|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Glossary |
| 3 | +description: Definitions of terms used in Vitess documentation |
| 4 | +weight: 1 |
| 5 | +--- |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +This document defines terms used throughout Vitess documentation, command-line tools, and source code. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +## Backup |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +A tablet state indicating the tablet is currently taking a backup of its data. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +## Cell |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +A data center, availability zone, or other failure domain. Vitess uses cells to isolate failures and route queries to geographically appropriate tablets. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +## Consistent Lookup Vindex |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +A [lookup vindex](#lookup-vindex) that maintains consistency without requiring two-phase commit. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## Drained |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +A tablet state reserved for Vitess background operations. Drained tablets do not serve queries. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +## Functional Vindex |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +A [vindex](#vindex) that computes the [keyspace ID](#keyspace-id) using an algorithmic mapping such as a hash or identity function, without consulting external data. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +## Global Topology |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +The portion of the [topology service](#topology-service) that stores cluster-wide metadata shared across all [cells](#cell). |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +## GTID Position |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +Global Transaction Identifier position. Marks a specific point in the MySQL binary log for replication tracking. |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +## Keyrange |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +The range of [keyspace IDs](#keyspace-id) that a [shard](#shard) is responsible for. Expressed in hexadecimal notation like `-80` (up to 0x80) or `80-` (from 0x80 onward). |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +## Keyspace |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +A logical database that maps to one or more MySQL databases. If using [sharding](#shard), a keyspace spans multiple databases; otherwise it maps to a single MySQL database. Applications interact with keyspaces as if they were single databases. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +## Keyspace ID |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +A computed value that determines which [shard](#shard) contains a given row. The [primary vindex](#primary-vindex) maps a column value to a keyspace ID. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +## Local Topology |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +The portion of the [topology service](#topology-service) that stores metadata specific to a single [cell](#cell). |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +## Lookup Vindex |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +A [vindex](#vindex) that uses a lookup table to map column values to [keyspace IDs](#keyspace-id). Enables routing queries on columns other than the sharding key. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +## Materialize |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +A VReplication workflow that creates and maintains materialized views or realtime rollups across [shards](#shard). |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +## MoveTables |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +A VReplication workflow that migrates tables from one [keyspace](#keyspace) to another. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +## mysqlctl |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +A command-line utility for managing the lifecycle of local MySQL instances used by Vitess. |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +## Online DDL |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +Non-blocking schema changes that allow tables to remain available during migrations. Vitess supports multiple strategies including its native approach, gh-ost, and pt-osc. |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +## Primary |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +The tablet type for the MySQL primary of a [shard](#shard). Handles all write operations. Formerly called "master." |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +## Primary Vindex |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +The [vindex](#vindex) that determines row-to-shard mapping. Equivalent to the sharding key. |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +## Rdonly |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +A tablet type for read-only replicas that are not eligible for promotion to primary. Used for batch jobs, analytics, and other background operations. |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +## Reparenting |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +The process of changing which [tablet](#tablet) serves as the [primary](#primary) for a [shard](#shard). |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +## Replica |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +A tablet type for MySQL replicas that are eligible for promotion to [primary](#primary). |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +## Replication Graph |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +Metadata that tracks MySQL primary-replica relationships within the cluster. |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +## Reshard |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +A