Chapter 5. Database Administration

The MySQL server, mysqld, is the main program that does most of the work in a MySQL installation. The server is accompanied by several related scripts that perform setup operations when you install MySQL or that assist you in starting and stopping the server. This section provides an overview of the server and related programs. The following sections provide more detailed information about each of these programs.

Each MySQL program takes many different options. Most programs provide a --help option that you can use to get a description of the program's different options. For example, try mysqld --help.

You can override default option values for MySQL programs by specifying options on the command line or in an option file. Section 4.3, “Specifying Program Options”.

The following list briefly describes the MySQL server and server-related programs:

mysqld
The SQL daemon (that is, the MySQL server). To use client programs, mysqld must be running, because clients gain access to databases by connecting to the server. See Section 5.2, “mysqld — The MySQL Server”.
mysqld_safe
A server startup script. mysqld_safe attempts to start mysqld. See Section 5.3.1, “mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script”.
mysql.server
A server startup script. This script is used on systems that use System V-style run directories containing scripts that start system services for particular run levels. It invokes mysqld_safe to start the MySQL server. See Section 5.3.2, “mysql.server — MySQL Server Startup Script”.
mysqld_multi
A server startup script that can start or stop multiple servers installed on the system. See Section 5.3.3, “mysqld_multi — Manage Multiple MySQL Servers”. As of MySQL 5.0.3 (Unix-like systems) or 5.0.13 (Windows), an alternative to mysqld_multi is mysqlmanager, the MySQL Instance Manager. See Section 5.4, “mysqlmanager — The MySQL Instance Manager”.
mysqlmanager
The MySQL Instance Manager, a program for monitoring and managing MySQL servers. See Section 5.4, “mysqlmanager — The MySQL Instance Manager”.

There are several other programs that are related to MySQL installation or upgrading:

comp_err
This program is used during the MySQL build/installation process. It compiles error message files from the error source files. See Section 5.5.1, “comp_err — Compile MySQL Error Message File”.
make_binary_distribution
This program makes a binary release of a compiled MySQL. This could be sent by FTP to /pub/mysql/upload/ on ftp.mysql.com for the convenience of other MySQL users.
make_win_bin_dist
This program is used on Windows. It packages a MySQL distribution for installation after the source distribution has been built. See Section 5.5.2, “make_win_bin_dist — Package MySQL Distribution as ZIP Archive”.
mysql_fix_privilege_tables
This program is used after a MySQL upgrade operation. It updates the grant tables with any changes that have been made in newer versions of MySQL. See Section 5.5.4, “mysql_fix_privilege_tables — Upgrade MySQL System Tables”.
Note: As of MySQL 5.0.19, this program has been superseded by mysql_upgrade.
mysql_install_db
This script creates the MySQL database and initializes the grant tables with default privileges. It is usually executed only once, when first installing MySQL on a system. See Section 2.4.16.2, “Unix Post-Installation Procedures”, and Section 5.5.5, “mysql_install_db — Initialize MySQL Data Directory”.
mysql_secure_installation
This program enables you to improve the security of your MySQL installation. SQL. See Section 5.5.6, “mysql_secure_installation — Improve MySQL Installation Security”.
mysql_tzinfo_to_sql
This program loads the time zone tables in the mysql database using the contents of the host system zoneinfo database (the set of files describing time zones). SQL. See Section 5.5.7, “mysql_tzinfo_to_sql — Load the Time Zone Tables”.
mysql_upgrade
This program is used after a MySQL upgrade operation. It checks tables for incompatibilities and repairs them if necessary, and updates the grant tables with any changes that have been made in newer versions of MySQL. See Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.
make_win_src_distribution
This program is used on Unix or Unix-like systems to create a MySQL source distribution that can be compiled on Windows. See Section 2.4.15.6.5, “Creating a Windows Source Package from the BitKeeper Repository”, and Section 5.5.3, “make_win_src_distribution — Create Source Distribution for Windows”.

5.2. mysqld — The MySQL Server

5.2.1. Option and Variable Reference
5.2.2. Command Options
5.2.3. System Variables
5.2.4. Using System Variables
5.2.5. Status Variables
5.2.6. SQL Modes
5.2.7. The Shutdown Process
5.2.8. Server-Side Help

mysqld is the MySQL server. The following discussion covers these MySQL server configuration topics:

Startup options that the server supports
Server system variables
Server status variables
How to set the server SQL mode
The server shutdown process

Note

Not all storage engines are supported by all MySQL server binaries and configurations. To find out how to determine which storage engines are supported by your MySQL server installation, see Section 12.5.4.10, “SHOW ENGINES Syntax”.

5.2.1. Option and Variable Reference

The following table provides a list of all the command line options, server and status variables applicable within mysqld.

The table lists command line options (Cmd-line), options valid in configuration files (Option file), server system variables (Server Var), and status variables (Status var) in one unified list, with notification of where each option/variable is valid. If a server option set on the command line or in an option file differs from the name of the corresponding server system or status variable, the variable name is noted immediately below the corresponding option. For status variables, the scope of the variable is shown (Scope) as either global, session, or both. Please see the corresponding sections for details on setting and using the options and variables. Where appropriate, a direct link to further information on the item as available.

Note

This table is part of an ongoing process to expand and simplify the information provided on these elements. Further improvements to the table, and corresponding descriptions will be applied over the coming months.

Name	Cmd-line	Option file	System Var	Status Var	Var Scope	Dynamic
abort-slave-event-count	Y	Y
Aborted_clients				Y	global	no
Aborted_connects				Y	global	no
allow-suspicious-udfs	Y	Y
ansi	Y	Y
auto-increment-increment	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: auto_increment_increment			Y		both	no
auto-increment-offset	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: auto_increment_offset			Y		both	no
autocommit	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
automatic_sp_privileges	Y	Y	Y		both	no
back_log	Y	Y	Y		both	no
basedir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
bdb-home	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: bdb_home			Y		both	no
bdb-lock-detect	Y	Y	Y		both	no
bdb-logdir	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: bdb_logdir			Y		both	no
bdb-no-recover	Y	Y
bdb-shared-data	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: bdb_shared_data			Y		both	no
bdb-tmpdir	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: bdb_tmpdir			Y		both	no
bdb_cache_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
bdb_log_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
bdb_max_lock	Y	Y	Y		both	no
big-tables	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: big_tables			Y		both	yes
bind-address	Y	Y
binlog-do-db	Y	Y
binlog-ignore-db	Y	Y
Binlog_cache_disk_use				Y	global	no
binlog_cache_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Binlog_cache_use				Y	global	no
bootstrap	Y	Y
bulk_insert_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Bytes_received				Y	both	no
Bytes_sent				Y	both	no
character-set-client-handshake	Y
character-set-filesystem	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: character_set_filesystem			Y		both	no
character-set-server	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: character_set_server			Y		both	yes
character-sets-dir	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: character_sets_dir			Y		both	no
character_set_client			Y		both	yes
character_set_connection			Y		both	yes
character_set_database			Y		both	yes
character_set_results			Y		both	yes
character_set_system			Y		both	yes
chroot	Y	Y
collation_connection	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
collation_database	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
collation_server	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Com_admin_commands				Y	both	no
Com_alter_db				Y	both	no
Com_alter_event				Y	both	no
Com_alter_table				Y	both	no
Com_analyze				Y	both	no
Com_backup_table				Y	both	no
Com_begin				Y	both	no
Com_call_procedure				Y	both	no
Com_change_db				Y	both	no
Com_change_master				Y	both	no
Com_check				Y	both	no
Com_checksum				Y	both	no
Com_commit				Y	both	no
Com_create_db				Y	both	no
Com_create_event				Y	both	no
Com_create_function				Y	both	no
Com_create_index				Y	both	no
Com_create_table				Y	both	no
Com_create_user				Y	both	no
Com_dealloc_sql				Y	both	no
Com_delete				Y	both	no
Com_delete_multi				Y	both	no
Com_do				Y	both	no
Com_drop_db				Y	both	no
Com_drop_event				Y	both	no
Com_drop_function				Y	both	no
Com_drop_index				Y	both	no
Com_drop_table				Y	both	no
Com_drop_user				Y	both	no
Com_execute_sql				Y	both	no
Com_flush				Y	both	no
Com_grant				Y	both	no
Com_ha_close				Y	both	no
Com_ha_open				Y	both	no
Com_ha_read				Y	both	no
Com_help				Y	both	no
Com_insert				Y	both	no
Com_insert_select				Y	both	no
Com_kill				Y	both	no
Com_load				Y	both	no
Com_lock_tables				Y	both	no
Com_optimize				Y	both	no
Com_preload_keys				Y	both	no
Com_prepare_sql				Y	both	no
Com_purge				Y	both	no
Com_purge_before_date				Y	both	no
Com_rename_table				Y	both	no
Com_repair				Y	both	no
Com_replace				Y	both	no
Com_replace_select				Y	both	no
Com_reset				Y	both	no
Com_restore_table				Y	both	no
Com_revoke				Y	both	no
Com_revoke_all				Y	both	no
Com_rollback				Y	both	no
Com_savepoint				Y	both	no
Com_select				Y	both	no
Com_set_option				Y	both	no
Com_show_binlog_events				Y	both	no
Com_show_binlogs				Y	both	no
Com_show_charsets				Y	both	no
Com_show_collations				Y	both	no
Com_show_column_types				Y	both	no
Com_show_create_db				Y	both	no
Com_show_create_event				Y	both	no
Com_show_create_table				Y	both	no
Com_show_databases				Y	both	no
Com_show_engine_logs				Y	both	no
Com_show_engine_mutex				Y	both	no
Com_show_engine_status				Y	both	no
Com_show_errors				Y	both	no
Com_show_events				Y	both	no
Com_show_fields				Y	both	no
Com_show_grants				Y	both	no
Com_show_keys				Y	both	no
Com_show_master_status				Y	both	no
Com_show_new_master				Y	both	no
Com_show_open_tables				Y	both	no
Com_show_plugins				Y	both	no
Com_show_privileges				Y	both	no
Com_show_processlist				Y	both	no
Com_show_slave_hosts				Y	both	no
Com_show_slave_status				Y	both	no
Com_show_status				Y	both	no
Com_show_storage_engines				Y	both	no
Com_show_tables				Y	both	no
Com_show_triggers				Y	both	no
Com_show_variables				Y	both	no
Com_show_warnings				Y	both	no
Com_slave_start				Y	both	no
Com_slave_stop				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_close				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_execute				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_fetch				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_prepare				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_reset				Y	both	no
Com_stmt_send_long_data				Y	both	no
Com_truncate				Y	both	no
Com_unlock_tables				Y	both	no
Com_update				Y	both	no
Com_update_multi				Y	both	no
Com_xa_commit				Y	both	no
Com_xa_end				Y	both	no
Com_xa_prepare				Y	both	no
Com_xa_recover				Y	both	no
Com_xa_rollback				Y	both	no
Com_xa_start				Y	both	no
completion_type	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Compression				Y	session	no
concurrent-insert	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: concurrent_insert			Y		both	yes
connect_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Connections				Y	global	no
console	Y	Y
core-file	Y	Y
Created_tmp_disk_tables				Y	both	no
Created_tmp_files				Y	global	no
Created_tmp_tables				Y	both	no
datadir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
date_format	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
datetime_format	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
debug	Y	Y
default-character-set	Y	Y
default-storage-engine	Y	Y
default-table-type	Y	Y
default-time-zone	Y	Y
default_week_format	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
defaults-extra-file	Y
defaults-file	Y
defaults-group-suffix	Y
delay-key-write	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: delay_key_write			Y		both	yes
Delayed_errors				Y	global	no
delayed_insert_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Delayed_insert_threads				Y	global	no
delayed_insert_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
delayed_queue_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Delayed_writes				Y	global	no
des-key-file	Y	Y	Y		both	no
disconnect-slave-event-count	Y	Y
div_precision_increment	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
enable-locking	Y
enable-pstack	Y	Y
engine-condition-pushdown	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: engine_condition_pushdown			Y		both	yes
error_count			Y		session	no
exit-info	Y	Y
expire_logs_days	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
external-locking	Y	Y
flush	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Flush_commands				Y	global	no
flush_time	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
foreign_key_checks	Y		Y		session	yes
ft_boolean_syntax	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ft_max_word_len	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ft_min_word_len	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
ft_query_expansion_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ft_stopword_file	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
gdb	Y	Y
group_concat_max_len	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Handler_commit				Y	both	no
Handler_delete				Y	both	no
Handler_discover				Y	both	no
Handler_prepare				Y	both	no
Handler_read_first				Y	both	no
Handler_read_key				Y	both	no
Handler_read_next				Y	both	no
Handler_read_prev				Y	both	no
Handler_read_rnd				Y	both	no
Handler_read_rnd_next				Y	both	no
Handler_rollback				Y	both	no
Handler_savepoint				Y	both	no
Handler_savepoint_rollback				Y	both	no
Handler_update				Y	both	no
Handler_write				Y	both	no
have_archive			Y		global	no
have_bdb			Y		global	no
have_blackhole_engine			Y		global	no
have_compress			Y		global	no
have_crypt			Y		global	no
have_csv			Y		global	no
have_example_engine			Y		global	no
have_federated_engine			Y		global	no
have_geometry			Y		global	no
have_innodb			Y		global	no
have_isam			Y		global	no
have_merge_engine			Y		global	no
have_ndbcluster			Y		global	no
have_openssl			Y		global	no
have_query_cache			Y		global	no
have_raid			Y		global	no
have_rtree_keys			Y		global	no
have_symlink			Y		global	no
help	Y
hostname			Y		global	no
identity	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
init-file	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: init_file			Y		both	no
init_connect	Y	Y	Y		global	no
init_slave	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb	Y	Y
innodb-safe-binlog	Y	Y
innodb_additional_mem_pool_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_autoextend_increment	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_buffer_pool_awe_mem_mb	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_data				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_dirty				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_flushed				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_latched				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_misc				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_rnd				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_seq				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_requests				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_reads				Y	both	no
innodb_buffer_pool_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_wait_free				Y	both	no
Innodb_buffer_pool_write_requests				Y	both	no
innodb_checksums	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_commit_concurrency	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_concurrency_tickets	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_data_file_path	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_data_fsyncs				Y	both	no
innodb_data_home_dir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_data_pending_fsyncs				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_pending_reads				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_pending_writes				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_read				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_reads				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_writes				Y	both	no
Innodb_data_written				Y	both	no
Innodb_dblwr_pages_written				Y	both	no
Innodb_dblwr_writes				Y	both	no
innodb_doublewrite	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_fast_shutdown	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_file_io_threads	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_file_per_table	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
innodb_flush_method	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_force_recovery	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_lock_wait_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_locks_unsafe_for_binlog	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_arch_dir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_archive	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_file_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_files_in_group	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_log_group_home_dir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_log_waits				Y	both	no
Innodb_log_write_requests				Y	both	no
Innodb_log_writes				Y	both	no
innodb_max_dirty_pages_pct	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_max_purge_lag	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_mirrored_log_groups	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_open_files	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_os_log_fsyncs				Y	both	no
Innodb_os_log_pending_fsyncs				Y	both	no
Innodb_os_log_pending_writes				Y	both	no
Innodb_os_log_written				Y	both	no
Innodb_page_size				Y	both	no
Innodb_pages_created				Y	both	no
Innodb_pages_read				Y	both	no
Innodb_pages_written				Y	both	no
innodb_rollback_on_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Innodb_row_lock_current_waits				Y	both	no
Innodb_row_lock_time				Y	both	no
Innodb_row_lock_time_avg				Y	both	no
Innodb_row_lock_time_max				Y	both	no
Innodb_row_lock_waits				Y	both	no
Innodb_rows_deleted				Y	both	no
Innodb_rows_inserted				Y	both	no
Innodb_rows_read				Y	both	no
Innodb_rows_updated				Y	both	no
innodb_status_file	Y	Y	Y		both	no
innodb_support_xa	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_sync_spin_loops	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_table_locks	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
innodb_thread_concurrency	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
innodb_thread_sleep_delay	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
insert_id	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
interactive_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
join_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
keep_files_on_create	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
Key_blocks_not_flushed				Y	both	no
Key_blocks_unused				Y	both	no
Key_blocks_used				Y	both	no
key_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
key_cache_age_threshold	Y	Y	Y		both	no
key_cache_block_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
key_cache_division_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Key_read_requests				Y	both	no
Key_reads				Y	both	no
Key_write_requests				Y	both	no
Key_writes				Y	both	no
language	Y	Y	Y		both	no
large-pages	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: large_pages			Y		both	no
large_files_support			Y		both	no
last_insert_id	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
Last_query_cost				Y	both	no
lc_time_names			Y		both	yes
license			Y		both	no
local-infile	Y	Y			global	yes
- Variable: local_infile			Y		global	yes
log	Y	Y	Y		both	no
log-bin	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: log_bin			Y		both	no
log-bin-index	Y	Y	Y		both	no
log-bin-trust-function-creators	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: log_bin_trust_function_creators			Y		both	yes
log-bin-trust-routine-creators	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: log_bin_trust_routine_creators			Y		both	no
log-error	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: log_error			Y		both	no
log-isam	Y	Y	Y		both	no
log-queries-not-using-indexes	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: log_queries_not_using_indexes			Y		both	yes
log-short-format	Y	Y
log-slave-updates	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: log_slave_updates			Y		both	no
log-slow-admin-statements	Y	Y
log-slow-queries	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: log_slow_queries			Y		both	no
log-tc	Y	Y
log-tc-size	Y	Y
log-warnings	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: log_warnings			Y		both	yes
long_query_time	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
low-priority-updates	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: low_priority_updates			Y		both	yes
lower_case_file_system	Y	Y	Y		both	no
lower_case_table_names	Y	Y	Y		both	no
master-connect-retry	Y	Y	Y			no
master-host	Y	Y
master-info-file	Y	Y
master-password	Y	Y
master-port	Y	Y
master-retry-count	Y	Y
master-ssl	Y	Y
master-ssl-ca	Y	Y
master-ssl-capath	Y	Y
master-ssl-cert	Y	Y
master-ssl-cipher	Y	Y
master-ssl-key	Y	Y
master-user	Y	Y
Master_Log_File	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Master_SSL_Allowed	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Master_SSL_CA_File	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Master_SSL_CA_Path	Y	Y	Y		both	no
max-binlog-dump-events	Y	Y
max_allowed_packet	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_binlog_cache_size	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_binlog_size	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_connect_errors	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_connections	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_delayed_threads	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_error_count	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_heap_table_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_insert_delayed_threads			Y		global	yes
max_join_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_length_for_sort_data	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_prepared_stmt_count	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_relay_log_size	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_seeks_for_key	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_sort_length	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_sp_recursion_depth	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
max_tmp_tables	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Max_used_connections				Y	global	no
max_user_connections	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
max_write_lock_count	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
memlock	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: locked_in_memory			Y		both	no
merge	Y	Y	Y		both	no
multi_range_count	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
multi_read_range	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
myisam-recover	Y	Y	Y		both	no
myisam_block_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
myisam_data_pointer_size	Y	Y	Y		global	yes
myisam_max_extra_sort_file_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
myisam_max_sort_file_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
myisam_repair_threads	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
myisam_sort_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
myisam_stats_method	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
named_pipe	Y	Y
ndb_autoincrement_prefetch_sz	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ndb_cache_check_time	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Ndb_cluster_node_id				Y	both	no
Ndb_config_from_host				Y	both	no
Ndb_config_from_port				Y	both	no
ndb_force_send	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ndb_index_stat_cache_entries	Y	Y
ndb_index_stat_enable	Y	Y
ndb_index_stat_update_freq	Y	Y
ndb_optimized_node_selection	Y	Y
ndb_report_thresh_binlog_epoch_slip	Y	Y
ndb_report_thresh_binlog_mem_usage	Y	Y
ndb_use_exact_count			Y		both	yes
ndb_use_transactions	Y	Y
ndbcluster	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
net_buffer_length	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
net_read_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
net_retry_count	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
net_write_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
new	Y	Y	Y		both	no
no-defaults	Y
Not_flushed_delayed_rows				Y	global	no
old-passwords	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: old_passwords			Y		both	yes
old-protocol	Y	Y
old-style-user-limits	Y	Y
Open_files				Y	global	no
open_files_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Open_streams				Y	global	no
Open_tables				Y	global	no
Opened_tables				Y	both	no
optimizer_prune_level	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
optimizer_search_depth	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
pid-file	Y	Y	Y		both	no
port	Y	Y	Y		both	no
port-open-timeout	Y	Y
preload_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
prepared_stmt_count			Y	Y	both	no
print-defaults	Y
profiling			Y		session	no
profiling_history_size			Y		session	yes
protocol_version			Y		both	no
Qcache_free_blocks				Y	global	no
Qcache_free_memory				Y	global	no
Qcache_hits				Y	global	no
Qcache_inserts				Y	global	no
Qcache_lowmem_prunes				Y	global	no
Qcache_not_cached				Y	global	no
Qcache_queries_in_cache				Y	global	no
Qcache_total_blocks				Y	global	no
query_alloc_block_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_cache_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_cache_min_res_unit	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_cache_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_cache_type	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_cache_wlock_invalidate	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
query_prealloc_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Questions				Y	global	no
range_alloc_block_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
read_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	no
read_only	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
read_rnd_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
relay-log	Y	Y	Y		both	no
relay-log-index	Y	Y
relay-log-info-file	Y	Y
Relay_Log_File	Y	Y	Y		both	no
relay_log_purge	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Relay_Log_Space				Y	both	no
relay_log_space_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Relay_Master_Log_File	Y	Y	Y		both	no
replicate-do-db	Y	Y
replicate-do-table	Y	Y
replicate-ignore-db	Y	Y
replicate-ignore-table	Y	Y
replicate-rewrite-db	Y	Y
replicate-same-server-id	Y	Y
replicate-wild-do-table	Y	Y
replicate-wild-ignore-table	Y	Y
report-host	Y	Y
report-password	Y	Y	Y		both	no
report-port	Y	Y
report-user	Y	Y
rpl_recovery_rank			Y		both	yes
Rpl_status				Y	global	no
safe-mode	Y	Y
safe-user-create	Y	Y
safemalloc-mem-limit	Y	Y
secure-auth	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: secure_auth			Y		both	yes
secure-file-priv	Y	Y			global	no
- Variable: secure_file_priv			Y		global	no
Select_full_join				Y	both	no
Select_full_range_join				Y	both	no
Select_range				Y	both	no
Select_range_check				Y	both	no
Select_scan				Y	both	no
server-id	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: server_id			Y		both	yes
set-variable	Y	Y
shared-memory-base-name	Y	Y
shared_memory	Y	Y
show-slave-auth-info	Y	Y
skip-automatic_sp_privileges	Y	Y
skip-bdb	Y	Y
- Variable: skip_bdb
skip-character-set-client-handshake	Y	Y
skip-concurrent-insert	Y	Y
- Variable: skip-concurrent_insert
skip-external-locking	Y	Y			global	no
- Variable: skip_external_locking			Y		global	no
skip-grant-tables	Y	Y
skip-host-cache	Y	Y
skip-innodb	Y	Y
skip-innodb-checksums	Y	Y
skip-locking	Y	Y
skip-log-warnings	Y		Y		both	no
skip-merge	Y	Y	Y		both	no
skip-name-resolve	Y	Y
skip-networking	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: skip_networking			Y		both	no
skip-new	Y	Y	Y		both	no
skip-safemalloc	Y	Y
skip-show-database	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: skip_show_database			Y		both	no
skip-slave-start	Y	Y
skip-ssl	Y	Y
skip-stack-trace	Y	Y
skip-symbolic-links	Y
skip-symlink	Y	Y
skip-sync-bdb-logs	Y	Y	Y		both	no
skip-thread-priority	Y	Y
slave-load-tmpdir	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: slave_load_tmpdir			Y		both	no
slave-net-timeout	Y	Y			global	yes
- Variable: slave_net_timeout			Y		global	yes
slave-skip-errors	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: slave_skip_errors			Y		both	no
slave_compressed_protocol	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Slave_open_temp_tables				Y	global	no
Slave_retried_transactions				Y	global	no
Slave_running				Y	global	no
slave_transaction_retries	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Slow_launch_threads				Y	global	no
slow_launch_time	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Slow_queries				Y	both	no
socket	Y	Y	Y		both	no
sort_buffer_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Sort_merge_passes				Y	both	no
Sort_range				Y	both	no
Sort_rows				Y	both	no
Sort_scan				Y	both	no
sporadic-binlog-dump-fail	Y	Y
sql-mode	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: sql_mode			Y		both	yes
sql_auto_is_null	Y	Y	Y		session	no
sql_big_selects	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
sql_big_tables			Y		session	yes
sql_buffer_result	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_log_bin	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_log_off	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_log_update	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_low_priority_updates			Y		both	yes
sql_max_join_size			Y		both	yes
sql_notes	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
sql_quote_show_create	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_safe_updates	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_select_limit	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
sql_slave_skip_counter			Y		global	yes
sql_warnings	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
ssl	Y	Y	Y		both	no
ssl-ca	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: ssl_ca			Y		both	no
ssl-capath	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: ssl_capath			Y		both	no
ssl-cert	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: ssl_cert			Y		both	no
ssl-cipher	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: ssl_cipher			Y		both	no
ssl-key	Y	Y			both	no
- Variable: ssl_key			Y		both	no
ssl-verify-server-cert	Y	Y
standalone	Y	Y
storage_engine			Y		both	no
symbolic-links	Y	Y
sync-bdb-logs	Y	Y	Y		both	no
sync-binlog	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: sync_binlog			Y		both	yes
sync-frm	Y	Y			both	yes
- Variable: sync_frm			Y		both	yes
sysdate-is-now	Y	Y
system_time_zone			Y		both	no
table_cache	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
table_lock_wait_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
Table_locks_immediate				Y	global	no
Table_locks_waited				Y	global	no
table_open_cache		Y	Y		global	yes
table_type			Y		both	yes
tc-heuristic-recover	Y	Y
Tc_log_max_pages_used				Y	global	no
Tc_log_page_size				Y	global	no
Tc_log_page_waits				Y	global	no
temp-pool	Y	Y
thread_cache_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
thread_concurrency	Y	Y	Y		both	no
thread_stack	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Threads_cached				Y	global	no
Threads_connected				Y	global	no
Threads_created				Y	global	no
Threads_running				Y	global	no
time_format	Y	Y	Y		both	no
time_zone	Y		Y		both	yes
timed_mutexes	Y	Y	Y		both	no
timestamp	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
tmp_table_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
tmpdir	Y	Y	Y		both	no
transaction-isolation	Y	Y
transaction_alloc_block_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
transaction_prealloc_size	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
tx_isolation			Y		both	yes
unique_checks	Y	Y	Y		session	yes
updatable_views_with_limit	Y	Y	Y		both	no
Uptime				Y	global	no
Uptime_since_flush_status				Y	both	no
user	Y	Y
verbose	Y
version	Y		Y		both	no
version_comment			Y		both	no
version_compile_machine			Y		both	no
version_compile_os			Y		both	no
wait_timeout	Y	Y	Y		both	yes
warning_count			Y		session	no
warnings	Y	Y

