry-agent

Replace PROXY_HOST and PROXY_PORT with your proxy hostname and port.

Air-gapped and isolated networks¶

Upload failures trigger five retries. The agent then waits until the next daily check. Unsent metrics files remain on disk until an upload succeeds.

Disk use stays bounded in isolated networks:

The DB component retains seven days of metrics files and prunes older files before each daily write, regardless of upload status
The agent prunes archived history on a seven-day interval (PERCONA_TELEMETRY_HISTORY_KEEP_INTERVAL, default 604800 seconds)

Disable continuous telemetry to stop new metrics files and outbound uploads.

Telemetry agent configuration¶

The agent reads these environment variables at startup. Restart the service after you change a value.

Variable	Default	Description
`PERCONA_TELEMETRY_ROOT_PATH`	`/usr/local/percona/telemetry`	Root directory for metrics and history files
`PERCONA_TELEMETRY_CHECK_INTERVAL`	`86400`	Seconds between upload checks
`PERCONA_TELEMETRY_RESEND_INTERVAL`	`60`	Seconds between retry attempts after a failed upload
`PERCONA_TELEMETRY_HISTORY_KEEP_INTERVAL`	`604800`	Seconds between history directory cleanup runs
`PERCONA_TELEMETRY_URL`	`https://check.percona.com/v1/telemetry/GenericReport`	Upload endpoint URL

Telemetry agent payload example¶

{
  "reports": [
    {
      "id": "B5BDC47B-B717-4EF5-AEDF-41A17C9C18BB",
      "createTime": "2026-03-26T15:44:54Z",
      "instanceId": "B5BDC47B-B717-4EF5-AEDF-41A17C9C18BA",
      "productFamily": "PRODUCT_FAMILY_PS",
      "metrics": [
        {
          "key": "OS",
          "value": "Ubuntu"
        },
        {
          "key": "pillar_version",
          "value": "8.4.8-8"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Telemetry agent payload fields¶

Each report object uses these fields:

Field	Description
`id`	Random universally unique identifier (UUID) version 4 for the request
`createTime`	Request timestamp
`instanceId`	Host ID from the metrics file, `/usr/local/percona/telemetry_uuid`, or a generated UUID version 4 when the file is absent
`productFamily`	Product family derived from the metrics file path, such as `PRODUCT_FAMILY_PS`
`metrics`	Key and value pairs from the metrics file

Operating system metrics in each upload¶

Each upload can include these operating system keys:

Key	Description
`OS`	Operating system name
`hardware_arch`	CPU architecture
`deployment`	Deployment method, such as `PACKAGE` or `DOCKER`
`installed_packages`	Installed Percona packages with name, version, and repository when available

The agent queries the local package manager. The query matches only package names that fit Percona patterns, including percona-*, Percona-*, proxysql*, pmm, etcd*, haproxy, patroni, pg*, postgis, and wal2json. The agent does not report non-Percona packages.

Disable continuous telemetry¶

Continuous telemetry is enabled by default. Complete the steps in the following order.

Restart required

Steps 1 and 3 require a server or service restart. Plan a maintenance window before you change telemetry settings in production.

Add the server option percona_telemetry_disable=1 under [mysqld] in my.cnf, or in an included option file. Restart the server. The server option prevents the telemetry component from loading after restart. Do not rely on UNINSTALL COMPONENT alone. A restart without percona_telemetry_disable=1 can reload telemetry.
Run UNINSTALL COMPONENT "file://component_percona_telemetry"; to stop metrics file generation.
Stop and disable percona-telemetry-agent as described in Disable the telemetry agent.

These steps disable continuous telemetry only. For install-time opt-out, see Disable installation-time telemetry.

Disable the telemetry agent¶

Stopping the agent blocks uploads. The DB component continues to write metrics files until you uninstall the component.

Run both commands for a permanent disable:

sudo systemctl stop percona-telemetry-agent
sudo systemctl disable percona-telemetry-agent

systemctl stop ends the running agent process. systemctl disable prevents the agent from starting at boot.

To pause the agent until the next host reboot, run sudo systemctl stop percona-telemetry-agent only. Do not run disable when you plan to re-enable the agent after reboot.

Agent dependencies and removal¶

The telemetry agent is a mandatory package dependency for Percona Server for MySQL. Review package dependencies before you remove the agent.

Package manager behavior differs:

DNF can remove the agent when you remove the last dependent package. Removing the agent alone can remove Percona Server for MySQL when dependencies require the agent.
APT may keep the agent after you remove only the server package. Use apt autoremove when appropriate. Removing the agent without checking dependencies can affect the server package.

Verify continuous telemetry is disabled¶

Run these checks from the MySQL client and on the host.

Confirm the telemetry component is absent:

SELECT component_urn
FROM mysql.component
WHERE component_urn LIKE '%telemetry%';

Expected output when telemetry is disabled

Empty set (0.00 sec)

Confirm the disable option is set:

SHOW GLOBAL VARIABLES LIKE 'percona_telemetry_disable';