VReplication workflow that splits or merges [shards](#shard) to scale horizontally. |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +## Restore |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +A tablet state indicating the tablet is restoring data from a backup. |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +## Routing Rules |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +Configuration that overrides default query routing during migrations, allowing gradual traffic shifts between [keyspaces](#keyspace). |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +## Secondary Vindex |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +A [vindex](#vindex) that provides additional query routing optimization beyond the [primary vindex](#primary-vindex). |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +## Shard |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +A horizontal partition of a [keyspace](#keyspace). Each shard contains a subset of the keyspace's data based on [keyrange](#keyrange). An unsharded keyspace has a single shard named `0` or `-`. |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +## SwitchTraffic |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +A VReplication operation that redirects query traffic from a source to a target during workflows like [MoveTables](#movetables) or [Reshard](#reshard). |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +## Tablet |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +A combination of a `vttablet` process and its associated MySQL instance. Tablets are the basic unit of data storage and query serving in Vitess. |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +## Tablet Alias |
| 126 | + |
| 127 | +A unique identifier for a [tablet](#tablet) in the format `cell-uid`, such as `zone1-100`. |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +## Topology Service |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | +A metadata store (backed by etcd or ZooKeeper) that holds cluster configuration, [replication graph](#replication-graph), and serving state. Often abbreviated as "topo." |
| 132 | + |
| 133 | +## Unsharded |
| 134 | + |
| 135 | +A [keyspace](#keyspace) with a single [shard](#shard), containing all data without horizontal partitioning. |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +## VDiff |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +A VReplication tool that verifies data consistency between source and target during migrations. |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +## VEXPLAIN |
| 142 | + |
| 143 | +A SQL command that shows how Vitess will execute a query across [shards](#shard), including the generated MySQL queries. |
| 144 | + |
| 145 | +## Vindex |
| 146 | + |
| 147 | +Virtual index. A mechanism that maps column values to [keyspace IDs](#keyspace-id) for query routing. Types include [primary](#primary-vindex), [secondary](#secondary-vindex), [lookup](#lookup-vindex), and [functional](#functional-vindex). |
| 148 | + |
| 149 | +## VReplication |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +Vitess's streaming replication mechanism for data movement operations like [MoveTables](#movetables), [Reshard](#reshard), and [Materialize](#materialize). |
| 152 | + |
| 153 | +## VSchema |
| 154 | + |
| 155 | +Virtual schema. Configuration that defines how a [keyspace](#keyspace) is sharded, including [vindexes](#vindex), table definitions, and routing rules. |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | +## VStream |
| 158 | + |
| 159 | +A change notification service on [VTGate](#vtgate) that streams row changes to clients. |
| 160 | + |
| 161 | +## VStreamer |
| 162 | + |
| 163 | +The component on [VTTablet](#vttablet) that streams MySQL binary log events for [VReplication](#vreplication) and [VStream](#vstream). |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +## vtbackup |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +A standalone utility for taking backups of MySQL data managed by Vitess. |
| 168 | + |
| 169 | +## vtcombo |
| 170 | + |
| 171 | +A single-process test environment that runs all Vitess components together. Useful for local development and testing. |
| 172 | + |
| 173 | +## VTAdmin |
| 174 | + |
| 175 | +A web-based administrative interface for managing and monitoring Vitess clusters. |
| 176 | + |
| 177 | +## vtctl |
| 178 | + |
| 179 | +The legacy command-line administration tool for Vitess. Deprecated in favor of [vtctldclient](#vtctldclient). |
| 180 | + |
| 181 | +## vtctld |
| 182 | + |
| 183 | +The Vitess control daemon. A server process that executes cluster management commands issued by [vtctldclient](#vtctldclient). |
| 184 | + |
| 185 | +## vtctldclient |
| 186 | + |
| 187 | +The current command-line client for Vitess cluster management. Communicates with [vtctld](#vtctld) to execute administrative operations. |
| 188 | + |
| 189 | +## VTEXPLAIN |
| 190 | + |
| 191 | +A command-line tool for offline query analysis that shows how Vitess would route and execute queries without connecting to a live cluster. |
| 192 | + |
| 193 | +## VTGate |
| 194 | + |
| 195 | +A lightweight, stateless proxy that routes queries to the appropriate [tablets](#tablet). Applications connect to VTGate rather than directly to MySQL. |
| 196 | + |
| 197 | +## VTOrc |
| 198 | + |
| 199 | +Vitess Orchestrator. Provides automated failover, recovery, and tablet management for Vitess clusters. |
| 200 | + |
| 201 | +## VTTablet |
| 202 | + |
| 203 | +The Vitess process that manages a MySQL instance, handling query serving, replication, and schema management. Together with MySQL, it forms a [tablet](#tablet). |
| 204 | + |
| 205 | +## vttestserver |
| 206 | + |
| 207 | +A lightweight Vitess server for local development and testing that simulates a Vitess cluster. |
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