Chapter 11. General MySQL Administration

This chapter discusses the duties a MySQL administrator needs to perform to keep MySQL running smoothly. These responsibilities include making sure the server is up and running as much as possible, setting up user accounts so that clients can access the server, maintaining log files, and performing database backups. The administrator also may want to run multiple servers or modify the server's operating parameters for better performance. Finally, because MySQL is under active development, the administrator must be able to determine when to upgrade MySQL by installing new releases. Other significant administrative concerns are covered in Chapter 12, "Security," and Chapter 13, "Database Maintenance and Repair."

Several programs are covered in these chapters that are useful for MySQL administrators:

• mysqladmin performs miscellaneous administrative operations.

• safe_mysqld and mysql.server are scripts for starting up the MySQL server, mysqld.

• mysqldump is used for database backup and copying operations.

• myisamchk and isamchk are used for table integrity checking and repair operations.

Additional information about most of these programs is provided in Appendix E," MySQL Program Reference."