Understanding Bulk Index Creation in InnoDB (and innodb_sort_buffer_size)

In a previous post, I presented an Unexpected Memory Consumption for Bulk Index Creation in InnoDB.  This was triggered by an increased innodb_sort_buffer_size and as stated in another post: "the sorting algorithm does not scale well with large sort buffers".  In this post, I will present why it does not scale well and I will suggest solutions.

Let's meet at Percona Live Amsterdam

I am very happy that my talk, MySQL Parallel Replication: inventory, use-cases and limitations, is included in the Sneak Peek of Percona Live Amsterdam.  As a member of the Conference Committee, I knew this was being discussed, but I refrained from commenting on discussion about my talk and the submissions of my colleagues from Booking.com.