MySQL, a widely-used open-source relational database server owned by Oracle, offers both a free Community Edition and commercial versions with additional features. Monitoring MySQL's performance is crucial, as slow database performance can affect all dependent systems. Essential performance metrics include query throughput, latency, errors, and resource utilization within the InnoDB buffer pool. MySQL's performance schema and sys schema provide comprehensive tools for analyzing these metrics, aiding in the detection of potential issues such as CPU saturation or disk I/O bottlenecks. Key metrics like "Questions" for query execution and "Slow_queries" for identifying slow queries are vital for maintaining database health. Monitoring connection utilization is also essential, as exceeding the connection limit can lead to refused connections. Adjusting settings like the "long_query_time" parameter and the InnoDB buffer pool size can enhance performance, while the sys schema simplifies metric retrieval. Understanding these metrics aids in identifying performance constraints and informs decisions on scaling or optimizing database resources. Part 2 of the series will delve into the collection and monitoring of these metrics.