5.2.2. Command Options

When you start the mysqld server, you can specify program options using any of the methods described in Section 4.3, “Specifying Program Options”. The most common methods are to provide options in an option file or on the command line. However, in most cases it is desirable to make sure that the server uses the same options each time it runs. The best way to ensure this is to list them in an option file. See Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”.

MySQL Enterprise For expert advice on setting command options, subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

mysqld reads options from the [mysqld] and [server] groups. mysqld_safe reads options from the [mysqld], [server], [mysqld_safe], and [safe_mysqld] groups. mysql.server reads options from the [mysqld] and [mysql.server] groups.

An embedded MySQL server usually reads options from the [server], [embedded], and [xxxxx_SERVER] groups, where xxxxx is the name of the application into which the server is embedded.

mysqld accepts many command options. For a brief summary, execute mysqld --help. To see the full list, use mysqld --verbose --help.

The following list shows some of the most common server options. Additional options are described in other sections:

Options that affect security: See Section 5.6.3, “Security-Related mysqld Options”.
SSL-related options: See Section 5.8.7.3, “SSL Command Options”.
Binary log control options: See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”.
Replication-related options: See Section 15.1.2, “Replication Startup Options and Variables”.
Options specific to particular storage engines: See Section 13.1.1, “MyISAM Startup Options”, Section 13.5.3, “BDB Startup Options”, Section 13.2.4, “InnoDB Startup Options and System Variables”, and Section 16.5.5.1, “MySQL Cluster-Related Command Options for mysqld”.

You can also set the values of server system variables by using variable names as options, as described later in this section.

