Chapter 11. General MySQL Administration

If you're acting as your site's MySQL administrator, this chapter discusses what you'll need to do to keep MySQL running smoothly. It covers how to carry out the following responsibilities:

• Securing your MySQL setup after installing it

• Making sure that the server is up and running as much of the time as possible

• Setting up user accounts so that clients can access the server

• Maintaining log files

• Modifying the server's operating parameters for better performance

• Running multiple servers

• Setting up replication between servers

• Knowing how to determine when to upgrade MySQL to a new release

Other significant administrative concerns are covered in Chapter 12, "MySQL and Security," and Chapter 13, "Database Backups, Maintenance, and Repair."

These chapters cover several programs that are essential for MySQL administrators to know about:

• mysqld, the MySQL server.

• Scripts for starting the server. These include mysqld_safe, mysql.server, and mysqld_multi.

• mysqladmin performs miscellaneous administrative operations.

• mysqldump and mysqlhotcopy are used for database backup and copying operations.

• mysqlcheck and myisamchk perform table integrity checking and repair operations.

Much of the information in this chapter can be better appreciated if you have an understanding of MySQL's data directory, which is where the server stores databases, log files, and other information. For more information, see Chapter 10, "The MySQL Data Directory." Additional information specific to the SQL statements and programs discussed here is provided in Appendix E, "SQL Syntax Reference," and Appendix F, "MySQL Program Reference."

For simplicity, most of the Windows-related material in this chapter assumes that MySQL is installed at C:\mysql. However, beginning with MySQL 4.1.5, MySQL AB provides an installation wizard that likes to install the distribution under C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL ServerX.Y, where X.Y is a number like 4.1. If you use that installation location, be sure to adjust Windows pathnames shown in this chapter accordingly.