How to Install mySQL for Apache

As the leading open source database software, mySQL has become a core part of Apache-based web development. The relational database powers a wide variety of large scale database sites including Wikipedia, Facebook and major open source applications such as Word Press. As a result, the technology is proven to scale and offer reliable database storage for large scale applications.

While the database works on nearly any platform, it’s commonly implementing on Apache servers as a complete solution when combined with Linux and PHP-based code. This guide aims to help users begin to install mySQL on their servers for more advanced use, and aims to help novice users begin working with the database on Apache.

While some users may choose to install mySQL directly from the source code, the open source development community has issued a variety of binary packages which make installation on Apache much easier. After installation of the program, there are a variety of tools designed to facilitate management and manipulation of the database including the popular php My Admin application, which is commonly found on shared hosting environments. With phpMyAdmin, users can utilize a graphical interface in order to work with a variety of database features, updates and extensions – in essence, the software provides a visual interface for implementing common database queries.

A complete database platform, mySQL offers automated indexing, caching, support for other database platforms, secure (SSL) data transfer and automated backup functionality. Therefore, a wide variety of developers opt to work with the program to implement the latest development features.

First Steps for Installing mySQL on Apache

To start, users should download the mySQL source code directly from mySQL.com, and unpack the code into a local directory:

tar zxf mysql-version.tar.gz

which creates /usr/local/src/mysql-4.1.22

To ensure better security, users should create a mySQL group for better organization and identification of the package:

groupadd mysql
useradd -g mysql -c “DB Server” mysql

Some users may find a group has already been setup for mySQL, as some Apache builds may be pre-configured for the software. In either case, the command creates a MySQL user and group, which makes analyzing log files and setting security procedures much easier. To begin building out the database on your server, the source package has to be fully configured. Users can implement this as the root user:

cd /usr/local/src/mysql-version
chown -R root.root *
make clean

./configure \
–prefix=/usr/local/mysql \
–localstatedir=/usr/local/mysql/data \
–with-mysqld-user=mysql \
–with-unix-socket-path=/tmp/mysql.sock \

Next Steps

After you have configured mySQL on your server, you can then begin to install and configure the program. Installation of the database can take up to 30 minutes depending on the speed of your server. Configuration of the program requires allocating user permissions for root and mySQL to access the directory. There are several more steps required to fully configure mySQL including associating the database libraries, and configuring a script to ensure mySQL starts along with Apache and setup of symlinks. Depending on your security settings, you may want to take further steps to protect mySQL.