This article discusses two approaches to collecting performance metrics from MySQL databases: querying internal server status variables and querying the performance schema and sys schema. It provides examples of how to use these methods to retrieve high-level summary statistics or more granular, low-level data. The article also explains how to view these metrics in the free MySQL Workbench GUI or a full-featured monitoring system like Datadog. By using these approaches, users can gain insights into their MySQL databases' usage patterns and performance.