diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bbcce21..6b6a716 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ Whether MySQL should be enabled on startup.
 
 Whether the global my.cnf should be overwritten each time this role is run. Setting this to `no` tells Ansible to only create the `my.cnf` file if it doesn't exist. This should be left at its default value (`yes`) if you'd like to use this role's variables to configure MySQL.
 
+    mysql_config_include_files: []
+
+A list of files that should override the default global my.cnf.   Each item in the array requires a "src" parameter which is a path to a file.  An optional "force" parameter can force the file to be updated each time ansible runs.
+
     mysql_databases: []
 
 The MySQL databases to create. A database has the values `name`, `encoding` (defaults to `utf8`), `collation` (defaults to `utf8_general_ci`) and `replicate` (defaults to `1`, only used if replication is configured). The formats of these are the same as in the `mysql_db` module.
@@ -75,13 +79,6 @@ Slow query log settings. Note that the log file will be created by this role, bu
 
 The rest of the settings in `defaults/main.yml` control MySQL's memory usage. The default values are tuned for a server where MySQL can consume ~512 MB RAM, so you should consider adjusting them to suit your particular server better.
 
-    mysqld_performance_settings: 
-     - { name: key_buffer_size, value: "256M" }
-    mysql_dump_settings: []
-     - { name: mysqldump_max_allowed_packet, value: "64M" }
-
-Any additional performance settings you would like to add beyond the defaults.
-
     mysql_server_id: "1"
     mysql_max_binlog_size: "100M"
     mysql_expire_logs_days: "10"
diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index 8c886fe..69bb143 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,6 @@ mysql_bind_address: '0.0.0.0'
 mysql_datadir: /var/lib/mysql
 mysql_pid_file: /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid
 
-mysqld_performance_settings: []
-
 # Slow query log settings.
 mysql_slow_query_log_enabled: no
 mysql_slow_query_log_file: /var/log/mysql-slow.log
@@ -67,13 +65,18 @@ mysql_innodb_lock_wait_timeout: 50
 # mysqldump settings.
 mysql_mysqldump_max_allowed_packet: "64M"
 
-mysql_dump_settings: []
-
 # Logging settings.
 mysql_log: ""
 mysql_log_error: /var/log/mysql.err
 mysql_syslog_tag: mysql
 
+mysql_config_include_files: []
+# Full example:
+# mysql_config_include_files:
+#   - src: path/relative/to/playbook/file.cnf
+#   - { src: path/relative/to/playbook/anotherfile.cnf, force: yes }
+
+
 # Databases.
 mysql_databases: []
 # Full example:
diff --git a/tasks/configure.yml b/tasks/configure.yml
index a913f3a..c0ccd5b 100644
--- a/tasks/configure.yml
+++ b/tasks/configure.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,26 @@
     force: "{{ overwrite_global_mycnf }}"
   notify: restart mysql
 
+- name: Verify mysql include directory exists.
+  file:
+    path: "{{ mysql_config_include_dir }}"
+    state: directory
+    owner: root
+    group: root
+    mode: 0755
+  when: mysql_config_include_files|length
+
+- name: Copy my.cnf override files into include directory.
+  template:
+    src: "{{ item.src }}"
+    dest: "{{ mysql_config_include_dir }}/{{ item.src | basename }}"
+    owner: root
+    group: root
+    mode: 0644
+    force: "{{ item.force|default(False) }}"
+  with_items: mysql_config_include_files
+  notify: restart mysql
+
 - name: Create slow query log file (if configured).
   shell: "touch {{ mysql_slow_query_log_file }} creates={{ mysql_slow_query_log_file }}"
   when: mysql_slow_query_log_enabled
diff --git a/templates/my.cnf.j2 b/templates/my.cnf.j2
index 26f4c92..c16c5ab 100644
--- a/templates/my.cnf.j2
+++ b/templates/my.cnf.j2
@@ -90,16 +90,16 @@ innodb_log_buffer_size = {{ mysql_innodb_log_buffer_size }}
 innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = {{ mysql_innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit }}
 innodb_lock_wait_timeout = {{ mysql_innodb_lock_wait_timeout }}
 
-{% for setting in mysqld_performance_settings %}
-{{ setting.name }} = {{ setting.value }}
-{% endfor %}
-
 [mysqldump]
 quick
 max_allowed_packet = {{ mysql_mysqldump_max_allowed_packet }}
-{% for setting in mysql_dump_settings %}
-{{ setting.name }} = {{ setting.value }}
-{% endfor %}
 
 [mysqld_safe]
 pid-file = {{ mysql_pid_file }}
+
+{% if mysql_config_include_files|length %}
+# * IMPORTANT: Additional settings that can override those from this file!
+#   The files must end with '.cnf', otherwise they'll be ignored.
+#
+!includedir {{ mysql_config_include_dir }}
+{% endif %}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/vars/Debian.yml b/vars/Debian.yml
index 55c88e8..4156d55 100644
--- a/vars/Debian.yml
+++ b/vars/Debian.yml
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ __mysql_packages:
   - mysql-server
 __mysql_slow_query_log_file: /var/log/mysql/mysql-slow.log
 mysql_config_file: /etc/mysql/my.cnf
+mysql_config_include_dir: /etc/mysql/conf.d/
 mysql_socket: /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
diff --git a/vars/RedHat.yml b/vars/RedHat.yml
index cc483d1..71117a2 100644
--- a/vars/RedHat.yml
+++ b/vars/RedHat.yml
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ __mysql_packages:
   - mysql-server
 __mysql_slow_query_log_file: /var/log/mysql-slow.log
 mysql_config_file: /etc/my.cnf
+mysql_config_include_dir: /etc/my.cnf.d
 mysql_socket: /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock