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Install MySQL

Install MySQL

Owned by Chris Welford
Last updated: Aug 23, 2024 by Samuel Kirby
7 min read

On this page we state the minimum requirements for a MySQL installation to support PhixFlow, and present an example installation.

The example installation incorporates the minimum requirements for MySQL. It is suitable as an initial configuration for many instances of PhixFlow, but note that some of the options may need to change over time as the work carried out by PhixFlow increases.

Minimum requirements

The following are the minimum requirements for a MySQL installation to support PhixFlow.

Installation

The following parameters must be set:

Parameter

Value

Location

Notes

Parameter

Value

Location

Notes

Version

See System Requirements and Compatibility.

 

 

datadir

 

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

Ensure that the data directory being used has sufficient space for the initial period of PhixFlow operation.

binlog_format

mixed

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

 

sql_generate_invisible_primary_key

0

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

 

wait_timeout

28800

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

28800 is the default, but some installation processes set this to a much lower value.

The following parameters can also optionally be set:

Parameter

Value

Location

Notes

Parameter

Value

Location

Notes

log_bin_trust_function_creators

1

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

This setting is needed because PhixFlow's migration scripts sometimes require the use of non-deterministic functions. If you do not set this, then at some point you may encounter an upgrade where you are required to turn this setting on for the duration of the upgrade - this will be noted in the Special Upgrade Instructions .

require_secure_transport

1

The [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file.

This setting requires that all client connections are encrypted.

Example

If you add all parameters above to my.cnf, including the optional parameters, then the [mysqld] section of your my.cnf file should look something like this:

[mysqld] ... datadir = /var/lib/mysql wait_timeout = 28800 binlog_format = mixed log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1 sql_generate_invisible_primary_key = 0 require_secure_transport = 1 ...

Database

The following settings are required for the PhixFlow database. All of these parameters are reflected in the example MySQL database creation command given here: Install the PhixFlow Database Schema.

You will need a database, and a login with all privileges on that database. The database should be created with the following options:

Parameter

Value

Parameter

Value

character_set_server

utf8mb4

collation_server

utf8mb4_bin

Example installation

The following configuration is suggested as a guide. It incorporates the minimum requirements for MySQL databases above.

It is based on an installation of MySQL Community Edition on the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. Installation on other distributions of Linux will follow a very similar pattern. For Debian-based distributions, many of the commands will be identical. For RHEL-based distributions, the commands will be similar, replacing apt with yum. However, in all cases, please check with in the MySQL documentation (MySQL :: MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual :: 2.5 Installing MySQL on Linux) to check the exact details for installation on your platform.

For Ubuntu 22.04 and MySQL 8.0

Install

sudo apt-get update sudo apt install mysql-server

Set configuration

The command below sets the configuration you need to run PhixFlow. This creates a PhixFlow specific configuration file (/etc/mysql/conf.d/phixflow.cnf) which will be included by the main configuration file (/etc/mysql/my.cnf).

echo "[mysqld] datadir = /var/lib/mysql wait_timeout = 28800 binlog_format = mixed log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1 sql_generate_invisible_primary_key = 0 binlog_expire_logs_seconds = 172800 slow_query_log = 1 long_query_time = 5 innodb_buffer_pool_size = <INNODB BUFFER POOL SIZE>M OR <INNODB BUFFER POOL SIZE>G innodb_default_row_format = dynamic innodb_file_per_table = 1 innodb_strict_mode = OFF table_open_cache = 2000 require_secure_transport = 1 log_error = /var/log/mysql" | sudo tee /etc/mysql/conf.d/phixflow.cnf

Check whether you have example configuration files included with your distribution under /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d - if you do, note that these may override settings you apply via other files.

To help determine a suitable innodb_buffer_pool_size, see here: MySQL Planning. This can be specified either with M (megabytes) or G (gigabytes).

Most cloud-native services (such as Amazon RDS for MySQL or Azure Database for MySQL) will require an encrypted database connection. To configure this, you will need the following settings:

  • require_secure_transport = 1 in the database (as described above)

  • useSSL=true in the database URL used by PhixFlow to connect to MySQL

However, there are scenarios in which a secure connection is not required - such as when MySQL and Tomcat are both installed on the same server. For this type of configuration to work, you will need the following settings:

  • require_secure_transport = 0 in the database

  • allowPublicKeyRetreival=true in the database URL used by PhixFlow to connect to MySQL

For instructions on how to set the database URL, see here: Install the PhixFlow Webapp.

For official MySQL documentation on database connections, see here: MySQL :: MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual :: 6.2.3 Command Options for Connecting to the Server.

Restart MySQL:

Hardening

To harden the installation, run:

Respond to the questions in the following way:

Switching to unix_socket authentication means there is no password for root, instead anybody with sudo access can log in using sudo mysql. 

If the first option does not come up, respond to Set root password? with y instead. This should only happen if you're installing an old version of MySQL.

For Windows

Install

Go to MySQL :: Download MySQL Installer and select either download - mysql-installer-web-community-8.0.23.msi is recommended if you have a good internet connection, otherwise choose mysql-installer-community-8.0.23.msi. Note that both of these installation packages are 32-bit but can install either the 32-bit or 64-bit versions of MySQL.

At the next page you are invited to create an account but you do not have to - note the link No thanks, just start my download at the bottom of the page

Allow the download to complete and start the installation package

  • At Choosing a Setup Type, choose Server only

  • On the Type and Networking step, select the installation type as appropriate; leave other settings on this page (including networking settings) as default

  • Follow prompts to complete the installation, accepting defaults

    • This will include setting a root password - make sure you note this down

    • You may wish to turn off MySQL starting when you start your computer

Add mysql to path

It is useful to add the mysql command to the path

  • From Settings, open Environment Variables

  • Edit the System variable Path

  • Add the path C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin

  • Save your changes

Now you can refer to the program mysql from a CMD or PowerShell window

Add PhixFlow settings

Apply PhixFlow settings in the file C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\my.ini. At a minimum apply settings listed in Install MySQL | Installation above. The following is an example configuration.

Example configuration

Add the following settings in the [mysqld] section of the file

Update the following settings, which should already be in the file:

  • innodb_buffer_pool_size to <INNODB BUFFER POOL SIZE>M OR <INNODB BUFFER POOL SIZE>G, e.g. for a development or test installation on a PC with 16 GB of memory, 1 GB; for full details, see MySQL Planning

  • table_open_cache to 2000

Note that the following settings are not mandatory for PhixFlow but are recommended; however, these are already set by default to PhixFlow’s recommended settings (i.e. you do not need to do anything to apply these)

Once you have updated this file, restart MySQL via services to pick up these settings.

Post-install

Firewall

If you want to access your database from another server, open your firewall for inbound TCP connections to your server's port (default port is 3306).

Add admin users

You could now use the root user for everything, but it is better practice from a security viewpoint to create individual users with their own passwords. Also, by default, the root user doesn't allow remote access.

You can add admin users using mysql:

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