diff --git a/migrations/20210517135636-add-order-by-indexes.js b/migrations/20210517135636-add-order-by-indexes.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b314f2703
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/20210517135636-add-order-by-indexes.js
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var async = require('async');
+
+exports.up = function(db, callback) {
+    async.series([
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE backups ADD INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime)'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE eventlog ADD INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime)'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE notifications ADD INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime)'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE tasks ADD INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime)'),
+    ], callback);
+};
+
+exports.down = function(db, callback) {
+    async.series([
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE backups DROP INDEX creationTime_index'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE eventlog DROP INDEX creationTime_index'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE notifications DROP INDEX creationTime_index'),
+        db.runSql.bind(db, 'ALTER TABLE tasks DROP INDEX creationTime_index'),
+    ], callback);
+};
diff --git a/migrations/schema.sql b/migrations/schema.sql
index 67b295371..95ef488ff 100644
--- a/migrations/schema.sql
+++ b/migrations/schema.sql
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS backups(
     format VARCHAR(16) DEFAULT "tgz",
     preserveSecs INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
 
+    INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime),
     PRIMARY KEY (id));
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS eventlog(
@@ -147,6 +148,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS eventlog(
     data TEXT, /* free flowing json based on action */
     creationTime TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
 
+    INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime),
     PRIMARY KEY (id));
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS domains(
@@ -225,6 +227,8 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS tasks(
     resultJson TEXT,
     creationTime TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
     ts TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+
+    INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime),
     PRIMARY KEY (id));
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notifications(
@@ -235,6 +239,8 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notifications(
     message TEXT,
     acknowledged BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
     creationTime TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+
+    INDEX creationTime_index (creationTime),
     FOREIGN KEY(eventId) REFERENCES eventlog(id),
     PRIMARY KEY (id)
 );
diff --git a/setup/start/mysql.cnf b/setup/start/mysql.cnf
index 243b3703f..722dfa369 100644
--- a/setup/start/mysql.cnf
+++ b/setup/start/mysql.cnf
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ default_time_zone='+00:00'
 # disable bin logs. they are only useful in replication mode
 skip-log-bin
 
+# this is used when creating an index using ALTER command
+innodb_sort_buffer_size=2097152
+
+# this is a per session sort (ORDER BY) variable for non-indexed fields
+sort_buffer_size = 4M
+
 [mysqldump]
 quick
 quote-names