> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connections In Use, MariaDB

> Connections In Use for MariaDB instances. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained)  •  **Category:** [Capacity](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> **Connections In Use** is the live count of client connections currently held against the MariaDB server, read from the global status counter `Threads_connected`. It is the numerator behind connection-pool saturation: every active application thread, replication channel, monitoring probe, and admin session counts. Read it next to `max_connections` to know how much headroom is left before new sessions are refused with "Too many connections".

|                    |                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **What it counts** | The real-time value of `Threads_connected`: currently open client connections, idle and active alike.                                                                           |
| **Data source**    | `SHOW GLOBAL STATUS LIKE 'Threads_connected'`, with `information_schema.PROCESSLIST` for the per-session detail.                                                                |
| **Why it matters** | Connections are capped by `max_connections`; near the cap, new sessions are refused and the storefront throws connection errors. This is the raw input to the saturation gauge. |
| **Currency**       | connections (count)                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Time window**    | `RT` (real-time, refreshed on each poll)                                                                                                                                        |
| **Alert trigger**  | None on this card. Use [Connection Pool Saturation %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mariadb/connection-pool-saturation) for the threshold alert.                                      |
| **Roles**          | owner, engineering, operations                                                                                                                                                  |

## What it tracks

This card surfaces the **Connections In Use** counter for the selected period, sampled live from the MariaDB server's global status. The figure is `Threads_connected`: every open session, whether actively running a query or sitting idle inside an application connection pool, adds one to the total. Background work counts too, so replica I/O threads, `mariabackup` sessions, and the Vortex IQ monitoring connection all appear in the number. Because connections are capped server-wide by `max_connections`, this raw count is the foundation for capacity planning: divide it by `max_connections` and you have the pool-saturation percentage that drives the alerting cards. A healthy instance shows a stable baseline that tracks traffic; a session opened but never closed produces a count that ratchets up over hours and eventually exhausts the cap.

## Reconciling against the source

To verify the live count directly on the server, run `SHOW GLOBAL STATUS LIKE 'Threads_connected';` and compare against `SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'max_connections';`. For the per-session breakdown use `SELECT * FROM information_schema.PROCESSLIST;`. On managed services (Amazon RDS / Aurora for MariaDB, Azure Database for MariaDB, SkySQL) the same value appears as the `DatabaseConnections` metric in the provider's monitoring console; brief differences are timing artefacts between poll intervals.

***

### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Connections In Use* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across MariaDB and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

[Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.