> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://mariadb.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/spider/spider-functions.md).

# Spider Functions

{% columns %}
{% column %}
{% content-ref url="/pages/KeIJhMeae49zU1G9AIZa" %}
[SPIDER\_BG\_DIRECT\_SQL](/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/spider/spider-functions/spider_bg_direct_sql.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
{% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
This UDF allows you to execute SQL statements on remote data nodes in the background, enabling concurrent processing and non-blocking operations.
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}
{% content-ref url="/pages/Qb5Cxa3xsnYkCJijiluJ" %}
[SPIDER\_COPY\_TABLES](/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/spider/spider-functions/spider_copy_tables.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
{% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
Learn how to use this function to copy table data from one Spider link ID to another, useful for migrating data or rebalancing shards without stopping the service.
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}
{% content-ref url="/pages/Bfglr79micjL4hdIyawf" %}
[SPIDER\_DIRECT\_SQL](/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/spider/spider-functions/spider_direct_sql.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
{% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
This function executes an SQL string directly on a specified remote backend server, allowing for maintenance tasks or queries that bypass local parsing.
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}
{% content-ref url="/pages/GfQlyEWNX8BAutgJHl4O" %}
[SPIDER\_FLUSH\_TABLE\_MON\_CACHE](/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/spider/spider-functions/spider_flush_table_mon_cache.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
{% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
Use this UDF to refresh the cache used by Spider's monitoring threads, ensuring that the status of remote tables and connections is up to date.
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}