diff --git a/pkg/sorted/mysql/dbschema.go b/pkg/sorted/mysql/dbschema.go
index 6d6680d9a..ac52e125a 100644
--- a/pkg/sorted/mysql/dbschema.go
+++ b/pkg/sorted/mysql/dbschema.go
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ func SchemaVersion() int {
 // which is purely about bytes.
 func SQLCreateTables() []string {
 	return []string{
-		`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS rows (
+		`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS /*DB*/rows (
  k VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
  v VARCHAR(255))
  DEFAULT CHARACTER SET binary`,
 
-		`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS meta (
+		`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS /*DB*/meta (
  metakey VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
  value VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL)
  DEFAULT CHARACTER SET binary`,
diff --git a/pkg/sorted/mysql/mysqlkv.go b/pkg/sorted/mysql/mysqlkv.go
index 5e0c8a91f..9a00f72f0 100644
--- a/pkg/sorted/mysql/mysqlkv.go
+++ b/pkg/sorted/mysql/mysqlkv.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 
 	"camlistore.org/pkg/jsonconfig"
 	"camlistore.org/pkg/sorted"
@@ -35,40 +36,49 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func newKeyValueFromJSONConfig(cfg jsonconfig.Obj) (sorted.KeyValue, error) {
-	host := cfg.OptionalString("host", "")
-	dsn := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s@/%s",
-		cfg.RequiredString("user"),
-		cfg.OptionalString("password", ""),
-		cfg.RequiredString("database"),
+	var (
+		user     = cfg.RequiredString("user")
+		database = cfg.RequiredString("database")
+		host     = cfg.OptionalString("host", "")
+		password = cfg.OptionalString("password", "")
 	)
 	if err := cfg.Validate(); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	var err error
 	if host != "" {
-		// TODO(mpl): document that somewhere
 		if !strings.Contains(host, ":") {
-			host = host + ":3306"
+			host += ":3306"
 		}
-		dsn = strings.Replace(dsn, "@", fmt.Sprintf("@tcp(%v)", host), 1)
+		host = "tcp(" + host + ")"
 	}
+	// The DSN does NOT have a database name in it so it's
+	// cacheable and can be shared between different queues & the
+	// index, all sharing the same database server, cutting down
+	// number of TCP connections required. We add the database
+	// name in queries instead.
+	dsn := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s@%s/", user, password, host)
 
-	db, err := sql.Open("mysql", dsn)
+	db, err := openOrCachedDB(dsn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	for _, tableSql := range SQLCreateTables() {
-		if _, err := db.Exec(tableSql); err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating table with %q: %v", tableSql, err)
+
+	for _, tableSQL := range SQLCreateTables() {
+		tableSQL = strings.Replace(tableSQL, "/*DB*/", database+".", -1)
+		if _, err := db.Exec(tableSQL); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating table with %q: %v", tableSQL, err)
 		}
 	}
-	if _, err := db.Exec(fmt.Sprintf(`REPLACE INTO meta VALUES ('version', '%d')`, SchemaVersion())); err != nil {
+	if _, err := db.Exec(fmt.Sprintf(`REPLACE INTO %s.meta VALUES ('version', '%d')`, database, SchemaVersion())); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error setting schema version: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	kv := &keyValue{
 		db: db,
 		KeyValue: &sqlkv.KeyValue{
-			DB: db,
+			DB:          db,
+			TablePrefix: database + ".",
 		},
 	}
 	if err := kv.ping(); err != nil {
@@ -94,6 +104,26 @@ func newKeyValueFromJSONConfig(cfg jsonconfig.Obj) (sorted.KeyValue, error) {
 	return kv, nil
 }
 
+// We keep a cache of open database handles.
+var (
+	dbsmu sync.Mutex
+	dbs   = map[string]*sql.DB{} // DSN -> db
+)
+
+func openOrCachedDB(dsn string) (*sql.DB, error) {
+	dbsmu.Lock()
+	defer dbsmu.Unlock()
+	if db, ok := dbs[dsn]; ok {
+		return db, nil
+	}
+	db, err := sql.Open("mysql", dsn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	dbs[dsn] = db
+	return db, nil
+}
+
 type keyValue struct {
 	*sqlkv.KeyValue
 
@@ -107,7 +137,7 @@ func (kv *keyValue) ping() error {
 }
 
 func (kv *keyValue) SchemaVersion() (version int, err error) {
-	err = kv.db.QueryRow("SELECT value FROM meta WHERE metakey='version'").Scan(&version)
+	err = kv.db.QueryRow("SELECT value FROM " + kv.KeyValue.TablePrefix + "meta WHERE metakey='version'").Scan(&version)
 	return
 }