On this page we state the minimum requirements for a MariaDB installation to support PhixFlow, and present an example installation.
The example installation incorporates the minimum requirements for MariaDB. 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 the minimum requirements for a MariaDB installation to support PhixFlow.
Installation
Option | Setting |
Version | |
Max Server Memory | At least 2 GB |
The following configuration parameters must be set in my.cnf | |
datadir | Ensure that the data dir being used has sufficient space for the initial period of PhixFlow operation. This is in the [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file. |
binlog_format | mixed This must be added to the [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file. |
wait_timeout | 28800 (this is the default, but some installation processes set this to a much lower value) This must be in the [mysqld] section of the my.cnf file. |
The following configuration parameters can optionally be set in my.cnf | |
log_bin_trust_function_creators | 1 If set in my.cnf, this must be added to the [mysqld] section of the file. For details on why this setting is recommended - and the alternatives if you do not want to set in this my.cnf - see Running non-deterministic functions |
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 |
Database
The following settings are required for the PhixFlow database.
All of these parameters are reflected in the example MariaDB database creation command in Configure the Database. |
You will need a database, and a login with all privileges on that database. The database should be created with the following options:
Option | Setting |
|---|---|
character_set_server | utf8 |
collation_server | utf8_bin |
Running non-deterministic functions
PhixFlow's migration scripts sometimes require the use of non-deterministic functions. To run, these require either a setting (log_bin_trust_function_creators) to be updated, or to be run with sufficient privileges.
Permanent setting change to allow non-deterministic functions
You can permanently allow non-deterministic functions to run in migration scripts by updating the setting log_bin_trust_function_creators in the my.cnf file. This is convenient, because you don't have to remember to make any changes to your session when running PhixFlow migration scripts. If you don't want to make this permanent change, see the following section.
Instructions for setting log_bin_trust_function_creators in the my.cnf file are given in MariaDB installation.
Session change to allow non-deterministic functions
If you do not update the log_bin_trust_function_creators setting in my.cnf, you must make sure that your session either has this setting updated, or that you run migration scripts with sufficient privileges. Full details for doing this are given in Upgrading PhixFlow.
Windows / Antivirus
MariaDB is not compatible with on-access anti-virus software so this must be disabled for the MariaDB data folder(s).
Example installation
The following configuration is suggested as a guide. It incorporates the minimum requirements for MariaDB databases above.
It is based on an installation of MariaDB 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 MariaDB documentation (https://mariadb.com/kb/en/getting-installing-and-upgrading-mariadb/) to check the exact details for installation on your platform. In particular, instructions for downloading and installing tailored to your linux distrubtion and target version of MariaDB are provided here: https://downloads.mariadb.org/mariadb/repositories
For Ubuntu 18.04 and MariaDB 10.3/10.4:
Configure repository
Install the prerequisites and add the signing key:
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo apt-key adv --fetch-keys 'https://mariadb.org/mariadb_release_signing_key.asc'
Either add the repo for 10.3:
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb [arch=amd64,arm64,ppc64el] https://mirrors.ukfast.co.uk/sites/mariadb/repo/10.3/ubuntu bionic main'
Or 10.4:
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb [arch=amd64,arm64,ppc64el] https://mirrors.ukfast.co.uk/sites/mariadb/repo/10.4/ubuntu bionic main'
Install
sudo apt-get update sudo apt install mariadb-server
Edit my.cnf
Open your my.cnf file:
sudo nano /etc/mysql/my.cnf
In the [mysqld] section, update or add the below variables to match these values:
[mysqld] ... datadir = /var/lib/mysql ... wait_timeout = 28800 ... binlog_format = mixed log_bin_trust_function_creators = 1 ... binlog_expire_logs_seconds = 172800 ... slow_query_log = 1 long_query_time = 5 log_slow_verbosity = query_plan,explain
For versions earlier than 10.6, the setting expire_logs_days = 2 is used instead of binlog_expire_logs_seconds.
Also in the [mysqld] section check that the following are either present, and if not add them (add them next to other innodb settings, although the placement of these does not actually matter, as long as they are in the [mysqld] section):
innodb_file_format = Barracuda innodb_default_row_format = dynamic innodb_file_per_table = 1 innodb_strict_mode = ON
Check the innodb_buffer_pool_size parameter is set to a suitable size depending on the specification of the server. See MariaDB planning
Bounce MariaDB:
sudo systemctl stop mysql.service sudo systemctl start mysql.service
Hardening
To harden the installation, run:
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Respond to the questions in the following way:
- Switch to unix_socket authentication [Y/n] y - Set root password? [Y/n] n (although if you set a secure password on installation you can safely answer n) - Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] y - Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] y - Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] y - Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] y
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 MariaDB.