MySQL is one of the most popular open-source relational database management systems (RDBMS). It is widely used for web application development and is a central component of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack.
In this article, we will guide you step by step on how to install MySQL Community Server on a Linux machine.
Step 1: Check for Existing MySQL Installation
Before installing MySQL, we need to check if it’s already installed on our system. Open the terminal and type the following command:
“`
$ mysql –version
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If MySQL is already installed, the command will display the version number. If not, it will show an error message.
Step 2: Add MySQL Repository
To install the latest version of MySQL, we need to add the MySQL repository to our system. To do this, follow the instructions below:
1. Download the MySQL repository configuration package:
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$ wget https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql80-community-release-el7-3.noarch.rpm
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Note: The above command is for CentOS 7. If you are using a different version of Linux, you can find the appropriate download link on the MySQL website.
2. Install the repository package:
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$ sudo rpm -ivh mysql80-community-release-el7-3.noarch.rpm
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Step 3: Install MySQL Community Server
Once the repository is added, we can install MySQL Community Server by running the following command:
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$ sudo yum install mysql-community-server
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This command will download and install MySQL Community Server on our system.
Step 4: Start MySQL Service
After installing MySQL, we need to start the MySQL service to make it available for use. To start the service, run the following command:
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$ sudo systemctl start mysqld
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Step 5: Secure MySQL Installation
By default, MySQL installation is not secure. We can secure it by running the following command:
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$ sudo mysql_secure_installation
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This command will ask a series of questions to secure the MySQL installation. Follow the instructions below to answer the questions:
1. Enter the root password for MySQL. If you haven’t set up a root password yet, press Enter.
2. Set a root password for MySQL.
3. Remove anonymous users.
4. Disallow root login remotely.
5. Remove test database and access to it.
6. Reload privilege tables.
Step 6: Connect to MySQL
To connect to MySQL, run the following command:
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$ mysql -u root -p
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This command will prompt you to enter the root password for MySQL. Once you enter the password, you will be connected to the MySQL command-line interface.
Step 7: Create a MySQL User
By default, MySQL comes with a root user that has full privileges. It’s not recommended to use the root user for all tasks. Instead, we should create a separate user with limited privileges.
To create a new MySQL user, follow the instructions below:
1. Log in to MySQL with the root user:
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$ mysql -u root -p
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2. Create a new user:
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mysql> CREATE USER ‘username’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED BY ‘password’;
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Replace ‘username’ and ‘password’ with the desired username and password for the new user.
3. Grant privileges to the new user:
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mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON * . * TO ‘username’@’localhost’;
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Replace ‘username’ with the name of the new user.
4. Reload the privilege tables:
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mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
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Step 8: Exit MySQL
To exit MySQL, type the following command:
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mysql> exit
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This will exit the MySQL command-line interface.
In this article, we have covered the step-by-step process of installing MySQL Community Server on a Linux machine. We have also shown how to secure the installation, connect to MySQL, and create a new user. With this knowledge, you can easily set up and manage your own MySQL database server for your web applications.