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How can I check that query cache is being used in my query?

· 7 min read

See this example using clickhouse client and ClickHouse Cloud service.

create a query_cache_test table

Using clickhouse client

clickhouse-cloud :) CREATE TABLE query_cache_test (name String, age UInt8) ENGINE =MergeTree ORDER BY name

CREATE TABLE query_cache_test
(
`name` String,
`age` UInt8
)
ENGINE = MergeTree
ORDER BY name

Query id: 81c54f09-7de4-48ec-916f-c7c304a46931

Ok.

0 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.343 sec.

fill the table with some data:

clickhouse-cloud :) INSERT INTO query_cache_test SELECT * FROM generateRandom('name String, age UInt8',1,1) LIMIT 100000;

INSERT INTO query_cache_test SELECT *
FROM generateRandom('name String, age UInt8', 1, 1)
LIMIT 100000

Query id: 90369105-bd67-494c-bdaf-d90dbfb6def9

Ok.

0 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.173 sec. Processed 327.05 thousand rows, 3.43 MB (1.89 million rows/s., 19.86 MB/s.)

enable trace logs:

clickhouse-cloud :) SET send_logs_level = 'trace'

SET send_logs_level = 'trace'

Query id: d65490b0-7960-4a85-a343-787e70e5e293

Ok.

0 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.134 sec.

run a query asking to make use of query cache (appending SETTINGS use_query_cache=true to the query):

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT Null SETTINGS use_query_cache=true;

SELECT name
FROM query_cache_test
WHERE age > 1000
FORMAT `Null`
SETTINGS use_query_cache = 1

Query id: 3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04

[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.542408 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> executeQuery: (from 151.53.3.113:50412, user: tony) SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT Null SETTINGS use_query_cache=true; (stage: Complete)
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.542744 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> InterpreterSelectQuery: MergeTreeWhereOptimizer: condition "age > 1000" moved to PREWHERE
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.542900 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> InterpreterSelectQuery: MergeTreeWhereOptimizer: condition "age > 1000" moved to PREWHERE
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543020 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> ContextAccess (tony): Access granted: SELECT(name, age) ON tony.test
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543164 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> ContextAccess (tony): Access granted: SELECT(name, age) ON tony.test
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543226 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> InterpreterSelectQuery: FetchColumns -> Complete
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543337 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Key condition: unknown
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543395 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Selected 1/1 parts by partition key, 1 parts by primary key, 12/12 marks by primary key, 12 marks to read from 1 ranges
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543412 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Spreading mark ranges among streams (default reading)
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543461 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> MergeTreeBaseSelectProcessor: PREWHERE condition was split into 1 steps: "greater(age, 1000)"
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543484 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> MergeTreeInOrderSelectProcessor: Reading 1 ranges in order from part all_0_0_0, approx. 100000 rows starting from 0
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543559 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> QueryCache: No entry found for query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.547760 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> QueryCache: Stored result of query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.547827 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> executeQuery: Read 100000 rows, 97.66 KiB in 0.005508 sec., 18155410.31227306 rows/sec., 17.31 MiB/sec.
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.547913 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> MemoryTracker: Peak memory usage (for query): 451.89 KiB.
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.547933 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Debug\> TCPHandler: Processed in 0.005911032 sec.
Ok.

0 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.006 sec. Processed 100.00 thousand rows, 100.00 KB (17.56 million rows/s., 17.56 MB/s.)

run the same query again:

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT Null SETTINGS use_query_cache=true;

SELECT name
FROM query_cache_test
WHERE age > 1000
FORMAT `Null`
SETTINGS use_query_cache = 1

