In a MySQL hosting replication setup, the parameter Seconds_Behind_Master (SBM), as displayed by the SHOW SLAVE STATUS command, is commonly used as an indication of the current replication lag of the slave. In this post, we examine how to understand and interpret this value in various situations.
Possible Values of Seconds Behind Master
The value of SBM, as explained in the MySQL documentation, depends on the state of the MySQL slave in general, and the states of MySQL slave SQL_THREAD and IO_THREAD in particular. While IO_THREAD connects with the master and reads the updates, SQL_THREAD applies these updates on the slave. Let’s examine the possible values of SBM during different states of the MySQL Slave.