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This entry examines (superficially) my own experience installing and running MySQL on Red Hat Linux, Mac OS X and FreeBSD. I'll say this right away; software installation should be simple. Customization should be performed post-install whenever possible. This is how software should be built. MySQL is a very flexible database server, not many of the standard options of MySQL need to be set during the install itself. I love it. And because of this flexibility, I have very little reason to prefer one installation method over another. My thought is to keep it SIMPLE. So whatever works, from source, binary, package or rpm. Let's go!
First: MySQL on Red Hat Linux 9.
I don't have a lot of experience with Linux. I have some experience using it but not a lot administering it. I like it a lot and have had a great time working with it when given the opportunity. I find the dizzying array of Linux flavors a bit overwhelming and have tried to stick with Red Hat whenever possible, simply to keep things simple. So, at the advice of a friend with Red Hat experience, the first install I attempted on Red Hat Linux was with the rpm installer for MySQL provided by MySQL itself. My friend assured me that it (rpm) was the best way to install software on Red Hat. Fair enough. The instructions for it were clear enough. It actually had the same or fewer steps than the install process for the standard package installer for MySQL on OS X. Well, the rpm didn't work. Half way through one of the install steps it barfed out a huge list of incompatibilities with language modules on an older installed version of MySQL. Which was weird because I didn't have MySQL installed on this machine. I have no idea why it had conflicts with a non-existent previous install. I fiddled with it a bit, but the nature of rpm is that it does pretty much everything for you and doesn't allow for any tweaking of the install process. It just does it. Verdict; install failed.
Ok, gotta update this one. I'm a little better versed in linux and had very little trouble installing mysql 4.0.21 on centos 3.3. There is a pre-installed version (3.x.x) in the os, but all you need to do is remove it using rpm -e Mysq... and you're good to go after you install the libraries and the server. No problem. Easy as pie. Next...
The next thing I tried was the generic linux binary installer. You have to set a number of options when doing the make, and it may be tricky to get this to work properly if you've done a default install of Red Hat 9 and have no idea what version of compiler or, for that matter, kernel you are running. There are a number of bugs with a couple of linux kernels that make these make options critical. I was not able to find the right mix of options to make a binary install of MySQL work on Red Hat 9. I can't truly report on whether this install was a failure on my part or a failure on the part of problems with MySQL and certain versions of the Linux kernel. Next... from source.
My install of MySQL on Red Hat 9 from source was successful. I was able to set a couple of custom options on the build and it took a while to compile everything (20 minutes or so, it's an old machine) but was up and running flawlessly after that. So that was cool. For those about to attempt the same, follow these directions for installing MySQL on Red Hat Linux from source to the letter. Next... MySQL on FreeBSD.
Second: MySQL on FreeBSD
I stripped Red Hat off my intel box and built FreeBSD using a friend's instructions from his GCUX security certification paper. Once my install was complete I grabbed the generic binary installer for unix and followed the instructions for installing mysql on unix systems, paying special attention to specific notes relating to FreeBSD. The install was literally painless. It went quickly and the MySQL server immediately came to life. It took me a little time to figure out which files needed to be placed in which rc.* folder to get the server to start and stop automatically on startup and shutdown. Otherwise the install on FreeBSD was so easy it almost scared me. And with the knowledge that my machine was relatively secure (as secure as that GCUX paper could help me make it anyway) I feel pretty good about the install and possibly continuing to run MySQL on FreeBSD in the future. The only advice I have is RTFM, read the f***ing manual. The only reason why I didn't nail the startup scripts perfectly on first attempt was a single line telling me to set a specific suffix or permission on one of the script aliases. Verdict: success. Next... MySQL on Mac OS X.
Third: MySQL on Mac OS X.
I've followed the instructions for installing MySQL on Mac OS X provided by Marc Liyanage, again, to the T, on a number of macs over a number of months. If you read the instructions you won't have any problem with this install. You'll have to download the package installer from MySQL.com. This installer will include everything you need for a standard MySQL install as well as a startup/shutdown script that works the first time. Marc's site includes some basic command line instructions for setting the root password for the server and setting permissions on the data directories for your own protection. DO NOT consider these instructions optional. The last thing you want is to have your system compromised because you left your database server open to intrusion.
So, in summary, the install on Red Hat was a pain (and theny when I tried again 6 months later it was casual). It took longer than it should when it actually did work, and had problems with two out of the three install techniques I tried. I was bummed about that because I'm increasingly interested in using Red Hat as a server platform for my web and database hosting needs. The install on FreeBSD was painless, really painless, and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over when I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes (after downloading MySQL). It made me think very seriously about setting up an inexpensive intel box with the sole purpose of running MySQL to take some of the load off my OS X servers. Install on OS X was great but I have growing concerns about running reliable server processes on OS X, especially OS X client. OS X Server might be a different story, but it's too expensive and comes with way way too many options that I do not need. That that's it. Thumbs up for red hat. Thumbs up for Mac OS X and FreeBSD. MySQL just rocks.
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| Rating for MySQL on Linux, FreeBSD or Mac OS X?: 5 / 10 |
Unless otherwise noted, all software reviewed on SXEL is for Mac OS X (Jaguar and Panther). Although there is a very, very slim chance that what I say about one product on OS X might apply to the same product on Windows or Linux, it's not likely.
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