Query id: a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515

[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931007 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> executeQuery: (from 151.53.3.113:50412, user: tony) SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT Null SETTINGS use_query_cache=true; (stage: Complete)
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931331 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> InterpreterSelectQuery: MergeTreeWhereOptimizer: condition "age > 1000" moved to PREWHERE
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931468 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> InterpreterSelectQuery: MergeTreeWhereOptimizer: condition "age > 1000" moved to PREWHERE
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931585 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> ContextAccess (tony): Access granted: SELECT(name, age) ON tony.test
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931696 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> ContextAccess (tony): Access granted: SELECT(name, age) ON tony.test
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931749 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> InterpreterSelectQuery: FetchColumns -> Complete
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931857 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Key condition: unknown
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931891 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Selected 1/1 parts by partition key, 1 parts by primary key, 12/12 marks by primary key, 12 marks to read from 1 ranges
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931913 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> tony.test (e61a107c-e7f8-4445-825f-88f85c72f7e9) (SelectExecutor): Spreading mark ranges among streams (default reading)
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931952 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> MergeTreeBaseSelectProcessor: PREWHERE condition was split into 1 steps: "greater(age, 1000)"
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.931975 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> MergeTreeInOrderSelectProcessor: Reading 1 ranges in order from part all_0_0_0, approx. 100000 rows starting from 0
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.932043 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> QueryCache: Entry found for query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.932551 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> MemoryTracker: Peak memory usage (for query): 5.19 KiB.
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.932581 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Debug\> TCPHandler: Processed in 0.001961411 sec.
Ok.

0 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.002 sec.

Now observe the differences in the TRACE logs related to QueryCache between,

1st execution:

[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.543559 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> QueryCache: No entry found for query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test  WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS
[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:10.547760 [ 454 ] {3754a7fd-b786-47c1-a258-dfbc75e35a04} \<Trace\> QueryCache: Stored result of query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS

at 2nd execution:

[c-red-qc-36-server-0] 2023.05.29 12:06:17.932043 [ 454 ] {a047527c-9d55-4e6b-9747-0ccad8787515} \<Trace\> QueryCache: Entry found for query SELECT name FROM query_cache_test  WHERE age > 1000 FORMAT `Null` SETTINGS

In the 1st execution, no entry was obviously found (No entry found for query SELECT...), so ClickHouse did store (Stored result of query SELECT...) the entry for us.

In the 2nd execution, they query made use of they query cache as it found the entry already stored (Entry found for query SELECT...).

Using just SQL

Just through issuing SQL commands without inspecting the clickhouse client trace logs,

it is also possible to validate if query cache is being used by checking the relevant system tables:

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT 1 SETTINGS use_query_cache=true;

SELECT 1
SETTINGS use_query_cache = 1

Query id: a5a078c7-61e5-4036-a6f0-4d602d5b72d2

┌─1─┐
1
└───┘

1 row in set. Elapsed: 0.001 sec.

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT 1 SETTINGS use_query_cache=true;

SELECT 1
SETTINGS use_query_cache = 1

Query id: 322ae001-b1ab-463f-ac8d-dc5ba346f3f9

┌─1─┐
1
└───┘

1 row in set. Elapsed: 0.001 sec.

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT * FROM clusterAllReplicas(default,system.query_cache);

SELECT *
FROM clusterAllReplicas(default, system.query_cache)

Query id: c9b57eac-ba64-430e-8d51-8f865a13cc25

┌─query──────────────┬─result_size─┬─stale─┬─shared─┬─compressed─┬──────────expires_at─┬─────────────key_hash─┐
SELECT 1 SETTINGS │ 1360112023-08-02 15:08:2312188185624808016954
└────────────────────┴─────────────┴───────┴────────┴────────────┴─────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

1 row in set. Elapsed: 0.005 sec.

clickhouse-cloud :) SELECT * FROM clusterAllReplicas(default,system.events) WHERE event LIKE 'QueryCache%'

SELECT *
FROM clusterAllReplicas(default, system.events)
WHERE event LIKE 'QueryCache%'

Query id: d536555e-b8ab-4cd4-9741-c04e95612bec

┌─event────────────┬─value─┬─description────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ QueryCacheHits │ 1 │ Number of times a query result has been found in the query cache (and query computation was avoided).
│ QueryCacheMisses │ 1 │ Number of times a query result has not been found in the query cache (and required query computation).
└──────────────────┴───────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

2 rows in set. Elapsed: 0.006 sec.

In the last results we see 1 QueryCacheMisses for the first time the query SELECT 1 SETTINGS use_query_cache=true; ran and a QueryCacheHits event related to the second execution of the query.

Keep also in mind that the default maximum cache entry size is 1048576 bytes (= 1 MiB) and by default results are stored in cache for 60 seconds only (you can use query_cache_ttl=300 in SETTINGS for example to have a query cache result stored for 5 minutes instead).

You can find more detailed info on ClickHouse Query Cache here