mysql/MariaDB connections

Variable Name Definition
Threads_connected The number of currently open connections.
Connections The number of connection attempts (successful or not) to the MySQL server


Viewing configured connections: 

show variables like "max_connections";
From command line: 
mysql -e 'show variables;' | grep max_connections



View the current connections with: 

SHOW STATUS WHERE `variable_name` = 'Threads_connected';


Note: The following command does NOT show current connections, it shows the history of attempted connections (successful or not).
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/server-status-variables.html#statvar_Connections 
show status like 'Con%'

Configuring Maximum Connections

Run time

SET GLOBAL max_connections = 200;


/etc/my.cnf

[mysqld] 

set-variable=max_connections=200