A DBA's Journey in the Sun: George Trujillo Blog

Introduction

The following instructions will lay out an installation of MySQL on Solaris using the MySQL Optimal Configuration Architecture (MOCA) for someone knowledgeable in MySQL/Solaris administration. MOCA is a set of best practices I put together to lay out a guidelines for installing and configuring a MySQL database server.  MOCA is designed for someone with experience with MySQL, it is not for someone brand new to MySQL.

If you are new to MySQL or to Solaris, I recommend using the default package install for MySQL. The MySQL default install is recommended for someone new to MySQL or the operating system platform. If the default package install makes more sense for you, then you can stop reading.  This install is for MySQL 5.1.24 but it would be the same steps for the 5.1.30 installation.

 Why Perform a Manual Install

The default install with MySQL is great for users new to MySQL. It is simple, requires a few point and clicks and you are up and running. The problem with a default install is that it is designed to be a very simple install and take minimum resources. The default install also puts MySQL files in different locations on the filesystem dependent on the OS release and platform. The default install is not how an experienced DBA would want to set up a production database environment. It is much better to be able to control the layout and configuration of the database software for production database environments and for platforms where multiple MySQL servers may be installed in the future.

Why MOCA? 

1. Separating database software from other software.
2. Separating data and index files, log files for recovery, administration and backup files.
3. Developing standard naming conventions.
4. Defines a flexible configuration that can support multiple database servers on same platform.
5. A consistent configuration for multiple servers and versions of MySQL database software.

Installation Summary

This installation looks more complex than it is.  I use this configuration for all beginning MySQL DBA classes.

1. Remove old versions of MySQL if they exist.  Setup up operating system user mysql and mysql user environment.
2. Set up directories and directory permissions for all MySQL data files.
3. Setup MySQL software and install MySQL software as mysql operating system user (not as root).  Configure the my.cnf configuration file.
4. Create the mysql database (mysql_install_db) and setup the security environment (mysql_secure_installation). Start the mysql database server.
5. Test the shutdown and startup of the database server. 

Installation Environment

The environment for this installation is below: Mac OS 10(Leopard) running VM Fusion with Solaris 10 - Downloaded DVD iso image from www.sun.com website. I installed the Solaris 10 05/08 x86/x64 image for this demo (sol-10-u5-ga-x86-dvd.iso). MySQL 5.1 - Downloaded from dev.mysql.com.

Look for existing MySQL software

This install uses 5.1.24, these installation procedures can be used for any 5.1.x installation. Dependent on the version of Solaris, different packages may need to be installed or removed (old MySQL installations).  

Check to see if you see MySQL on your current system.
# grep mysql /etc/passwd #
# find /usr/local -name '*mysql*' - print # look here for MacOS, Unix/Linux
# find /var -name '*mysql*' - print # good place to start with Solaris
# find / -name "*mysql*' - print # look everywhere for MySQL installations

 VM Fusion Choices for Installing Solaris 10

My choices for installing Solaris 10 in a VM Fusion environment. During the installation you will be asked to hit F2 to continue. On a MAC that will be EscapeKey-2 or FN-F2. Solaris Interactive US-English Networked - DHCP IPv6 - No You may need to specify the amount of disk space to use. I allocated 10228 MB.

 Removing older versions of MySQL

Check for MySQL packages installed and remove them.
# pkginfo | grep mysql
The following packages SUNWmysqlr, SUNWmysqlt, SUNWmysqlu were found and removed.
# pkgrm SUNWmysqlr
# pkgrm SUNWmysqlt
# pkgrm SUNWmysqlu

Remove old MySQL files from common directories.
# sudo rm /usr/local/mysql
# sudo rm -rf /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM/

Set up the mysql user. Start by checking to see if there is an existing MySQL user.
# grep mysql /etc/passwd

Setup new mysql user if one does not exist.  If a mysql user does exist, set up a password, default shell, default directory, etc.
No mysql user was found so I added one. Add the mysql group, mysql user, password and home directory.
# groupadd -g 300 mysql
# useradd -u 300 -g 300 -d /export/home/mysql -s /usr/bin/bash -c "MySQL DBA" mysql
# passwd mysql
# mkdir /export/home/mysql
# chown -R mysql:mysql /export/home/mysql

Login and verify the mysql user setup

# exec login mysql (or su - mysql)

Then define a default profile file using your favorite text editor.

