Did you know that mysql comes with configuration files for better optimization? These files are located at:
/usr/share/doc/mysql-server-5.1.71/my-huge.cnf /usr/share/doc/mysql-server-5.1.71/my-innodb-heavy-4G.cnf /usr/share/doc/mysql-server-5.1.71/my-large.cnf /usr/share/doc/mysql-server-5.1.71/my-medium.cnf /usr/share/doc/mysql-server-5.1.71/my-small.cnf /usr/share/man/man5/openssl.cnf.5ssl.gz
Or
/usr/share/mysql/my-huge.cnf /usr/share/mysql/my-innodb-heavy-4G.cnf /usr/share/mysql/my-large.cnf /usr/share/mysql/my-medium.cnf /usr/share/mysql/my-small.cnf
Stop mysql
# service mysqld stop Stopping mysqld: [ OK ]
backup the original my.cnf file.
# mv /etc/my.cnf /etc/my.cnf.original
Move the new config file to /etc based on your needs:
# cp /usr/share/mysql/my-medium.cnf /etc/my.cnf
Restart MySQL:
# service mysqld start
Other Resources:
http://geekdecoder.com/using-mysqltuner/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/How-to-Optimize-a-MySQL-Server/1747
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2011/03/sar-examples/
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/top-linux-monitoring-tools.html
http://www.codero.com/knowledge-base/questions/319/How+to+install+mytop+for+database+performance+monitoring%3A
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/misc/perf-tuning.html
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/optimization.html