--help, -?
Display a short help message and exit. Use both the --verbose and --help options to see the full message.
--abort-slave-event-count
This option is used internally by the MySQL test suite for replication testing and debugging.
--allow-suspicious-udfs
This option controls whether user-defined functions that have only an xxx symbol for the main function can be loaded. By default, the option is off and only UDFs that have at least one auxiliary symbol can be loaded; this prevents attempts at loading functions from shared object files other than those containing legitimate UDFs. This option was added in version 5.0.3. See Section 26.2.4.6, “User-Defined Function Security Precautions”.
--ansi
Use standard (ANSI) SQL syntax instead of MySQL syntax. For more precise control over the server SQL mode, use the --sql-mode option instead. See Section 1.9.3, “Running MySQL in ANSI Mode”, and Section 5.2.6, “SQL Modes”.
--basedir=path, -b path
The path to the MySQL installation directory. All paths are usually resolved relative to this directory.
big-tables
Allow large result sets by saving all temporary sets in files. This option prevents most “table full” errors, but also slows down queries for which in-memory tables would suffice. Since MySQL 3.23.2, the server is able to handle large result sets automatically by using memory for small temporary tables and switching to disk tables where necessary.
--bind-address=IP
The IP address to bind to.
--bootstrap
This option is used by the mysql_install_db script to create the MySQL privilege tables without having to start a full MySQL server.
This option is unavailable if MySQL was configured with the --disable-grant-options option. See Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”.
--character-sets-dir=path
The directory where character sets are installed. See Section 5.10.1, “The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting”.
--character-set-client-handshake
Don't ignore character set information sent by the client. To ignore client information and use the default server character set, use --skip-character-set-client-handshake; this makes MySQL behave like MySQL 4.0.
--character-set-filesystem=charset_name
The filesystem character set. This option sets the character_set_filesystem system variable. It was added in MySQL 5.0.19.
--character-set-server=charset_name, -C charset_name
Use charset_name as the default server character set. See Section 5.10.1, “The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting”. If you use this option to specify a non-default character set, you should also use --collation-server to specify the collation.
--chroot=path
Put the mysqld server in a closed environment during startup by using the chroot() system call. This is a recommended security measure. Note that use of this option somewhat limits LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE.
--collation-server=collation_name
Use collation_name as the default server collation. See Section 5.10.1, “The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting”.
--console
(Windows only.) Write error log messages to stderr and stdout even if --log-error is specified. mysqld does not close the console window if this option is used.
--core-file
Write a core file if mysqld dies. For some systems, you must also specify the --core-file-size option to mysqld_safe. See Section 5.3.1, “mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script”. Note that on some systems, such as Solaris, you do not get a core file if you are also using the --user option.
--datadir=path, -h path
The path to the data directory.
--debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]
If MySQL is configured with --with-debug, you can use this option to get a trace file of what mysqld is doing. The debug_options string often is 'd:t:o,file_name'. The default is 'd:t:i:o,mysqld.trace'. See MySQL Internals: Porting.
As of MySQL 5.0.25, using --with-debug to configure MySQL with debugging support enables you to use the --debug="d,parser_debug" option when you start the server. This causes the Bison parser that is used to process SQL statements to dump a parser trace to the server's standard error output. Typically, this output is written to the error log.
--default-character-set=charset_name (DEPRECATED)
Use charset_name as the default character set. This option is deprecated in favor of --character-set-server. See Section 5.10.1, “The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting”.
--default-collation=collation_name
Use collation_name as the default collation. This option is deprecated in favor of --collation-server. See Section 5.10.1, “The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting”.
--default-storage-engine=type
Set the default storage engine (table type) for tables. See Chapter 13, Storage Engines.
--default-table-type=type
This option is a synonym for --default-storage-engine.
--default-time-zone=timezone
Set the default server time zone. This option sets the global time_zone system variable. If this option is not given, the default time zone is the same as the system time zone (given by the value of the system_time_zone system variable.
--delay-key-write[={OFF|ON|ALL}]
Specify how to use delayed key writes. Delayed key writing causes key buffers not to be flushed between writes for MyISAM tables. OFF disables delayed key writes. ON enables delayed key writes for those tables that were created with the DELAY_KEY_WRITE option. ALL delays key writes for all MyISAM tables. See Section 6.5.2, “Tuning Server Parameters”, and Section 13.1.1, “MyISAM Startup Options”.
Note
If you set this variable to ALL, you should not use MyISAM tables from within another program (such as another MySQL server or myisamchk) when the tables are in use. Doing so leads to index corruption.
--des-key-file=file_name
Read the default DES keys from this file. These keys are used by the DES_ENCRYPT() and DES_DECRYPT() functions.
--disconnect-slave-event-count
This option is used internally by the MySQL test suite for replication testing and debugging.
--enable-named-pipe
Enable support for named pipes. This option can be used only with the mysqld-nt and mysqld-debug servers that support named-pipe connections.
--exit-info[=flags], -T [flags]
This is a bit mask of different flags that you can use for debugging the mysqld server. Do not use this option unless you know exactly what it does!
--external-locking
Enable external locking (system locking), which is disabled by default as of MySQL 4.0. Note that if you use this option on a system on which lockd does not fully work (such as Linux), it is easy for mysqld to deadlock. This option previously was named --enable-locking.
For more information about external locking, including conditions under which it can and cannot be used, see Section 6.3.4, “External Locking”.
--flush
Flush (synchronize) all changes to disk after each SQL statement. Normally, MySQL does a write of all changes to disk only after each SQL statement and lets the operating system handle the synchronizing to disk. See Section B.1.4.2, “What to Do If MySQL Keeps Crashing”.
--enable-pstack
Print a symbolic stack trace on failure.
--gdb
Install an interrupt handler for SIGINT (needed to stop mysqld with ^C to set breakpoints) and disable stack tracing and core file handling. See MySQL Internals: Porting.
--init-file=file_name
Read SQL statements from this file at startup. Each statement must be on a single line and should not include comments.
This option is unavailable if MySQL was configured with the --disable-grant-options option. See Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”.
--innodb-safe-binlog
Adds consistency guarantees between the content of InnoDB tables and the binary log. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”. This option was removed in MySQL 5.0.3, having been made obsolete by the introduction of XA transaction support.
--innodb-xxx
The InnoDB options are listed in Section 13.2.4, “InnoDB Startup Options and System Variables”.
--language=lang_name, -L lang_name
Return client error messages in the given language. lang_name can be given as the language name or as the full pathname to the directory where the language files are installed. See Section 5.10.2, “Setting the Error Message Language”.
--large-pages
Some hardware/operating system architectures support memory pages greater than the default (usually 4KB). The actual implementation of this support depends on the underlying hardware and OS. Applications that perform a lot of memory accesses may obtain performance improvements by using large pages due to reduced Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) misses.
Currently, MySQL supports only the Linux implementation of large pages support (which is called HugeTLB in Linux). We have plans to extend this support to FreeBSD, Solaris and possibly other platforms.
Before large pages can be used on Linux, it is necessary to configure the HugeTLB memory pool. For reference, consult the hugetlbpage.txt file in the Linux kernel source.
This option is disabled by default. It was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
--log[=file_name], -l [file_name]
Log connections and SQL statements received from clients to this file. See Section 5.11.2, “The General Query Log”. If you omit the filename, MySQL uses host_name.log as the filename.
--log-bin[=base_name]
Enable binary logging. The server logs all statements that change data to the binary log, which is used for backup and replication. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”.
The option value, if given, is the basename for the log sequence. The server creates binary log files in sequence by adding a numeric suffix to the basename. It is recommended that you specify a basename (see Section B.1.8.1, “Open Issues in MySQL”, for the reason). Otherwise, MySQL uses host_name-bin as the basename.
--log-bin-index[=file_name]
The index file for binary log filenames. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”. If you omit the filename, and if you didn't specify one with --log-bin, MySQL uses host_name-bin.index as the filename.
--log-bin-trust-function-creators[={0|1}]
With no argument or an argument of 1, this option sets the log_bin_trust_function_creators system variable to 1. With an argument of 0, this option sets the system variable to 0. log_bin_trust_function_creators affects how MySQL enforces restrictions on stored function creation. See Section 18.4, “Binary Logging of Stored Routines and Triggers”.
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.16.
--log-bin-trust-routine-creators[={0|1}]
This is the old name for --log-bin-trust-function-creators. Before MySQL 5.0.16, it also applies to stored procedures, not just stored functions and sets the log_bin_trust_routine_creators system variable. As of 5.0.16, this option is deprecated. It is recognized for backward compatibility but its use results in a warning.
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.6.
--log-error[=file_name]
Log errors and startup messages to this file. See Section 5.11.1, “The Error Log”. If you omit the filename, MySQL uses host_name.err. If the filename has no extension, the server adds an extension of .err.
--log-isam[=file_name]
Log all MyISAM changes to this file (used only when debugging MyISAM).
--log-long-format (DEPRECATED)
Log extra information to the update log, binary update log, and slow query log, if they have been activated. For example, the username and timestamp are logged for all queries. This option is deprecated, as it now represents the default logging behavior. (See the description for --log-short-format.) The --log-queries-not-using-indexes option is available for the purpose of logging queries that do not use indexes to the slow query log.
--log-queries-not-using-indexes
If you are using this option with --log-slow-queries, queries that do not use indexes are logged to the slow query log. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”.
--log-short-format
Log less information to the update log, binary update log, and slow query log, if they have been activated. For example, the username and timestamp are not logged for queries.
--log-slow-admin-statements
Log slow administrative statements such as OPTIMIZE TABLE, ANALYZE TABLE, and ALTER TABLE to the slow query log.
--log-slow-queries[=file_name]
Log all queries that have taken more than long_query_time seconds to execute to this file. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”. See the descriptions of the --log-long-format and --log-short-format options for details.
--log-tc=file_name
The name of the memory-mapped transaction coordinator log file (for XA transactions that affect multiple storage engines when the binary log is disabled). The default name is tc.log. The file is created under the data directory if not given as a full pathname. Currently, this option is unused. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
--log-tc-size=size
The size in bytes of the memory-mapped transaction coordinator log. The default size is 24KB. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
--log-warnings[=level], -W [level]
Print out warnings such as Aborted connection... to the error log. Enabling this option is recommended, for example, if you use replication (you get more information about what is happening, such as messages about network failures and reconnections). This option is enabled (1) by default, and the default level value if omitted is 1. To disable this option, use --log-warnings=0. Aborted connections are not logged to the error log unless the value is greater than 1. See Section B.1.2.10, “Communication Errors and Aborted Connections”.
--low-priority-updates
Give table-modifying operations (INSERT, REPLACE, DELETE, UPDATE) lower priority than selects. This can also be done via {INSERT | REPLACE | DELETE | UPDATE} LOW_PRIORITY ... to lower the priority of only one query, or by SET LOW_PRIORITY_UPDATES=1 to change the priority in one thread. This affects only storage engines that use only table-level locking (MyISAM, MEMORY, MERGE). See Section 6.3.2, “Table Locking Issues”.
--max-binlog-dump-events
This option is used internally by the MySQL test suite for replication testing and debugging.
--memlock
Lock the mysqld process in memory. This works on systems such as Solaris that support the mlockall() system call. This might help if you have a problem where the operating system is causing mysqld to swap on disk. Note that use of this option requires that you run the server as root, which is normally not a good idea for security reasons. See Section 5.6.5, “How to Run MySQL as a Normal User”.

--myisam-recover[=option[,option]...]]

Set the MyISAM storage engine recovery mode. The option value is any combination of the values of DEFAULT, BACKUP, FORCE, or QUICK. If you specify multiple values, separate them by commas. You can also use a value of "" to disable this option. If this option is used, each time mysqld opens a MyISAM table, it checks whether the table is marked as crashed or wasn't closed properly. (The last option works only if you are running with external locking disabled.) If this is the case, mysqld runs a check on the table. If the table was corrupted, mysqld attempts to repair it.

The following options affect how the repair works:

Option	Description
`DEFAULT`	The same as not giving any option to `--myisam-recover`.
`BACKUP`	If the data file was changed during recovery, save a backup of the `tbl_name.MYD` file as `tbl_name-datetime.BAK`.
`FORCE`	Run recovery even if we would lose more than one row from the `.MYD` file.
`QUICK`	Don't check the rows in the table if there aren't any delete blocks.

Before the server automatically repairs a table, it writes a note about the repair to the error log. If you want to be able to recover from most problems without user intervention, you should use the options BACKUP,FORCE. This forces a repair of a table even if some rows would be deleted, but it keeps the old data file as a backup so that you can later examine what happened.

See Section 13.1.1, “MyISAM Startup Options”.

--ndb-connectstring=connect_string
When using the NDB storage engine, it is possible to point out the management server that distributes the cluster configuration by setting the connect string option. See Section 16.3.4.2, “The Cluster Connectstring”, for syntax.
--ndbcluster
If the binary includes support for the NDB Cluster storage engine, this option enables the engine, which is disabled by default. See Chapter 16, MySQL Cluster.
--old-passwords
Force the server to generate short (pre-4.1) password hashes for new passwords. This is useful for compatibility when the server must support older client programs. See Section 5.7.9, “Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1”.
--one-thread
Only use one thread (for debugging under Linux). This option is available only if the server is built with debugging enabled. See MySQL Internals: Porting.
--open-files-limit=count
Change the number of file descriptors available to mysqld. If this option is not set or is set to 0, mysqld uses the value to reserve file descriptors with setrlimit(). If the value is 0, mysqld reserves max_connections×5 or max_connections + table_open_cache×2 files (whichever is larger). You should try increasing this value if mysqld gives you the error Too many open files.
--pid-file=path
The pathname of the process ID file. This file is used by other programs such as mysqld_safe to determine the server's process ID.
--port=port_num, -P port_num
The port number to use when listening for TCP/IP connections. The port number must be 1024 or higher unless the server is started by the root system user.
--port-open-timeout=num
On some systems, when the server is stopped, the TCP/IP port might not become available immediately. If the server is restarted quickly afterward, its attempt to reopen the port can fail. This option indicates how many seconds the server should wait for the TCP/IP port to become free if it cannot be opened. The default is not to wait. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.19.
--safe-mode
Skip some optimization stages.
--safe-show-database (DEPRECATED)
See Section 5.7.3, “Privileges Provided by MySQL”.
--safe-user-create
If this option is enabled, a user cannot create new MySQL users by using the GRANT statement unless the user has the INSERT privilege for the mysql.user table or any column in the table. If you want a user to have the ability to create new users that have those privileges that the user has the right to grant, you should grant the user the following privilege:
```
GRANT INSERT(user) ON mysql.user TO 'user_name'@'host_name';
```
This ensures that the user cannot change any privilege columns directly, but has to use the GRANT statement to give privileges to other users.
--secure-auth
Disallow authentication by clients that attempt to use accounts that have old (pre-4.1) passwords.
--secure-file-priv=path
This option limits the effect of the LOAD_FILE() function and the LOAD DATA and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements to work only with files in the specified directory.
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.38.
--shared-memory
Enable shared-memory connections by local clients. This option is available only on Windows.
--shared-memory-base-name=name
The name of shared memory to use for shared-memory connections. This option is available only on Windows. The default name is MYSQL. The name is case sensitive.
--skip-bdb
Disable the BDB storage engine. This saves memory and might speed up some operations. Do not use this option if you require BDB tables.
--skip-concurrent-insert
Turn off the ability to select and insert at the same time on MyISAM tables. (This is to be used only if you think you have found a bug in this feature.) See Section 6.3.3, “Concurrent Inserts”.
--skip-external-locking
Do not use external locking (system locking). For more information about external locking, including conditions under which it can and cannot be used, see Section 6.3.4, “External Locking”.
External locking has been disabled by default since MySQL 4.0.
--skip-grant-tables
This option causes the server not to use the privilege system at all, which gives anyone with access to the server unrestricted access to all databases. You can cause a running server to start using the grant tables again by executing mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command from a system shell, or by issuing a MySQL FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement after connecting to the server. This option also suppresses loading of user-defined functions (UDFs).
This option is unavailable if MySQL was configured with the --disable-grant-options option. See Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”.
--skip-host-cache
Do not use the internal hostname cache for faster name-to-IP resolution. Instead, query the DNS server every time a client connects. See Section 6.5.9, “How MySQL Uses DNS”.
--skip-innodb
Disable the InnoDB storage engine. This saves memory and disk space and might speed up some operations. Do not use this option if you require InnoDB tables.
--skip-merge
Disable the MERGE storage engine. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.24. It can be used if the following behavior is undesirable: If a user has access to MyISAM table t, that user can create a MERGE table m that accesses t. However, if the user's privileges on t are subsequently revoked, the user can continue to access t by doing so through m.
--skip-name-resolve
Do not resolve hostnames when checking client connections. Use only IP numbers. If you use this option, all Host column values in the grant tables must be IP numbers or localhost. See Section 6.5.9, “How MySQL Uses DNS”.
--skip-ndbcluster
Disable the NDB Cluster storage engine. This is the default for binaries that were built with NDB Cluster storage engine support; the server allocates memory and other resources for this storage engine only if the --ndbcluster option is given explicitly. See Section 16.3.3, “Quick Test Setup of MySQL Cluster”, for an example of usage.
--skip-networking
Don't listen for TCP/IP connections at all. All interaction with mysqld must be made via named pipes or shared memory (on Windows) or Unix socket files (on Unix). This option is highly recommended for systems where only local clients are allowed. See Section 6.5.9, “How MySQL Uses DNS”.
--sporadic-binlog-dump-fail
This option is used internally by the MySQL test suite for replication testing and debugging.
--ssl*
Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to allow clients to connect via SSL and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. See Section 5.8.7.3, “SSL Command Options”.
--standalone
Instructs the MySQL server not to run as a service.
--symbolic-links, --skip-symbolic-links
Enable or disable symbolic link support. This option has different effects on Windows and Unix:
- On Windows, enabling symbolic links allows you to establish a symbolic link to a database directory by creating a db_name.sym file that contains the path to the real directory. See Section 6.6.1.3, “Using Symbolic Links for Databases on Windows”.
- On Unix, enabling symbolic links means that you can link a MyISAM index file or data file to another directory with the INDEX DIRECTORY or DATA DIRECTORY options of the CREATE TABLE statement. If you delete or rename the table, the files that its symbolic links point to also are deleted or renamed. See Section 6.6.1.2, “Using Symbolic Links for Tables on Unix”.
--skip-safemalloc
If MySQL is configured with --with-debug=full, all MySQL programs check for memory overruns during each memory allocation and memory freeing operation. This checking is very slow, so for the server you can avoid it when you don't need it by using the --skip-safemalloc option.
--skip-show-database
With this option, the SHOW DATABASES statement is allowed only to users who have the SHOW DATABASES privilege, and the statement displays all database names. Without this option, SHOW DATABASES is allowed to all users, but displays each database name only if the user has the SHOW DATABASES privilege or some privilege for the database. Note that any global privilege is considered a privilege for the database.
--skip-stack-trace
Don't write stack traces. This option is useful when you are running mysqld under a debugger. On some systems, you also must use this option to get a core file. See MySQL Internals: Porting.
--skip-thread-priority
Disable using thread priorities for faster response time.
--socket=path
On Unix, this option specifies the Unix socket file to use when listening for local connections. The default value is /tmp/mysql.sock. On Windows, the option specifies the pipe name to use when listening for local connections that use a named pipe. The default value is MySQL (not case sensitive).
--sql-mode=value[,value[,value...]]
Set the SQL mode. See Section 5.2.6, “SQL Modes”.
--sysdate-is-now
As of MySQL 5.0.13, SYSDATE() by default returns the time at which it executes, not the time at which the statement in which it occurs begins executing. This differs from the behavior of NOW(). This option causes SYSDATE() to be an alias for NOW(). For information about the implications for binary logging and replication, see the description for SYSDATE() in Section 11.6, “Date and Time Functions” and for SET TIMESTAMP in Section 12.5.3, “SET Syntax”.
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.20.
--tc-heuristic-recover={COMMIT|ROLLBACK}
The type of decision to use in the heuristic recovery process. Currently, this option is unused. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
--temp-pool
This option causes most temporary files created by the server to use a small set of names, rather than a unique name for each new file. This works around a problem in the Linux kernel dealing with creating many new files with different names. With the old behavior, Linux seems to “leak” memory, because it is being allocated to the directory entry cache rather than to the disk cache.
--transaction-isolation=level
Sets the default transaction isolation level. The level value can be READ-UNCOMMITTED, READ-COMMITTED, REPEATABLE-READ, or SERIALIZABLE. See Section 12.4.6, “SET TRANSACTION Syntax”.
--tmpdir=path, -t path
The path of the directory to use for creating temporary files. It might be useful if your default /tmp directory resides on a partition that is too small to hold temporary tables. This option accepts several paths that are used in round-robin fashion. Paths should be separated by colon characters (“:”) on Unix and semicolon characters (“;”) on Windows, NetWare, and OS/2. If the MySQL server is acting as a replication slave, you should not set --tmpdir to point to a directory on a memory-based filesystem or to a directory that is cleared when the server host restarts. For more information about the storage location of temporary files, see Section B.1.4.4, “Where MySQL Stores Temporary Files”. A replication slave needs some of its temporary files to survive a machine restart so that it can replicate temporary tables or LOAD DATA INFILE operations. If files in the temporary file directory are lost when the server restarts, replication fails.
--user={user_name|user_id}, -u {user_name|user_id}
Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or the numeric user ID user_id. (“User” in this context refers to a system login account, not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)
This option is mandatory when starting mysqld as root. The server changes its user ID during its startup sequence, causing it to run as that particular user rather than as root. See Section 5.6.1, “General Security Guidelines”.
To avoid a possible security hole where a user adds a --user=root option to a my.cnf file (thus causing the server to run as root), mysqld uses only the first --user option specified and produces a warning if there are multiple --user options. Options in /etc/my.cnf and $MYSQL_HOME/my.cnf are processed before command-line options, so it is recommended that you put a --user option in /etc/my.cnf and specify a value other than root. The option in /etc/my.cnf is found before any other --user options, which ensures that the server runs as a user other than root, and that a warning results if any other --user option is found.
--version, -V
Display version information and exit.