--- .bash_profile file ------
PS1='$PWD: '
MYSQL_BASE=/opt/mysql
MYSQL_HOME=/opt/mysql/5.1.24
export MYSQL_BASE MYSQL_HOME
PATH=$PATH:$MYSQL_HOME/bin
--- end of .bash_profile file -------

Set your environment by sourcing your profile file.

$ cd $MYSQL_HOME
$ .   ./.bash_profile

Downloading MySQL 

Go to http://dev.mysql.com and go to downloads. Find the distributions and choose the install release you want. I chose 5.1.24. I prefer a manual install so I choose the Solaris Tar Packages the Solaris 10 64-bit install. Select a mirror. On the Select a Mirror page, I No thanks, just take me to the downloads!

MySQL Directory Organization 

Organize how MySQL files and software will be located:
/opt/mysql/5.1.24 - Symbolic link to software directory location
/db01/mysql/mysql01/data          - data directory
/db02/mysql/mysql01/binlogs     - location of binary log files
/db03/mysql/mysql01/admin       - main administration directory
/db04/mysql/mysql01/backups    - location of backup files

I created the following directories to download the MySQL software in /opt/mysql/5.1.24.
# mkdir -p /opt/mysql/5.1.24
# export MYSQL_NAME=mysql01

Setup data directory structure
# mkdir -p /db01/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/data

Setup mysql administration directory structure
# mkdir -p /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME
# mkdir /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/logs
# mkdir /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/errors
# mkdir /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/sql

# mkdir /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/startup

# mkdir /db03/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/run

Setup binary log structure
# mkdir -p /db02/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/binlogs

Setup backup directory structure for backups and exports.
# mkdir -p /db04/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME
# mkdir /db04/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/backups
# mkdir /db04/mysql/$MYSQL_NAME/exports

Set permissions and ownership for MySQL file directories.
# chmod -R 750                   /db*/mysql/*    /opt/mysql/*
# chown -R mysql:mysql    /db*/mysql/*    /opt/mysql/*

Before going further

All following commands are run as the mysql OS user. In the /opt/mysql directory unzip and untar the MySQL software as the mysql OS user.
$ cd /opt/mysql
$ gunzip mysql-5.1.24-rc-solaris10-x86_64.tar.gz
$ tar xvf mysql-5.1.24-rc-solaris10-x86_64.tar
$ ln -s mysql-5.1.24-rc-solaris10-x86_64 5.1.24
$ cp $MYSQL_HOME/support-files/my-small-cnf   /dbadmin/mysql/mysql/startup/my.cnf

[mysqld]
log-error=/db03/mysql/mysql01/errors/mysql5.1.24.err
pid-file=/db03/mysql/mysql01/localhost.pid
datadir=/db01/mysql/mysql01/data
basedir=/opt/mysql/5.1.24
log-bin=/db02/mysql/mysql01/mysql-bin
port = 3426
#socket=/dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/run/mysql.sock

Add the following entries to the my.cnf file to the [client] group.
[client]
port = 3426
#socket = /dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/run/mysql.sock

Build a symbolic link from the default location to the real startup file.  The step of adding a symbolic to the actual startup file is something I avoid but some environments like this addition.

$ cd $MYSQL_HOME
$ ln -s  /dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/startup/my.cnf   my.cnf

Start the MySQL database server pointing to the defined locations.
$ cd /opt/mysql/5.1.24
$ bin/mysqld_safe --defaults-file=/dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/startup/my.cnf &

If there are socket errors:

i.e.  MySQL client cannot star twith the error "cannot connect to the MySQL server through socket <filename>

Solution:

MySQL needs to write to a socket.  If you don't specify one, a default one is chosen which may not have the appropriate permissions.  You can specify the socket file in the command line as below. Make sure the permissions are set properly (owned by mysql). 

$ mysql -uroot -p -socket=/dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/run/mysql.sock

$ ps -ef |grep mysql

Clean up the database server by adding passwords and getting rid of anonymous users.  If there are problems with the mysql_secure_installation script, then set the password manually and get rid of the anonymous accounts and any accounts with no passwords.

$ cd $MYSQL_HOME 
$ bin/mysql_secure_installation 

$ mysqladmin --defaults-file= /dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/startup/my.cnf   shutdown
$ cd $MYSQL_HOME

$ bin/mysqld_safe --defaults-file= /dbadmin/mysql/mysql01/startup/my.cnf