MySQL max_user_connections vs max_connections

Question

SADLY i could not find any straight-forward explanation to this query anywhere, not even in MySQL documentations.

Some people in various forums said max_user_connections can never be greater than max_connections? For example: if one user has 3 max_user_connections and another user has 15 max_user_connections, then they say the max_connections must be at least above 3+15 = 18.

However, mysql doc says, max allowed value of max_user_connections is 4294967295 which is MUCH LARGER THAN the max allowed value of max_connections is 100000.

Can somebody please explain how do these two options in MySQL impact one another.

Answer 1

max_user_connections

One means of restricting client use of MySQL server resources is to set the global max_user_connections system variable to a nonzero value. This limits the number of simultaneous connections that can be made by any given account, but places no limits on what a client can do once connected. In addition, setting max_user_connections does not enable management of individual accounts. Both types of control are of interest to MySQL administrators.

max_connections

The maximum permitted number of simultaneous client connections. By default, this is 151

---

comment by dagon :

max_connections = the total connection limit
max_user_connections = the per user limit

---

Hence, the value of max_user_connections must never exceed the value of max_connections.