You can assign a value to a server system variable by using an option of the form --var_name=value. For example, --key_buffer_size=32M sets the key_buffer_size variable to a value of 32MB.

Note that when you assign a value to a variable, MySQL might automatically correct the value to stay within a given range, or adjust the value to the closest allowable value if only certain values are allowed.

If you want to restrict the maximum value to which a variable can be set at runtime with SET, you can define this by using the --maximum-var_name=value command-line option.

It is also possible to set variables by using --set-variable=var_name=value or -O var_name=value syntax. This syntax is deprecated.

You can change the values of most system variables for a running server with the SET statement. See Section 12.5.3, “SET Syntax”.

Section 5.2.3, “System Variables”, provides a full description for all variables, and additional information for setting them at server startup and runtime. Section 6.5.2, “Tuning Server Parameters”, includes information on optimizing the server by tuning system variables.

5.2.3. System Variables

The MySQL server maintains many system variables that indicate how it is configured. Each system variable has a default value. System variables can be set at server startup using options on the command line or in an option file. Most of them can be changed dynamically while the server is running by means of the SET statement, which enables you to modify operation of the server without having to stop and restart it. You can refer to system variable values in expressions.

There are several ways to see the names and values of system variables:

To see the values that a server will use based on its compiled-in defaults and any option files that it reads, use this command:
```
mysqld --verbose --help
```
To see the values that a server will use based on its compiled-in defaults, ignoring the settings in any option files, use this command:
```
mysqld --no-defaults --verbose --help
```
To see the current values used by a running server, use the SHOW VARIABLES statement.

This section provides a description of each system variable. Variables with no version indicated are present in all MySQL 5.0 releases. For historical information concerning their implementation, please see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/.

The following table lists all available system variables:

Variable Name	Variable Scope	Dynamic?
`auto_increment_increment`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`auto_increment_offset`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`autocommit`	`SESSION`	yes
`automatic_sp_privileges`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`back_log`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`basedir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_home`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb-lock-detect`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_logdir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_shared_data`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_tmpdir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_cache_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_log_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`bdb_max_lock`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`big_tables`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`binlog_cache_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`bulk_insert_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_set_filesystem`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`character_set_server`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_sets_dir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`character_set_client`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_set_connection`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_set_database`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_set_results`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`character_set_system`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`collation_connection`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`collation_database`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`collation_server`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`completion_type`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`concurrent_insert`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`connect_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`datadir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`date_format`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`datetime_format`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`default_week_format`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`delay_key_write`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`delayed_insert_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`delayed_insert_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`delayed_queue_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`des-key-file`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`div_precision_increment`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`engine_condition_pushdown`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`error_count`	`SESSION`	no
`expire_logs_days`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`flush`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`flush_time`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`foreign_key_checks`	`SESSION`	yes
`ft_boolean_syntax`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ft_max_word_len`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ft_min_word_len`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`ft_query_expansion_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ft_stopword_file`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`group_concat_max_len`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`have_archive`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_bdb`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_blackhole_engine`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_compress`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_crypt`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_csv`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_example_engine`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_federated_engine`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_geometry`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_innodb`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_isam`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_merge_engine`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_ndbcluster`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_openssl`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_query_cache`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_raid`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_rtree_keys`	`GLOBAL`	no
`have_symlink`	`GLOBAL`	no
`hostname`	`GLOBAL`	no
`identity`	`SESSION`	yes
`init_file`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`init_connect`	`GLOBAL`	no
`init_slave`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_additional_mem_pool_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_autoextend_increment`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_buffer_pool_awe_mem_mb`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_buffer_pool_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_checksums`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_commit_concurrency`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_concurrency_tickets`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_data_file_path`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_data_home_dir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_doublewrite`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_fast_shutdown`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_file_io_threads`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_file_per_table`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`innodb_flush_method`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_force_recovery`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_lock_wait_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_locks_unsafe_for_binlog`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_arch_dir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_archive`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_file_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_files_in_group`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_log_group_home_dir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_max_dirty_pages_pct`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_max_purge_lag`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_mirrored_log_groups`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_open_files`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_rollback_on_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_status_file`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`innodb_support_xa`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_sync_spin_loops`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_table_locks`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`innodb_thread_concurrency`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`innodb_thread_sleep_delay`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`insert_id`	`SESSION`	yes
`interactive_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`join_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`keep_files_on_create`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`key_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`key_cache_age_threshold`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`key_cache_block_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`key_cache_division_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`language`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`large_pages`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`large_files_support`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`last_insert_id`	`SESSION`	yes
`lc_time_names`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`license`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`local_infile`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`log`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_bin`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log-bin-index`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_bin_trust_function_creators`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`log_bin_trust_routine_creators`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_error`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log-isam`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_queries_not_using_indexes`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`log_slave_updates`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_slow_queries`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`log_warnings`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`long_query_time`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`low_priority_updates`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`lower_case_file_system`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`lower_case_table_names`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`master-connect-retry`		no
`Master_Log_File`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`Master_SSL_Allowed`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`Master_SSL_CA_File`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`Master_SSL_CA_Path`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`max_allowed_packet`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_binlog_cache_size`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_binlog_size`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_connect_errors`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_connections`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_delayed_threads`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_error_count`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_heap_table_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_insert_delayed_threads`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_join_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_length_for_sort_data`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_prepared_stmt_count`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_relay_log_size`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_seeks_for_key`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_sort_length`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_sp_recursion_depth`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`max_tmp_tables`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_user_connections`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`max_write_lock_count`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`locked_in_memory`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`merge`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`multi_range_count`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`multi_read_range`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`myisam-recover`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`myisam_block_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`myisam_data_pointer_size`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`myisam_max_extra_sort_file_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`myisam_max_sort_file_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`myisam_repair_threads`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`myisam_sort_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`myisam_stats_method`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ndb_autoincrement_prefetch_sz`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ndb_cache_check_time`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ndb_force_send`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ndb_use_exact_count`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ndbcluster`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`net_buffer_length`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`net_read_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`net_retry_count`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`net_write_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`new`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`old_passwords`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`open_files_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`optimizer_prune_level`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`optimizer_search_depth`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`pid-file`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`port`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`preload_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`prepared_stmt_count`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`profiling`	`SESSION`	no
`profiling_history_size`	`SESSION`	yes
`protocol_version`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`query_alloc_block_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_cache_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_cache_min_res_unit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_cache_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_cache_type`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_cache_wlock_invalidate`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`query_prealloc_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`range_alloc_block_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`read_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`read_only`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`read_rnd_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`relay-log`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`Relay_Log_File`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`relay_log_purge`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`relay_log_space_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`Relay_Master_Log_File`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`report-password`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`rpl_recovery_rank`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`secure_auth`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`secure_file_priv`	`GLOBAL`	no
`server_id`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`skip_external_locking`	`GLOBAL`	no
`skip-log-warnings`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`skip-merge`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`skip_networking`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`skip-new`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`skip_show_database`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`skip-sync-bdb-logs`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`slave_load_tmpdir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`slave_net_timeout`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`slave_skip_errors`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`slave_compressed_protocol`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`slave_transaction_retries`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`slow_launch_time`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`socket`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`sort_buffer_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_mode`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_auto_is_null`	`SESSION`	no
`sql_big_selects`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_big_tables`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_buffer_result`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_log_bin`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_log_off`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_log_update`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_low_priority_updates`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_max_join_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_notes`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sql_quote_show_create`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_safe_updates`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_select_limit`	`SESSION`	yes
`sql_slave_skip_counter`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`sql_warnings`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`ssl`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`ssl_ca`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`ssl_capath`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`ssl_cert`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`ssl_cipher`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`ssl_key`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`storage_engine`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`sync-bdb-logs`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`sync_binlog`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`sync_frm`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`system_time_zone`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`table_cache`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`table_lock_wait_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`table_open_cache`	`GLOBAL`	yes
`table_type`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`thread_cache_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`thread_concurrency`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`thread_stack`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`time_format`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`time_zone`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`timed_mutexes`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`timestamp`	`SESSION`	yes
`tmp_table_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`tmpdir`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`transaction_alloc_block_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`transaction_prealloc_size`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`tx_isolation`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`unique_checks`	`SESSION`	yes
`updatable_views_with_limit`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`version`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`version_comment`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`version_compile_machine`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`version_compile_os`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	no
`wait_timeout`	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`	yes
`warning_count`	`SESSION`	no

For additional system variable information, see these sections:

Section 5.2.4, “Using System Variables”, discusses the syntax for setting and displaying system variable values.
Section 5.2.4.2, “Dynamic System Variables”, lists the variables that can be set at runtime.
Information on tuning system variables can be found in Section 6.5.2, “Tuning Server Parameters”.
Section 13.2.4, “InnoDB Startup Options and System Variables”, lists InnoDB system variables.

Note

Some of the following variable descriptions refer to “enabling” or “disabling” a variable. These variables can be enabled with the SET statement by setting them to ON or 1, or disabled by setting them to OFF or 0. However, to set such a variable on the command line or in an option file, you must set it to 1 or 0; setting it to ON or OFF will not work. For example, on the command line, --delay_key_write=1 works but --delay_key_write=ON does not.

Values for buffer sizes, lengths, and stack sizes are given in bytes unless otherwise specified.

auto_increment_increment
auto_increment_increment and auto_increment_offset are intended for use with master-to-master replication, and can be used to control the operation of AUTO_INCREMENT columns. Both variables can be set globally or locally, and each can assume an integer value between 1 and 65,535 inclusive. Setting the value of either of these two variables to 0 causes its value to be set to 1 instead. Attempting to set the value of either of these two variables to an integer greater than 65,535 or less than 0 causes its value to be set to 65,535 instead. Attempting to set the value of auto_increment_increment or auto_increment_offset to a non-integer value gives rise to an error, and the actual value of the variable remains unchanged.
These two variables affect AUTO_INCREMENT column behavior as follows:
- auto_increment_increment controls the interval between successive column values. For example:
```
mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'auto_inc%';
+--------------------------+-------+
| Variable_name            | Value |
+--------------------------+-------+
| auto_increment_increment | 1     |
| auto_increment_offset    | 1     |
+--------------------------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE autoinc1
    -> (col INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY);
  Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.04 sec)

mysql> SET @@auto_increment_increment=10;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'auto_inc%';
+--------------------------+-------+
| Variable_name            | Value |
+--------------------------+-------+
| auto_increment_increment | 10    |
| auto_increment_offset    | 1     |
+--------------------------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.01 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO autoinc1 VALUES (NULL), (NULL), (NULL), (NULL);
Query OK, 4 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Records: 4  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> SELECT col FROM autoinc1;
+-----+
| col |
+-----+
|   1 |
|  11 |
|  21 |
|  31 |
+-----+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
```
  (Note how SHOW VARIABLES is used here to obtain the current values for these variables.)
- auto_increment_offset determines the starting point for the AUTO_INCREMENT column value. Consider the following, assuming that these statements are executed during the same session as the example given in the description for auto_increment_increment:
```
mysql> SET @@auto_increment_offset=5;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'auto_inc%';
+--------------------------+-------+
| Variable_name            | Value |
+--------------------------+-------+
| auto_increment_increment | 10    |
| auto_increment_offset    | 5     |
+--------------------------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE autoinc2
    -> (col INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.06 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO autoinc2 VALUES (NULL), (NULL), (NULL), (NULL);
Query OK, 4 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Records: 4  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> SELECT col FROM autoinc2;
+-----+
| col |
+-----+
|   5 |
|  15 |
|  25 |
|  35 |
+-----+
4 rows in set (0.02 sec)
```
  If the value of auto_increment_offset is greater than that of auto_increment_increment, the value of auto_increment_offset is ignored.
Should one or both of these variables be changed and then new rows inserted into a table containing an AUTO_INCREMENT column, the results may seem counterintuitive because the series of AUTO_INCREMENT values is calculated without regard to any values already present in the column, and the next value inserted is the least value in the series that is greater than the maximum existing value in the AUTO_INCREMENT column. In other words, the series is calculated like so:
auto_increment_offset + N × auto_increment_increment
where N is a positive integer value in the series [1, 2, 3, ...]. For example:
```
mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'auto_inc%';
+--------------------------+-------+
| Variable_name            | Value |
+--------------------------+-------+
| auto_increment_increment | 10    |
| auto_increment_offset    | 5     |
+--------------------------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT col FROM autoinc1;
+-----+
| col |
+-----+
|   1 |
|  11 |
|  21 |
|  31 |
+-----+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO autoinc1 VALUES (NULL), (NULL), (NULL), (NULL);
Query OK, 4 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Records: 4  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> SELECT col FROM autoinc1;
+-----+
| col |
+-----+
|   1 |
|  11 |
|  21 |
|  31 |
|  35 |
|  45 |
|  55 |
|  65 |
+-----+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)
```
The values shown for auto_increment_increment and auto_increment_offset generate the series 5 + N × 10, that is, [5, 15, 25, 35, 45, ...]. The greatest value present in the col column prior to the INSERT is 31, and the next available value in the AUTO_INCREMENT series is 35, so the inserted values for col begin at that point and the results are as shown for the SELECT query.
It is important to remember that it is not possible to confine the effects of these two variables to a single table, and thus they do not take the place of the sequences offered by some other database management systems; these variables control the behavior of all AUTO_INCREMENT columns in all tables on the MySQL server. If one of these variables is set globally, its effects persist until the global value is changed or overridden by setting them locally, or until mysqld is restarted. If set locally, the new value affects AUTO_INCREMENT columns for all tables into which new rows are inserted by the current user for the duration of the session, unless the values are changed during that session.
The auto_increment_increment variable was added in MySQL 5.0.2. Its default value is 1. See Auto-Increment in Multiple-Master Replication.
auto_increment_increment is supported for use with NDB tables beginning with MySQL 5.0.46. Previously, setting it when using MySQL Cluster tables produced unpredictable results.
auto_increment_offset
This variable was introduced in MySQL 5.0.2. Its default value is 1. For particulars, see the description for auto_increment_increment.
auto_increment_offset is supported for use with NDB tables beginning with MySQL 5.0.46. Previously, setting it when using MySQL Cluster tables produced unpredictable results.
automatic_sp_privileges
When this variable has a value of 1 (the default), the server automatically grants the EXECUTE and ALTER ROUTINE privileges to the creator of a stored routine, if the user cannot already execute and alter or drop the routine. (The ALTER ROUTINE privileges is required to drop the routine.) The server also automatically drops those privileges when the creator drops the routine. If automatic_sp_privileges is 0, the server does not automatically add and drop these privileges. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
back_log
The number of outstanding connection requests MySQL can have. This comes into play when the main MySQL thread gets very many connection requests in a very short time. It then takes some time (although very little) for the main thread to check the connection and start a new thread. The back_log value indicates how many requests can be stacked during this short time before MySQL momentarily stops answering new requests. You need to increase this only if you expect a large number of connections in a short period of time.
In other words, this value is the size of the listen queue for incoming TCP/IP connections. Your operating system has its own limit on the size of this queue. The manual page for the Unix listen() system call should have more details. Check your OS documentation for the maximum value for this variable. back_log cannot be set higher than your operating system limit.
basedir
The MySQL installation base directory. This variable can be set with the --basedir option.
bdb_cache_size
The size of the buffer that is allocated for caching indexes and rows for BDB tables. If you don't use BDB tables, you should start mysqld with --skip-bdb to not allocate memory for this cache.
bdb_home
The base directory for BDB tables. This should be assigned the same value as the datadir variable.
bdb_log_buffer_size
The size of the buffer that is allocated for caching indexes and rows for BDB tables. If you don't use BDB tables, you should set this to 0 or start mysqld with --skip-bdb to not allocate memory for this cache.
bdb_logdir
The directory where the BDB storage engine writes its log files. This variable can be set with the --bdb-logdir option.
bdb_max_lock
The maximum number of locks that can be active for a BDB table (10,000 by default). You should increase this value if errors such as the following occur when you perform long transactions or when mysqld has to examine many rows to calculate a query:
```
bdb: Lock table is out of available locks
Got error 12 from ...
```
bdb_shared_data
This is ON if you are using --bdb-shared-data to start Berkeley DB in multi-process mode. (Do not use DB_PRIVATE when initializing Berkeley DB.)
bdb_tmpdir
The BDB temporary file directory.
binlog_cache_size
The size of the cache to hold the SQL statements for the binary log during a transaction. A binary log cache is allocated for each client if the server supports any transactional storage engines and if the server has the binary log enabled (--log-bin option). If you often use large, multiple-statement transactions, you can increase this cache size to get more performance. The Binlog_cache_use and Binlog_cache_disk_use status variables can be useful for tuning the size of this variable. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”.
MySQL Enterprise For recommendations on the optimum setting for binlog_cache_size subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
bulk_insert_buffer_size
MyISAM uses a special tree-like cache to make bulk inserts faster for INSERT ... SELECT, INSERT ... VALUES (...), (...), ..., and LOAD DATA INFILE when adding data to non-empty tables. This variable limits the size of the cache tree in bytes per thread. Setting it to 0 disables this optimization. The default value is 8MB.
character_set_client
The character set for statements that arrive from the client.
character_set_connection
The character set used for literals that do not have a character set introducer and for number-to-string conversion.
character_set_database
The character set used by the default database. The server sets this variable whenever the default database changes. If there is no default database, the variable has the same value as character_set_server.
character_set_filesystem
The filesystem character set. This variable is used to interpret string literals that refer to filenames, such as in the LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements and the LOAD_FILE() function. Such filenames are converted from character_set_client to character_set_filesystem before the file opening attempt occurs. The default value is binary, which means that no conversion occurs. For systems on which multi-byte filenames are allowed, a different value may be more appropriate. For example, if the system represents filenames using UTF-8, set character_set_filesystem to 'utf8'. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.19.
character_set_results
The character set used for returning query results to the client.
character_set_server
The server's default character set.
character_set_system
The character set used by the server for storing identifiers. The value is always utf8.
character_sets_dir
The directory where character sets are installed.
collation_connection
The collation of the connection character set.
collation_database
The collation used by the default database. The server sets this variable whenever the default database changes. If there is no default database, the variable has the same value as collation_server.
collation_server
The server's default collation.
completion_type
The transaction completion type:
- If the value is 0 (the default), COMMIT and ROLLBACK are unaffected.
- If the value is 1, COMMIT and ROLLBACK are equivalent to COMMIT AND CHAIN and ROLLBACK AND CHAIN, respectively. (A new transaction starts immediately with the same isolation level as the just-terminated transaction.)
- If the value is 2, COMMIT and ROLLBACK are equivalent to COMMIT RELEASE and ROLLBACK RELEASE, respectively. (The server disconnects after terminating the transaction.)
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3

concurrent_insert

If 1 (the default), MySQL allows INSERT and SELECT statements to run concurrently for MyISAM tables that have no free blocks in the middle of the data file. You can turn this option off by starting mysqld with --safe or --skip-new.

In MySQL 5.0.6, this variable was changed to take three integer values:

Value	Description
0	Off
1	(Default) Enables concurrent insert for `MyISAM` tables that don't have holes
2	Enables concurrent inserts for all `MyISAM` tables, even those that have holes. For a table with a hole, new rows are inserted at the end of the table if it is in use by another thread. Otherwise, MySQL acquires a normal write lock and inserts the row into the hole.

connect_timeout
The number of seconds that the mysqld server waits for a connect packet before responding with Bad handshake.
datadir
The MySQL data directory. This variable can be set with the --datadir option.
date_format
This variable is not implemented.
datetime_format
This variable is not implemented.
default_week_format
The default mode value to use for the WEEK() function. See Section 11.6, “Date and Time Functions”.

delay_key_write

This option applies only to MyISAM tables. It can have one of the following values to affect handling of the DELAY_KEY_WRITE table option that can be used in CREATE TABLE statements.

Option	Description
`OFF`	`DELAY_KEY_WRITE` is ignored.
`ON`	MySQL honors any `DELAY_KEY_WRITE` option specified in `CREATE TABLE` statements. This is the default value.
`ALL`	All new opened tables are treated as if they were created with the `DELAY_KEY_WRITE` option enabled.

If DELAY_KEY_WRITE is enabled for a table, the key buffer is not flushed for the table on every index update, but only when the table is closed. This speeds up writes on keys a lot, but if you use this feature, you should add automatic checking of all MyISAM tables by starting the server with the --myisam-recover option (for example, --myisam-recover=BACKUP,FORCE). See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”, and Section 13.1.1, “MyISAM Startup Options”.

Note that if you enable external locking with --external-locking, there is no protection against index corruption for tables that use delayed key writes.

delayed_insert_limit
After inserting delayed_insert_limit delayed rows, the INSERT DELAYED handler thread checks whether there are any SELECT statements pending. If so, it allows them to execute before continuing to insert delayed rows.
delayed_insert_timeout
How many seconds an INSERT DELAYED handler thread should wait for INSERT statements before terminating.
delayed_queue_size
This is a per-table limit on the number of rows to queue when handling INSERT DELAYED statements. If the queue becomes full, any client that issues an INSERT DELAYED statement waits until there is room in the queue again.
div_precision_increment
This variable indicates the number of digits of precision by which to increase the result of division operations performed with the / operator. The default value is 4. The minimum and maximum values are 0 and 30, respectively. The following example illustrates the effect of increasing the default value.
```
mysql> SELECT 1/7;
+--------+
| 1/7    |
+--------+
| 0.1429 |
+--------+
mysql> SET div_precision_increment = 12;
mysql> SELECT 1/7;
+----------------+
| 1/7            |
+----------------+
| 0.142857142857 |
+----------------+
```
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.6.
engine_condition_pushdown
This variable applies to NDB. By default it is 0 (OFF): If you execute a query such as SELECT * FROM t WHERE mycol = 42, where mycol is a non-indexed column, the query is executed as a full table scan on every NDB node. Each node sends every row to the MySQL server, which applies the WHERE condition. If engine_condition_pushdown is set to 1 (ON), the condition is “pushed down” to the storage engine and sent to the NDB nodes. Each node uses the condition to perform the scan, and only sends back to the MySQL server the rows that match the condition.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3. Before that, the default NDB behavior is the same as for a value of OFF.
expire_logs_days
The number of days for automatic binary log removal. The default is 0, which means “no automatic removal.” Possible removals happen at startup and at binary log rotation.
flush
If ON, the server flushes (synchronizes) all changes to disk after each SQL statement. Normally, MySQL does a write of all changes to disk only after each SQL statement and lets the operating system handle the synchronizing to disk. See Section B.1.4.2, “What to Do If MySQL Keeps Crashing”. This variable is set to ON if you start mysqld with the --flush option.
flush_time
If this is set to a non-zero value, all tables are closed every flush_time seconds to free up resources and synchronize unflushed data to disk. We recommend that this option be used only on systems with minimal resources.
ft_boolean_syntax
The list of operators supported by boolean full-text searches performed using IN BOOLEAN MODE. See Section 11.8.1, “Boolean Full-Text Searches”.
The default variable value is '+ -><()~*:""&|'. The rules for changing the value are as follows:
- Operator function is determined by position within the string.
- The replacement value must be 14 characters.
- Each character must be an ASCII non-alphanumeric character.
- Either the first or second character must be a space.
- No duplicates are allowed except the phrase quoting operators in positions 11 and 12. These two characters are not required to be the same, but they are the only two that may be.
- Positions 10, 13, and 14 (which by default are set to “:”, “&”, and “|”) are reserved for future extensions.
ft_max_word_len
The maximum length of the word to be included in a FULLTEXT index.
Note
FULLTEXT indexes must be rebuilt after changing this variable. Use REPAIR TABLE tbl_name QUICK.
ft_min_word_len
The minimum length of the word to be included in a FULLTEXT index.
Note
FULLTEXT indexes must be rebuilt after changing this variable. Use REPAIR TABLE tbl_name QUICK.
ft_query_expansion_limit
The number of top matches to use for full-text searches performed using WITH QUERY EXPANSION.
ft_stopword_file
The file from which to read the list of stopwords for full-text searches. All the words from the file are used; comments are not honored. By default, a built-in list of stopwords is used (as defined in the myisam/ft_static.c file). Setting this variable to the empty string ('') disables stopword filtering.
Note
FULLTEXT indexes must be rebuilt after changing this variable or the contents of the stopword file. Use REPAIR TABLE tbl_name QUICK.
group_concat_max_len
The maximum allowed result length for the GROUP_CONCAT() function. The default is 1024.
have_archive
YES if mysqld supports ARCHIVE tables, NO if not.
have_bdb
YES if mysqld supports BDB tables. DISABLED if --skip-bdb is used.
have_blackhole_engine
YES if mysqld supports BLACKHOLE tables, NO if not.
have_compress
YES if the zlib compression library is available to the server, NO if not. If not, the COMPRESS() and UNCOMPRESS() functions cannot be used.
have_crypt
YES if the crypt() system call is available to the server, NO if not. If not, the ENCRYPT() function cannot be used.
have_csv
YES if mysqld supports CSV tables, NO if not.
have_example_engine
YES if mysqld supports EXAMPLE tables, NO if not.
have_federated_engine
YES if mysqld supports FEDERATED tables, NO if not. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
have_geometry
YES if the server supports spatial data types, NO if not.
have_innodb
YES if mysqld supports InnoDB tables. DISABLED if --skip-innodb is used.
have_isam
In MySQL 5.0, this variable appears only for reasons of backward compatibility. It is always NO because ISAM tables are no longer supported.
have_merge_engine
YES if mysqld supports MERGE tables. DISABLED if --skip-merge is used. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.24.
have_ndbcluster
YES if mysqld supports NDB Cluster tables. DISABLED if --skip-ndbcluster is used.
have_openssl
YES if mysqld supports SSL connections, NO if not.
have_query_cache
YES if mysqld supports the query cache, NO if not.
have_raid
In MySQL 5.0, this variable appears only for reasons of backward compatibility. It is always NO because RAID tables are no longer supported.
have_rtree_keys
YES if RTREE indexes are available, NO if not. (These are used for spatial indexes in MyISAM tables.)
have_symlink
YES if symbolic link support is enabled, NO if not. This is required on Unix for support of the DATA DIRECTORY and INDEX DIRECTORY table options, and on Windows for support of data directory symlinks.
hostname
The server sets this variable to the server hostname at startup. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.38.
init_connect
A string to be executed by the server for each client that connects. The string consists of one or more SQL statements. To specify multiple statements, separate them by semicolon characters. For example, each client begins by default with autocommit mode enabled. There is no global system variable to specify that autocommit should be disabled by default, but init_connect can be used to achieve the same effect:
```
SET GLOBAL init_connect='SET AUTOCOMMIT=0';
```
This variable can also be set on the command line or in an option file. To set the variable as just shown using an option file, include these lines:
```
[mysqld]
init_connect='SET AUTOCOMMIT=0'
```
Note that the content of init_connect is not executed for users that have the SUPER privilege. This is done so that an erroneous value for init_connect does not prevent all clients from connecting. For example, the value might contain a statement that has a syntax error, thus causing client connections to fail. Not executing init_connect for users that have the SUPER privilege enables them to open a connection and fix the init_connect value.
init_file
The name of the file specified with the --init-file option when you start the server. This should be a file containing SQL statements that you want the server to execute when it starts. Each statement must be on a single line and should not include comments.
Note that the --init-file option is unavailable if MySQL was configured with the --disable-grant-options option. See Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”.
init_slave
This variable is similar to init_connect, but is a string to be executed by a slave server each time the SQL thread starts. The format of the string is the same as for the init_connect variable.
innodb_xxx
InnoDB system variables are listed in Section 13.2.4, “InnoDB Startup Options and System Variables”.
interactive_timeout
The number of seconds the server waits for activity on an interactive connection before closing it. An interactive client is defined as a client that uses the CLIENT_INTERACTIVE option to mysql_real_connect(). See also wait_timeout.
join_buffer_size
The size of the buffer that is used for joins that do not use indexes and thus perform full table scans. Normally, the best way to get fast joins is to add indexes. Increase the value of join_buffer_size to get a faster full join when adding indexes is not possible. One join buffer is allocated for each full join between two tables. For a complex join between several tables for which indexes are not used, multiple join buffers might be necessary.
keep_files_on_create
If a MyISAM table is created with no DATA DIRECTORY option, the .MYD file is created in the database directory. By default, if MyISAM finds an existing .MYD file in this case, it overwrites it. The same applies to .MYI files for tables created with no INDEX DIRECTORY option. To suppress this behavior, set the keep_files_on_create variable to ON (1), in which case MyISAM will not overwrite existing files and returns an error instead. The default value is OFF (0).
If a MyISAM table is created with a DATA DIRECTORY or INDEX DIRECTORY option and an existing .MYD or .MYI file is found, MyISAM always returns an error. It will not overwrite a file in the specified directory.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.48.
key_buffer_size
Index blocks for MyISAM tables are buffered and are shared by all threads. key_buffer_size is the size of the buffer used for index blocks. The key buffer is also known as the key cache.
The maximum allowable setting for key_buffer_size is 4GB. The effective maximum size might be less, depending on your available physical RAM and per-process RAM limits imposed by your operating system or hardware platform.
Increase the value to get better index handling (for all reads and multiple writes) to as much as you can afford. Using a value that is 25% of total memory on a machine that mainly runs MySQL is quite common. However, if you make the value too large (for example, more than 50% of your total memory) your system might start to page and become extremely slow. MySQL relies on the operating system to perform filesystem caching for data reads, so you must leave some room for the filesystem cache. Consider also the memory requirements of other storage engines.
For even more speed when writing many rows at the same time, use LOCK TABLES. See Section 6.2.17, “Speed of INSERT Statements”.
You can check the performance of the key buffer by issuing a SHOW STATUS statement and examining the Key_read_requests, Key_reads, Key_write_requests, and Key_writes status variables. (See Section 12.5.4, “SHOW Syntax”.) The Key_reads/Key_read_requests ratio should normally be less than 0.01. The Key_writes/Key_write_requests ratio is usually near 1 if you are using mostly updates and deletes, but might be much smaller if you tend to do updates that affect many rows at the same time or if you are using the DELAY_KEY_WRITE table option.
The fraction of the key buffer in use can be determined using key_buffer_size in conjunction with the Key_blocks_unused status variable and the buffer block size, which is available from the key_cache_block_size system variable:
```
1 - ((Key_blocks_unused × key_cache_block_size) / key_buffer_size)
```
This value is an approximation because some space in the key buffer may be allocated internally for administrative structures.
It is possible to create multiple MyISAM key caches. The size limit of 4GB applies to each cache individually, not as a group. See Section 6.4.6, “The MyISAM Key Cache”.
key_cache_age_threshold
This value controls the demotion of buffers from the hot sub-chain of a key cache to the warm sub-chain. Lower values cause demotion to happen more quickly. The minimum value is 100. The default value is 300. See Section 6.4.6, “The MyISAM Key Cache”.
key_cache_block_size
The size in bytes of blocks in the key cache. The default value is 1024. See Section 6.4.6, “The MyISAM Key Cache”.
key_cache_division_limit
The division point between the hot and warm sub-chains of the key cache buffer chain. The value is the percentage of the buffer chain to use for the warm sub-chain. Allowable values range from 1 to 100. The default value is 100. See Section 6.4.6, “The MyISAM Key Cache”.
language
The language used for error messages.
large_file_support
Whether mysqld was compiled with options for large file support.
large_pages
Whether large page support is enabled. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
lc_time_names
This variable specifies the locale that controls the language used to display day and month names and abbreviations. This variable affects the output from the DATE_FORMAT(), DAYNAME() and MONTHNAME() functions. Locale names are POSIX-style values such as 'ja_JP' or 'pt_BR'. The default value is 'en_US' regardless of your system's locale setting. For further information, see Section 5.10.9, “MySQL Server Locale Support”. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.25.
license
The type of license the server has.
local_infile
Whether LOCAL is supported for LOAD DATA INFILE statements. See Section 5.6.4, “Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL”.
locked_in_memory
Whether mysqld was locked in memory with --memlock.
log
Whether logging of all statements to the general query log is enabled. See Section 5.11.2, “The General Query Log”.
log_bin
Whether the binary log is enabled. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”.
log_bin_trust_function_creators
This variable applies when binary logging is enabled. It controls whether stored function creators can be trusted not to create stored functions that will cause unsafe events to be written to the binary log. If set to 0 (the default), users are not allowed to create or alter stored functions unless they have the SUPER privilege in addition to the CREATE ROUTINE or ALTER ROUTINE privilege. A setting of 0 also enforces the restriction that a function must be declared with the DETERMINISTIC characteristic, or with the READS SQL DATA or NO SQL characteristic. If the variable is set to 1, MySQL does not enforce these restrictions on stored function creation. See Section 18.4, “Binary Logging of Stored Routines and Triggers”.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.16.
log_bin_trust_routine_creators
This is the old name for log_bin_trust_function_creators. Before MySQL 5.0.16, it also applies to stored procedures, not just stored functions. As of 5.0.16, this variable is deprecated. It is recognized for backward compatibility but its use results in a warning.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.6.
log_error
The location of the error log.
log_queries_not_using_indexes
Whether queries that do not use indexes are logged to the slow query log. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
log_slave_updates
Whether updates received by a slave server from a master server should be logged to the slave's own binary log. Binary logging must be enabled on the slave for this variable to have any effect. See Section 15.1.2, “Replication Startup Options and Variables”.
log_slow_queries
Whether slow queries should be logged. “Slow” is determined by the value of the long_query_time variable. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”.
log_warnings
Whether to produce additional warning messages. It is enabled (1) by default and can be disabled by setting it to 0. Aborted connections are not logged to the error log unless the value is greater than 1.
long_query_time
If a query takes longer than this many seconds, the server increments the Slow_queries status variable. If you are using the --log-slow-queries option, the query is logged to the slow query log file. This value is measured in real time, not CPU time, so a query that is under the threshold on a lightly loaded system might be above the threshold on a heavily loaded one. The minimum value is 1. The default is 10. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”.
low_priority_updates
If set to 1, all INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and LOCK TABLE WRITE statements wait until there is no pending SELECT or LOCK TABLE READ on the affected table. This affects only storage engines that use only table-level locking (MyISAM, MEMORY, MERGE). This variable previously was named sql_low_priority_updates.
lower_case_file_system
This variable describes the case sensitivity of filenames on the filesystem where the data directory is located. OFF means filenames are case sensitive, ON means they are not case sensitive.
lower_case_table_names
If set to 1, table names are stored in lowercase on disk and table name comparisons are not case sensitive. If set to 2 table names are stored as given but compared in lowercase. This option also applies to database names and table aliases. See Section 8.2.2, “Identifier Case Sensitivity”.
If you are using InnoDB tables, you should set this variable to 1 on all platforms to force names to be converted to lowercase.
You should not set this variable to 0 if you are running MySQL on a system that does not have case-sensitive filenames (such as Windows or Mac OS X). If this variable is not set at startup and the filesystem on which the data directory is located does not have case-sensitive filenames, MySQL automatically sets lower_case_table_names to 2.
max_allowed_packet
The maximum size of one packet or any generated/intermediate string.
The packet message buffer is initialized to net_buffer_length bytes, but can grow up to max_allowed_packet bytes when needed. This value by default is small, to catch large (possibly incorrect) packets.
You must increase this value if you are using large BLOB columns or long strings. It should be as big as the largest BLOB you want to use. The protocol limit for max_allowed_packet is 1GB.
max_binlog_cache_size
If a multiple-statement transaction requires more than this many bytes of memory, the server generates a Multi-statement transaction required more than 'max_binlog_cache_size' bytes of storage error. The minimum value is 4096, the maximum and default values are 4GB.
max_binlog_size
If a write to the binary log causes the current log file size to exceed the value of this variable, the server rotates the binary logs (closes the current file and opens the next one). You cannot set this variable to more than 1GB or to less than 4096 bytes. The default value is 1GB.
A transaction is written in one chunk to the binary log, so it is never split between several binary logs. Therefore, if you have big transactions, you might see binary logs larger than max_binlog_size.
If max_relay_log_size is 0, the value of max_binlog_size applies to relay logs as well.
max_connect_errors
If there are more than this number of interrupted connections from a host, that host is blocked from further connections. You can unblock blocked hosts with the FLUSH HOSTS statement.
max_connections
The number of simultaneous client connections allowed. By default, this is 100. See Section B.1.2.6, “Too many connections”, for more information.
MySQL Enterprise For notification that the maximum number of connections is getting dangerously high and for advice on setting the optimum value for max_connections subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
Increasing this value increases the number of file descriptors that mysqld requires. See Section 6.4.8, “How MySQL Opens and Closes Tables”, for comments on file descriptor limits.
max_delayed_threads
Do not start more than this number of threads to handle INSERT DELAYED statements. If you try to insert data into a new table after all INSERT DELAYED threads are in use, the row is inserted as if the DELAYED attribute wasn't specified. If you set this to 0, MySQL never creates a thread to handle DELAYED rows; in effect, this disables DELAYED entirely.
max_error_count
The maximum number of error, warning, and note messages to be stored for display by the SHOW ERRORS and SHOW WARNINGS statements.
max_heap_table_size
This variable sets the maximum size to which MEMORY tables are allowed to grow. The value of the variable is used to calculate MEMORY table MAX_ROWS values. Setting this variable has no effect on any existing MEMORY table, unless the table is re-created with a statement such as CREATE TABLE or altered with ALTER TABLE or TRUNCATE TABLE.
MySQL Enterprise Subscribers to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor receive recommendations for the optimum setting for max_heap_table_size. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
max_insert_delayed_threads
This variable is a synonym for max_delayed_threads.
max_join_size
Do not allow SELECT statements that probably need to examine more than max_join_size rows (for single-table statements) or row combinations (for multiple-table statements) or that are likely to do more than max_join_size disk seeks. By setting this value, you can catch SELECT statements where keys are not used properly and that would probably take a long time. Set it if your users tend to perform joins that lack a WHERE clause, that take a long time, or that return millions of rows.
Setting this variable to a value other than DEFAULT resets the value of SQL_BIG_SELECTS to 0. If you set the SQL_BIG_SELECTS value again, the max_join_size variable is ignored.
If a query result is in the query cache, no result size check is performed, because the result has previously been computed and it does not burden the server to send it to the client.
This variable previously was named sql_max_join_size.
max_length_for_sort_data
The cutoff on the size of index values that determines which filesort algorithm to use. See Section 6.2.11, “ORDER BY Optimization”.
max_prepared_stmt_count
This variable limits the total number of prepared statements in the server. It can be used in environments where there is the potential for denial-of-service attacks based on running the server out of memory by preparing huge numbers of statements. The default value is 16,382. The allowable range of values is from 0 to 1 million. If the value is set lower than the current number of prepared statements, existing statements are not affected and can be used, but no new statements can be prepared until the current number drops below the limit. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.21.
max_relay_log_size
If a write by a replication slave to its relay log causes the current log file size to exceed the value of this variable, the slave rotates the relay logs (closes the current file and opens the next one). If max_relay_log_size is 0, the server uses max_binlog_size for both the binary log and the relay log. If max_relay_log_size is greater than 0, it constrains the size of the relay log, which enables you to have different sizes for the two logs. You must set max_relay_log_size to between 4096 bytes and 1GB (inclusive), or to 0. The default value is 0. See Section 15.4.1, “Replication Implementation Details”.
max_seeks_for_key
Limit the assumed maximum number of seeks when looking up rows based on a key. The MySQL optimizer assumes that no more than this number of key seeks are required when searching for matching rows in a table by scanning an index, regardless of the actual cardinality of the index (see Section 12.5.4.13, “SHOW INDEX Syntax”). By setting this to a low value (say, 100), you can force MySQL to prefer indexes instead of table scans.
max_sort_length
The number of bytes to use when sorting BLOB or TEXT values. Only the first max_sort_length bytes of each value are used; the rest are ignored.
max_sp_recursion_depth
The number of times that a stored procedure may call itself. The default value for this option is 0, which completely disallows recursion in stored procedures. The maximum value is 255.
This variable can be set globally and per session.
max_tmp_tables
The maximum number of temporary tables a client can keep open at the same time. (This option does not yet do anything.)
max_user_connections
The maximum number of simultaneous connections allowed to any given MySQL account. A value of 0 means “no limit.”
Before MySQL 5.0.3, this variable has only global scope. Beginning with MySQL 5.0.3, it also has a read-only session scope. The session variable has the same value as the global variable unless the current account has a non-zero MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS resource limit. In that case, the session value reflects the account limit.
max_write_lock_count
After this many write locks, allow some pending read lock requests to be processed in between.
multi_range_count
The maximum number of ranges to send to a table handler at once during range selects. The default value is 256. Sending multiple ranges to a handler at once can improve the performance of certain selects dramatically. This especially true for the NDB Cluster table handler, which needs to send the range requests to all nodes. Sending a batch of those requests at once reduces the communication costs significantly. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
myisam_block_size
The block size to be used for MyISAM index pages.
myisam_data_pointer_size
The default pointer size in bytes, to be used by CREATE TABLE for MyISAM tables when no MAX_ROWS option is specified. This variable cannot be less than 2 or larger than 7. The default value is 6 (4 before MySQL 5.0.6). This variable was added in MySQL 4.1.2. See Section B.1.2.11, “The table is full”.
myisam_max_extra_sort_file_size (DEPRECATED)
If the temporary file used for fast MyISAM index creation would be larger than using the key cache by the amount specified here, prefer the key cache method. This is mainly used to force long character keys in large tables to use the slower key cache method to create the index. The value is given in bytes.
Note
This variable was removed in MySQL 5.0.6.
myisam_max_sort_file_size
The maximum size of the temporary file that MySQL is allowed to use while re-creating a MyISAM index (during REPAIR TABLE, ALTER TABLE, or LOAD DATA INFILE). If the file size would be larger than this value, the index is created using the key cache instead, which is slower. The value is given in bytes.
The default value is 2GB. If MyISAM index files exceed this size and disk space is available, increasing the value may help performance.
myisam_recover_options
The value of the --myisam-recover option. See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.
myisam_repair_threads
If this value is greater than 1, MyISAM table indexes are created in parallel (each index in its own thread) during the Repair by sorting process. The default value is 1.
Note
Multi-threaded repair is still beta-quality code.
myisam_sort_buffer_size
The size of the buffer that is allocated when sorting MyISAM indexes during a REPAIR TABLE or when creating indexes with CREATE INDEX or ALTER TABLE.
myisam_stats_method
How the server treats NULL values when collecting statistics about the distribution of index values for MyISAM tables. This variable has two possible values, nulls_equal and nulls_unequal. For nulls_equal, all NULL index values are considered equal and form a single value group that has a size equal to the number of NULL values. For nulls_unequal, NULL values are considered unequal, and each NULL forms a distinct value group of size 1.
The method that is used for generating table statistics influences how the optimizer chooses indexes for query execution, as described in Section 6.4.7, “MyISAM Index Statistics Collection”.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.14. For older versions, the statistics collection method is equivalent to nulls_equal.
multi_read_range
Specifies the maximum number of ranges to send to a storage engine during range selects. The default value is 256. Sending multiple ranges to an engine is a feature that can improve the performance of certain selects dramatically, particularly for NDBCLUSTER. This engine needs to send the range requests to all nodes, and sending many of those requests at once reduces the communication costs significantly. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
named_pipe
(Windows only.) Indicates whether the server supports connections over named pipes.
ndb_autoincrement_prefetch_sz
Determines the probability of gaps in an autoincremented column. Set to 1 to minimize this. Set to a high value for optimization — makes inserts faster, but decreases the likelihood that consecutive autoincrement numbers will be used in a batch of inserts. Default value: 32. Mimimum value: 1.
ndb_cache_check_time
The number of milliseconds to wait before checking the NDB query cache. Setting this to 0 (the default and minimum value) means that the NDB query cache will be checked for validation on every query.
The recommended maximum value for this variable is 1000, which means that the query cache is checked once per second. A larger value means the NDB query cache is less often checked and invalidated due to updates on a different mysqld. It is generally not desirable to set this to a value greater than 2000.
ndb_force_send
Forces sending of buffers to NDB immediately, without waiting for other threads. Defaults to ON.
ndb_index_stat_cache_entries
Sets the granularity of the statistics by determining the number of starting and ending keys to store in the statistics memory cache. Zero means no caching takes place; in this case, the data nodes are always queried directly. Default value: 32.
ndb_index_stat_enable
Use NDB index statistics in query optimization. Defaults to ON.
ndb_index_stat_update_freq
How often to query data nodes instead of the statistics cache. For example, a value of 20 (the default) means to direct every 20^th query to the data nodes.
ndb_optimized_node_selection
Causes an SQL node to use a data node on the same host machine as transaction coordinator. Enabled by default. Set to 0 or OFF to disable, in which case the SQL node uses each data node in the cluster in succession. When this option is disabled, or if there is no data node process running on the same host as the SQL node, the SQL node attempts to use a given data node 8 times before proceeding to the next one.
ndb_report_thresh_binlog_epoch_slip
This is a threshold on the number of epochs to be behind before reporting binlog status. For example, a value of 3 (the default) means that if the difference between which epoch has been received from the storage nodes and which epoch has been applied to the binlog is 3 or more, a status message will be sent to the cluster log.
ndb_report_thresh_binlog_mem_usage
This is a threshold on the percentage of free memory remaining before reporting binlog status. For example, a value of 10 (the default) means that if the amount of available memory for receiving binlog data from the data nodes falls below 10%, a status message will be sent to the cluster log.
ndb_use_exact_count
Forces NDB to use a count of records during SELECT COUNT(*) query planning to speed up this type of query. The default value is ON. For faster queries overall, disable this feature by setting the value of ndb_use_exact_count to OFF.
ndb_use_transactions
You can disable NDB transaction support by setting this variable's values to OFF (not recommended). The default is ON.
net_buffer_length
Each client thread is associated with a connection buffer and result buffer. Both begin with a size given by net_buffer_length but are dynamically enlarged up to max_allowed_packet bytes as needed. The result buffer shrinks to net_buffer_length after each SQL statement.
This variable should not normally be changed, but if you have very little memory, you can set it to the expected length of statements sent by clients. If statements exceed this length, the connection buffer is automatically enlarged. The maximum value to which net_buffer_length can be set is 1MB.
net_read_timeout
The number of seconds to wait for more data from a connection before aborting the read. This timeout applies only to TCP/IP connections, not to connections made via Unix socket files, named pipes, or shared memory. When the server is reading from the client, net_read_timeout is the timeout value controlling when to abort. When the server is writing to the client, net_write_timeout is the timeout value controlling when to abort. See also slave_net_timeout.
net_retry_count
If a read on a communication port is interrupted, retry this many times before giving up. This value should be set quite high on FreeBSD because internal interrupts are sent to all threads.
net_write_timeout
The number of seconds to wait for a block to be written to a connection before aborting the write. This timeout applies only to TCP/IP connections, not to connections made via Unix socket files, named pipes, or shared memory. See also net_read_timeout.
new
This variable was used in MySQL 4.0 to turn on some 4.1 behaviors, and is retained for backward compatibility. In MySQL 5.0, its value is always OFF.
old_passwords
Whether the server should use pre-4.1-style passwords for MySQL user accounts. See Section B.1.2.3, “Client does not support authentication protocol”.
one_shot
This is not a variable, but it can be used when setting some variables. It is described in Section 12.5.3, “SET Syntax”.
open_files_limit
The number of files that the operating system allows mysqld to open. This is the real value allowed by the system and might be different from the value you gave using the --open-files-limit option to mysqld or mysqld_safe. The value is 0 on systems where MySQL can't change the number of open files.
optimizer_prune_level
Controls the heuristics applied during query optimization to prune less-promising partial plans from the optimizer search space. A value of 0 disables heuristics so that the optimizer performs an exhaustive search. A value of 1 causes the optimizer to prune plans based on the number of rows retrieved by intermediate plans. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.1.
optimizer_search_depth
The maximum depth of search performed by the query optimizer. Values larger than the number of relations in a query result in better query plans, but take longer to generate an execution plan for a query. Values smaller than the number of relations in a query return an execution plan quicker, but the resulting plan may be far from being optimal. If set to 0, the system automatically picks a reasonable value. If set to the maximum number of tables used in a query plus 2, the optimizer switches to the algorithm used in MySQL 5.0.0 (and previous versions) for performing searches. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.1.
pid_file
The pathname of the process ID (PID) file. This variable can be set with the --pid-file option.
port
The number of the port on which the server listens for TCP/IP connections. This variable can be set with the --port option.
preload_buffer_size
The size of the buffer that is allocated when preloading indexes.
prepared_stmt_count
The current number of prepared statements. (The maximum number of statements is given by the max_prepared_stmt_count system variable.) This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.21. In MySQL 5.0.32, it was converted to the global Prepared_stmt_count status variable.
protocol_version
The version of the client/server protocol used by the MySQL server.
query_alloc_block_size
The allocation size of memory blocks that are allocated for objects created during statement parsing and execution. If you have problems with memory fragmentation, it might help to increase this a bit.
query_cache_limit
Don't cache results that are larger than this number of bytes. The default value is 1MB.
query_cache_min_res_unit
The minimum size (in bytes) for blocks allocated by the query cache. The default value is 4096 (4KB). Tuning information for this variable is given in Section 6.5.4.3, “Query Cache Configuration”.
query_cache_size
The amount of memory allocated for caching query results. The default value is 0, which disables the query cache. The allowable values are multiples of 1024; other values are rounded down to the nearest multiple. Note that query_cache_size bytes of memory are allocated even if query_cache_type is set to 0. See Section 6.5.4.3, “Query Cache Configuration”, for more information.

query_cache_type

Set the query cache type. Setting the GLOBAL value sets the type for all clients that connect thereafter. Individual clients can set the SESSION value to affect their own use of the query cache. Possible values are shown in the following table:

Option	Description
`0` or `OFF`	Don't cache results in or retrieve results from the query cache. Note that this does not deallocate the query cache buffer. To do that, you should set `query_cache_size` to 0.
`1` or `ON`	Cache all query results except for those that begin with `SELECT SQL_NO_CACHE`.
`2` or `DEMAND`	Cache results only for queries that begin with `SELECT SQL_CACHE`.

This variable defaults to ON.

query_cache_wlock_invalidate
Normally, when one client acquires a WRITE lock on a MyISAM table, other clients are not blocked from issuing statements that read from the table if the query results are present in the query cache. Setting this variable to 1 causes acquisition of a WRITE lock for a table to invalidate any queries in the query cache that refer to the table. This forces other clients that attempt to access the table to wait while the lock is in effect.
query_prealloc_size
The size of the persistent buffer used for statement parsing and execution. This buffer is not freed between statements. If you are running complex queries, a larger query_prealloc_size value might be helpful in improving performance, because it can reduce the need for the server to perform memory allocation during query execution operations.
range_alloc_block_size
The size of blocks that are allocated when doing range optimization.
read_buffer_size
Each thread that does a sequential scan allocates a buffer of this size (in bytes) for each table it scans. If you do many sequential scans, you might want to increase this value, which defaults to 131072.
read_buffer_size and read_rnd_buffer_size are not specific to any storage engine and apply in a general manner for optimization. See Section 6.5.7, “How MySQL Uses Memory”, for example.
read_only
When this variable is set to ON, the server allows no updates except from users that have the SUPER privilege or (on a slave server) from updates performed by slave threads. On a slave server, this can be useful to ensure that the slave accepts updates only from its master server and not from clients. As of MySQL 5.0.16, this variable does not apply to TEMPORARY tables.
read_only exists only as a GLOBAL variable, so changes to its value require the SUPER privilege. Changes to read_only on a master server are not replicated to slave servers. The value can be set on a slave server independent of the setting on the master.
read_rnd_buffer_size
When reading rows in sorted order following a key-sorting operation, the rows are read through this buffer to avoid disk seeks. See Section 6.2.11, “ORDER BY Optimization”. Setting the variable to a large value can improve ORDER BY performance by a lot. However, this is a buffer allocated for each client, so you should not set the global variable to a large value. Instead, change the session variable only from within those clients that need to run large queries.
read_buffer_size and read_rnd_buffer_size are not specific to any storage engine and apply in a general manner for optimization. See Section 6.5.7, “How MySQL Uses Memory”, for example.
relay_log_purge
Disables or enables automatic purging of relay log files as soon as they are not needed any more. The default value is 1 (ON).
rpl_recovery_rank
This variable is unused.
secure_auth
If the MySQL server has been started with the --secure-auth option, it blocks connections from all accounts that have passwords stored in the old (pre-4.1) format. In that case, the value of this variable is ON, otherwise it is OFF.
You should enable this option if you want to prevent all use of passwords employing the old format (and hence insecure communication over the network).
Server startup fails with an error if this option is enabled and the privilege tables are in pre-4.1 format. See Section B.1.2.3, “Client does not support authentication protocol”.
secure_file_priv
By default, this variable is empty. If set to the name of a directory, it limits the effect of the LOAD_FILE() function and the LOAD DATA and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements to work only with files in that directory.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.38.
server_id
The server ID. This value is set by the --server-id option. It is used for replication to enable master and slave servers to identify themselves uniquely.
shared_memory
(Windows only.) Whether the server allows shared-memory connections.
shared_memory_base_name
(Windows only.) The name of shared memory to use for shared-memory connections. This is useful when running multiple MySQL instances on a single physical machine. The default name is MYSQL. The name is case sensitive.
skip_external_locking
This is OFF if mysqld uses external locking, ON if external locking is disabled.
skip_networking
This is ON if the server allows only local (non-TCP/IP) connections. On Unix, local connections use a Unix socket file. On Windows, local connections use a named pipe or shared memory. On NetWare, only TCP/IP connections are supported, so do not set this variable to ON. This variable can be set to ON with the --skip-networking option.
skip_show_database
This prevents people from using the SHOW DATABASES statement if they do not have the SHOW DATABASES privilege. This can improve security if you have concerns about users being able to see databases belonging to other users. Its effect depends on the SHOW DATABASES privilege: If the variable value is ON, the SHOW DATABASES statement is allowed only to users who have the SHOW DATABASES privilege, and the statement displays all database names. If the value is OFF, SHOW DATABASES is allowed to all users, but displays the names of only those databases for which the user has the SHOW DATABASES or other privilege.
slave_compressed_protocol
Whether to use compression of the slave/master protocol if both the slave and the master support it.
slave_load_tmpdir
The name of the directory where the slave creates temporary files for replicating LOAD DATA INFILE statements.
slave_net_timeout
The number of seconds to wait for more data from a master/slave connection before aborting the read. This timeout applies only to TCP/IP connections, not to connections made via Unix socket files, named pipes, or shared memory.
slave_skip_errors
Normally, replication stops when an error occurs on the slave. This gives you the opportunity to resolve the inconsistency in the data manually. This variable tells the slave SQL thread to continue replication when a statement returns any of the errors listed in the variable value.
slave_transaction_retries
If a replication slave SQL thread fails to execute a transaction because of an InnoDB deadlock or exceeded InnoDB's innodb_lock_wait_timeout or NDBCluster's TransactionDeadlockDetectionTimeout or TransactionInactiveTimeout, it automatically retries slave_transaction_retries times before stopping with an error. The default priot to MySQL 4.0.3 is 0. You must explicitly set the value greater than 0 to enable the “retry” behavior, which is probably a good idea. In MySQL 5.0.3 or newer, the default is 10.
slow_launch_time
If creating a thread takes longer than this many seconds, the server increments the Slow_launch_threads status variable.
socket
On Unix platforms, this variable is the name of the socket file that is used for local client connections. The default is /tmp/mysql.sock. (For some distribution formats, the directory might be different, such as /var/lib/mysql for RPMs.)
On Windows, this variable is the name of the named pipe that is used for local client connections. The default value is MySQL (not case sensitive).
sort_buffer_size
Each thread that needs to do a sort allocates a buffer of this size. Increase this value for faster ORDER BY or GROUP BY operations. See Section B.1.4.4, “Where MySQL Stores Temporary Files”.
sql_mode
The current server SQL mode, which can be set dynamically. See Section 5.2.6, “SQL Modes”.
sql_slave_skip_counter
The number of events from the master that a slave server should skip. See Section 12.6.2.6, “SET GLOBAL SQL_SLAVE_SKIP_COUNTER Syntax”.
ssl_ca
The path to a file with a list of trusted SSL CAs. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
ssl_capath
The path to a directory that contains trusted SSL CA certificates in PEM format. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
ssl_cert
The name of the SSL certificate file to use for establishing a secure connection. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
ssl_cipher
A list of allowable ciphers to use for SSL encryption. The cipher list has the same format as the openssl ciphers command. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
ssl_key
The name of the SSL key file to use for establishing a secure connection. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
storage_engine
The default storage engine (table type). To set the storage engine at server startup, use the --default-storage-engine option. See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.
sync_binlog
If the value of this variable is positive, the MySQL server synchronizes its binary log to disk (using fdatasync()) after every sync_binlog writes to the binary log. Note that there is one write to the binary log per statement if autocommit is enabled, and one write per transaction otherwise. The default value is 0, which does no synchronizing to disk. A value of 1 is the safest choice, because in the event of a crash you lose at most one statement or transaction from the binary log. However, it is also the slowest choice (unless the disk has a battery-backed cache, which makes synchronization very fast).
If the value of sync_binlog is 0 (the default), no extra flushing is done. The server relies on the operating system to flush the file contents occasionaly as for any other file.
sync_frm
If this variable is set to 1, when any non-temporary table is created its .frm file is synchronized to disk (using fdatasync()). This is slower but safer in case of a crash. The default is 1.
system_time_zone
The server system time zone. When the server begins executing, it inherits a time zone setting from the machine defaults, possibly modified by the environment of the account used for running the server or the startup script. The value is used to set system_time_zone. Typically the time zone is specified by the TZ environment variable. It also can be specified using the --timezone option of the mysqld_safe script.
The system_time_zone variable differs from time_zone. Although they might have the same value, the latter variable is used to initialize the time zone for each client that connects. See Section 5.10.8, “MySQL Server Time Zone Support”.
table_cache
The number of open tables for all threads. Increasing this value increases the number of file descriptors that mysqld requires. You can check whether you need to increase the table cache by checking the Opened_tables status variable. See Section 5.2.5, “Status Variables”. If the value of Opened_tables is large and you don't do FLUSH TABLES often (which just forces all tables to be closed and reopened), then you should increase the value of the table_cache variable. For more information about the table cache, see Section 6.4.8, “How MySQL Opens and Closes Tables”.
table_lock_wait_timeout
Specifies a wait timeout for table-level locks, in seconds. The default timeout is 50 seconds. The timeout is active only if the connection has open cursors. This variable can also be set globally at runtime (you need the SUPER privilege to do this). It's available as of MySQL 5.0.10.
table_type
This variable is a synonym for storage_engine. In MySQL 5.0, storage_engine is the preferred name.
thread_cache_size
How many threads the server should cache for reuse. When a client disconnects, the client's threads are put in the cache if there are fewer than thread_cache_size threads there. Requests for threads are satisfied by reusing threads taken from the cache if possible, and only when the cache is empty is a new thread created. This variable can be increased to improve performance if you have a lot of new connections. (Normally, this doesn't provide a notable performance improvement if you have a good thread implementation.) By examining the difference between the Connections and Threads_created status variables, you can see how efficient the thread cache is. For details, see Section 5.2.5, “Status Variables”.
thread_concurrency
On Solaris, mysqld calls thr_setconcurrency() with this value. This function enables applications to give the threads system a hint about the desired number of threads that should be run at the same time.
thread_stack
The stack size for each thread. Many of the limits detected by the crash-me test are dependent on this value. The default is large enough for normal operation. See Section 6.1.4, “The MySQL Benchmark Suite”. The default is 192KB.
time_format
This variable is not implemented.
time_zone
The current time zone. This variable is used to initialize the time zone for each client that connects. By default, the initial value of this is 'SYSTEM' (which means, “use the value of system_time_zone”). The value can be specified explicitly at server startup with the --default-time-zone option. See Section 5.10.8, “MySQL Server Time Zone Support”.
timed_mutexes
This variable controls whether InnoDB mutexes are timed. If this variable is set to 0 or OFF (the default), mutex timing is disabled. If the variable is set to 1 or ON, mutex timing is enabled. With timing enabled, the os_wait_times value in the output from SHOW ENGINE INNODB MUTEX indicates the amount of time (in ms) spent in operating system waits. Otherwise, the value is 0. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.3.
tmp_table_size
The maximum size of internal in-memory temporary tables. (The actual limit is determined as the smaller of max_heap_table_size and tmp_table_size.) If an in-memory temporary table exceeds the limit, MySQL automatically converts it to an on-disk MyISAM table. Increase the value of tmp_table_size (and max_heap_table_size if necessary) if you do many advanced GROUP BY queries and you have lots of memory. This variable does not apply to user-created MEMORY tables.
tmpdir
The directory used for temporary files and temporary tables. This variable can be set to a list of several paths that are used in round-robin fashion. Paths should be separated by colon characters (“:”) on Unix and semicolon characters (“;”) on Windows, NetWare, and OS/2.
The multiple-directory feature can be used to spread the load between several physical disks. If the MySQL server is acting as a replication slave, you should not set tmpdir to point to a directory on a memory-based filesystem or to a directory that is cleared when the server host restarts. A replication slave needs some of its temporary files to survive a machine restart so that it can replicate temporary tables or LOAD DATA INFILE operations. If files in the temporary file directory are lost when the server restarts, replication fails. However, if you are using MySQL 4.0.0 or later, you can set the slave's temporary directory using the slave_load_tmpdir variable. In that case, the slave won't use the general tmpdir value and you can set tmpdir to a non-permanent location.
transaction_alloc_block_size
The amount in bytes by which to increase a per-transaction memory pool which needs memory. See the description of transaction_prealloc_size.
transaction_prealloc_size
There is a per-transaction memory pool from which various transaction-related allocations take memory. The initial size of the pool in bytes is transaction_prealloc_size. For every allocation that cannot be satisfied from the pool because it has insufficient memory available, the pool is increased by transaction_alloc_block_size bytes. When the transaction ends, the pool is truncated to transaction_prealloc_size bytes.
By making transaction_prealloc_size sufficiently large to contain all statements within a single transaction, you can avoid many malloc() calls.
tx_isolation
The default transaction isolation level. Defaults to REPEATABLE-READ.
This variable is set by the SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL statement. See Section 12.4.6, “SET TRANSACTION Syntax”. If you set tx_isolation directly to an isolation level name that contains a space, the name should be enclosed within quotes, with the space replaced by a dash. For example:
```
SET tx_isolation = 'READ-COMMITTED';
```
updatable_views_with_limit
This variable controls whether updates to a view can be made when the view does not contain all columns of the primary key defined in the underlying table, if the update statement contains a LIMIT clause. (Such updates often are generated by GUI tools.) An update is an UPDATE or DELETE statement. Primary key here means a PRIMARY KEY, or a UNIQUE index in which no column can contain NULL.
The variable can have two values:
- 1 or YES: Issue a warning only (not an error message). This is the default value.
- 0 or NO: Prohibit the update.
This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.2.
version
The version number for the server.
Starting with MySQL 5.0.24, the version number will also indicate whether the server is a standard release (Community) or Enterprise release (for example, 5.0.28-enterprise-gpl-nt).
version_bdb
The BDB storage engine version.
version_comment
The configure script has a --with-comment option that allows a comment to be specified when building MySQL. This variable contains the value of that comment.
For precompiled binaries, this variable will hold the server version and license information. Starting with MySQL 5.0.24, version_comment will include the full server type and license. For community users this will appear as MySQL Community Edition - Standard (GPL). For Enterprise users, the version might be displayed as MySQL Enterprise Server (GPL). The corresponding license for your MySQL binary is shown in parentheses. For server compiled from source, the default value will be the same as that for Community releases.
version_compile_machine
The type of machine or architecture on which MySQL was built.
version_compile_os
The type of operating system on which MySQL was built.
wait_timeout
The number of seconds the server waits for activity on a non-interactive connection before closing it. This timeout applies only to TCP/IP and Unix socket file connections, not to connections made via named pipes, or shared memory.
On thread startup, the session wait_timeout value is initialized from the global wait_timeout value or from the global interactive_timeout value, depending on the type of client (as defined by the CLIENT_INTERACTIVE connect option to mysql_real_connect()). See also interactive_timeout.

MySQL Enterprise Expert use of server system variables is part of the service offered by the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. To subscribe see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

5.2.4. Using System Variables

5.2.4.1. Structured System Variables
5.2.4.2. Dynamic System Variables

The MySQL server maintains many system variables that indicate how it is configured. Section 5.2.3, “System Variables”, describes the meaning of these variables. Each system variable has a default value. System variables can be set at server startup using options on the command line or in an option file. Most of them can be changed dynamically while the server is running by means of the SET statement, which enables you to modify operation of the server without having to stop and restart it. You can refer to system variable values in expressions.

The server maintains two kinds of system variables. Global variables affect the overall operation of the server. Session variables affect its operation for individual client connections. A given system variable can have both a global and a session value. Global and session system variables are related as follows:

When the server starts, it initializes all global variables to their default values. These defaults can be changed by options specified on the command line or in an option file. (See Section 4.3, “Specifying Program Options”.)
The server also maintains a set of session variables for each client that connects. The client's session variables are initialized at connect time using the current values of the corresponding global variables. For example, the client's SQL mode is controlled by the session sql_mode value, which is initialized when the client connects to the value of the global sql_mode value.

System variable values can be set globally at server startup by using options on the command line or in an option file. When you use a startup option to set a variable that takes a numeric value, the value can be given with a suffix of K, M, or G (either uppercase or lowercase) to indicate a multiplier of 1024, 1024² or 1024³; that is, units of kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, respectively. Thus, the following command starts the server with a query cache size of 16 megabytes and a maximum packet size of one gigabyte:

mysqld --query_cache_size=16M --max_allowed_packet=1G

Within an option file, those variables are set like this:

[mysqld]
query_cache_size=16M
max_allowed_packet=1G

The lettercase of suffix letters does not matter; 16M and 16m are equivalent, as are 1G and 1g.

If you want to restrict the maximum value to which a system variable can be set at runtime with the SET statement, you can specify this maximum by using an option of the form --maximum-var_name=value at server startup. For example, to prevent the value of query_cache_size from being increased to more than 32MB at runtime, use the option --maximum-query_cache_size=32M.

Many system variables are dynamic and can be changed while the server runs by using the SET statement. For a list, see Section 5.2.4.2, “Dynamic System Variables”. To change a system variable with SET, refer to it as var_name, optionally preceded by a modifier:

To indicate explicitly that a variable is a global variable, precede its name by GLOBAL or @@global.. The SUPER privilege is required to set global variables.
To indicate explicitly that a variable is a session variable, precede its name by SESSION, @@session., or @@. Setting a session variable requires no special privilege, but a client can change only its own session variables, not those of any other client.
LOCAL and @@local. are synonyms for SESSION and @@session..
If no modifier is present, SET changes the session variable.

A SET statement can contain multiple variable assignments, separated by commas. If you set several system variables, the most recent GLOBAL or SESSION modifier in the statement is used for following variables that have no modifier specified.

Examples:

SET sort_buffer_size=10000;
SET @@local.sort_buffer_size=10000;
SET GLOBAL sort_buffer_size=1000000, SESSION sort_buffer_size=1000000;
SET @@sort_buffer_size=1000000;
SET @@global.sort_buffer_size=1000000, @@local.sort_buffer_size=1000000;

When you assign a value to a system variable with SET, you cannot use suffix letters in the value (as can be done with startup options). However, the value can take the form of an expression:

SET sort_buffer_size = 10 * 1024 * 1024;

The @@var_name syntax for system variables is supported for compatibility with some other database systems.

If you change a session system variable, the value remains in effect until your session ends or until you change the variable to a different value. The change is not visible to other clients.

If you change a global system variable, the value is remembered and used for new connections until the server restarts. (To make a global system variable setting permanent, you should set it in an option file.) The change is visible to any client that accesses that global variable. However, the change affects the corresponding session variable only for clients that connect after the change. The global variable change does not affect the session variable for any client that is currently connected (not even that of the client that issues the SET GLOBAL statement).

To prevent incorrect usage, MySQL produces an error if you use SET GLOBAL with a variable that can only be used with SET SESSION or if you do not specify GLOBAL (or @@global.) when setting a global variable.

To set a SESSION variable to the GLOBAL value or a GLOBAL value to the compiled-in MySQL default value, use the DEFAULT keyword. For example, the following two statements are identical in setting the session value of max_join_size to the global value:

SET max_join_size=DEFAULT;
SET @@session.max_join_size=@@global.max_join_size;

Not all system variables can be set to DEFAULT. In such cases, use of DEFAULT results in an error.

You can refer to the values of specific global or sesson system variables in expressions by using one of the @@-modifiers. For example, you can retrieve values in a SELECT statement like this:

SELECT @@global.sql_mode, @@session.sql_mode, @@sql_mode;

When you refer to a system variable in an expression as @@var_name (that is, when you do not specify @@global. or @@session.), MySQL returns the session value if it exists and the global value otherwise. (This differs from SET @@var_name = value, which always refers to the session value.)

Note

Some system variables can be enabled with the SET statement by setting them to ON or 1, or disabled by setting them to OFF or 0. However, to set such a variable on the command line or in an option file, you must set it to 1 or 0; setting it to ON or OFF will not work. For example, on the command line, --delay_key_write=1 works but --delay_key_write=ON does not.

To display system variable names and values, use the SHOW VARIABLES statement:

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES;
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Variable_name                   | Value                               |
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| auto_increment_increment        | 1                                   |
| auto_increment_offset           | 1                                   |
| automatic_sp_privileges         | ON                                  |
| back_log                        | 50                                  |
| basedir                         | /                                   |
| bdb_cache_size                  | 8388600                             |
| bdb_home                        | /var/lib/mysql/                     |
| bdb_log_buffer_size             | 32768                               |
| bdb_logdir                      |                                     |
| bdb_max_lock                    | 10000                               |
| bdb_shared_data                 | OFF                                 |
| bdb_tmpdir                      | /tmp/                               |
| binlog_cache_size               | 32768                               |
| bulk_insert_buffer_size         | 8388608                             |
| character_set_client            | latin1                              |
| character_set_connection        | latin1                              |
| character_set_database          | latin1                              |
| character_set_results           | latin1                              |
| character_set_server            | latin1                              |
| character_set_system            | utf8                                |
| character_sets_dir              | /usr/share/mysql/charsets/          |
| collation_connection            | latin1_swedish_ci                   |
| collation_database              | latin1_swedish_ci                   |
| collation_server                | latin1_swedish_ci                   |
...
| innodb_additional_mem_pool_size | 1048576                             |
| innodb_autoextend_increment     | 8                                   |
| innodb_buffer_pool_awe_mem_mb   | 0                                   |
| innodb_buffer_pool_size         | 8388608                             |
| innodb_checksums                | ON                                  |
| innodb_commit_concurrency       | 0                                   |
| innodb_concurrency_tickets      | 500                                 |
| innodb_data_file_path           | ibdata1:10M:autoextend              |
| innodb_data_home_dir            |                                     |
...
| version                         | 5.0.19                              |
| version_comment                 | MySQL Community Edition - (GPL)     |
| version_compile_machine         | i686                                |
| version_compile_os              | pc-linux-gnu                        |
| wait_timeout                    | 28800                               |
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------------+

With a LIKE clause, the statement displays only those variables that match the pattern. To obtain a specific variable name, use a LIKE clause as shown:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'max_join_size';
SHOW SESSION VARIABLES LIKE 'max_join_size';

To get a list of variables whose name match a pattern, use the “%” wildcard character in a LIKE clause:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%size%';
SHOW GLOBAL VARIABLES LIKE '%size%';

Wildcard characters can be used in any position within the pattern to be matched. Strictly speaking, because “_” is a wildcard that matches any single character, you should escape it as “\_” to match it literally. In practice, this is rarely necessary.

For SHOW VARIABLES, if you specify neither GLOBAL nor SESSION, MySQL returns SESSION values.

The reason for requiring the GLOBAL keyword when setting GLOBAL-only variables but not when retrieving them is to prevent problems in the future. If we were to remove a SESSION variable that has the same name as a GLOBAL variable, a client with the SUPER privilege might accidentally change the GLOBAL variable rather than just the SESSION variable for its own connection. If we add a SESSION variable with the same name as a GLOBAL variable, a client that intends to change the GLOBAL variable might find only its own SESSION variable changed.

5.2.4.1. Structured System Variables

A structured variable differs from a regular system variable in two respects:

Its value is a structure with components that specify server parameters considered to be closely related.
There might be several instances of a given type of structured variable. Each one has a different name and refers to a different resource maintained by the server.

MySQL 5.0 supports one structured variable type, which specifies parameters governing the operation of key caches. A key cache structured variable has these components:

key_buffer_size
key_cache_block_size
key_cache_division_limit
key_cache_age_threshold

This section describes the syntax for referring to structured variables. Key cache variables are used for syntax examples, but specific details about how key caches operate are found elsewhere, in Section 6.4.6, “The MyISAM Key Cache”.

To refer to a component of a structured variable instance, you can use a compound name in instance_name.component_name format. Examples:

hot_cache.key_buffer_size
hot_cache.key_cache_block_size
cold_cache.key_cache_block_size

For each structured system variable, an instance with the name of default is always predefined. If you refer to a component of a structured variable without any instance name, the default instance is used. Thus, default.key_buffer_size and key_buffer_size both refer to the same system variable.

Structured variable instances and components follow these naming rules:

For a given type of structured variable, each instance must have a name that is unique within variables of that type. However, instance names need not be unique across structured variable types. For example, each structured variable has an instance named default, so default is not unique across variable types.
The names of the components of each structured variable type must be unique across all system variable names. If this were not true (that is, if two different types of structured variables could share component member names), it would not be clear which default structured variable to use for references to member names that are not qualified by an instance name.
If a structured variable instance name is not legal as an unquoted identifier, refer to it as a quoted identifier using backticks. For example, hot-cache is not legal, but `hot-cache` is.
global, session, and local are not legal instance names. This avoids a conflict with notation such as @@global.var_name for referring to non-structured system variables.

Currently, the first two rules have no possibility of being violated because the only structured variable type is the one for key caches. These rules will assume greater significance if some other type of structured variable is created in the future.

With one exception, you can refer to structured variable components using compound names in any context where simple variable names can occur. For example, you can assign a value to a structured variable using a command-line option:

shell> mysqld --hot_cache.key_buffer_size=64K

In an option file, use this syntax:

[mysqld]
hot_cache.key_buffer_size=64K

If you start the server with this option, it creates a key cache named hot_cache with a size of 64KB in addition to the default key cache that has a default size of 8MB.

Suppose that you start the server as follows:

shell> mysqld --key_buffer_size=256K \
         --extra_cache.key_buffer_size=128K \
         --extra_cache.key_cache_block_size=2048

In this case, the server sets the size of the default key cache to 256KB. (You could also have written --default.key_buffer_size=256K.) In addition, the server creates a second key cache named extra_cache that has a size of 128KB, with the size of block buffers for caching table index blocks set to 2048 bytes.

The following example starts the server with three different key caches having sizes in a 3:1:1 ratio:

shell> mysqld --key_buffer_size=6M \
         --hot_cache.key_buffer_size=2M \
         --cold_cache.key_buffer_size=2M

Structured variable values may be set and retrieved at runtime as well. For example, to set a key cache named hot_cache to a size of 10MB, use either of these statements:

mysql> SET GLOBAL hot_cache.key_buffer_size = 10*1024*1024;
mysql> SET @@global.hot_cache.key_buffer_size = 10*1024*1024;

To retrieve the cache size, do this:

mysql> SELECT @@global.hot_cache.key_buffer_size;

However, the following statement does not work. The variable is not interpreted as a compound name, but as a simple string for a LIKE pattern-matching operation:

mysql> SHOW GLOBAL VARIABLES LIKE 'hot_cache.key_buffer_size';

This is the exception to being able to use structured variable names anywhere a simple variable name may occur.

5.2.4.2. Dynamic System Variables

Many server system variables are dynamic and can be set at runtime using SET GLOBAL or SET SESSION. You can also obtain their values using SELECT. See Section 5.2.4, “Using System Variables”.

The following table shows the full list of all dynamic system variables. The last column indicates for each variable whether GLOBAL or SESSION (or both) apply. The table also lists session options that can be set with the SET statement. Section 12.5.3, “SET Syntax”, discusses these options.

Variables that have a type of “string” take a string value. Variables that have a type of “numeric” take a numeric value. Variables that have a type of “boolean” can be set to 0, 1, ON or OFF. (If you set them on the command line or in an option file, use the numeric values.) Variables that are marked as “enumeration” normally should be set to one of the available values for the variable, but can also be set to the number that corresponds to the desired enumeration value. For enumerated system variables, the first enumeration value corresponds to 0. This differs from ENUM columns, for which the first enumeration value corresponds to 1.

Variable Name	Variable Type	Variable Scope
`autocommit`	boolean	`SESSION`
`big_tables`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`binlog_cache_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`bulk_insert_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_server`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_client`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_connection`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_database`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_results`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`character_set_system`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`collation_connection`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`collation_database`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`collation_server`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`completion_type`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`concurrent_insert`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`connect_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`date_format`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`datetime_format`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`default_week_format`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`delay_key_write`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`delayed_insert_limit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`delayed_insert_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`delayed_queue_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`div_precision_increment`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`engine_condition_pushdown`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`expire_logs_days`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`flush`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`flush_time`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`foreign_key_checks`	boolean	`SESSION`
`ft_boolean_syntax`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ft_max_word_len`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ft_min_word_len`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`ft_query_expansion_limit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ft_stopword_file`	filename	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`group_concat_max_len`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`identity`	numeric	`SESSION`
`innodb_autoextend_increment`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_checksums`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_commit_concurrency`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_concurrency_tickets`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`innodb_max_dirty_pages_pct`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_max_purge_lag`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_support_xa`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_sync_spin_loops`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_table_locks`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`innodb_thread_concurrency`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`innodb_thread_sleep_delay`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`insert_id`	numeric	`SESSION`
`interactive_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`join_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`keep_files_on_create`	boolean	`GLOBAL`
`key_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`last_insert_id`	numeric	`SESSION`
`lc_time_names`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`local_infile`	boolean	`GLOBAL`
`log_bin_trust_function_creators`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`log_queries_not_using_indexes`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`log_warnings`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`long_query_time`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`low_priority_updates`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_allowed_packet`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_binlog_cache_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_binlog_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_connect_errors`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_connections`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_delayed_threads`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_error_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_heap_table_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_insert_delayed_threads`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_join_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_length_for_sort_data`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_prepared_stmt_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_relay_log_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_seeks_for_key`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_sort_length`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_sp_recursion_depth`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`max_tmp_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_user_connections`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`max_write_lock_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`multi_range_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`multi_read_range`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`myisam_block_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`myisam_data_pointer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`myisam_max_sort_file_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`myisam_repair_threads`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`myisam_sort_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`myisam_stats_method`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ndb_autoincrement_prefetch_sz`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ndb_cache_check_time`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ndb_force_send`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ndb_use_exact_count`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`ndbcluster`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`net_buffer_length`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`net_read_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`net_retry_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`net_write_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`old_passwords`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`optimizer_prune_level`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`optimizer_search_depth`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`preload_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`profiling_history_size`	numeric	`SESSION`
`query_alloc_block_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_cache_limit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_cache_min_res_unit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_cache_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_cache_type`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_cache_wlock_invalidate`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`query_prealloc_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`range_alloc_block_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`read_only`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`read_rnd_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`rpl_recovery_rank`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`secure_auth`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`server_id`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`slave_net_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`slave_transaction_retries`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`slow_launch_time`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sort_buffer_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_mode`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_big_selects`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_big_tables`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_buffer_result`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_log_bin`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_log_off`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_log_update`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_low_priority_updates`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_max_join_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_notes`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sql_quote_show_create`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_safe_updates`	boolean	`SESSION`
`sql_select_limit`	numeric	`SESSION`
`sql_slave_skip_counter`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`sql_warnings`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sync_binlog`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`sync_frm`	boolean	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`table_cache`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`table_lock_wait_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`table_open_cache`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`table_type`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`thread_cache_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`time_zone`	string	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`timestamp`	string	`SESSION`
`tmp_table_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`transaction_alloc_block_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`transaction_prealloc_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`tx_isolation`	enumeration	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`unique_checks`	boolean	`SESSION`
`wait_timeout`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`

MySQL Enterprise Improper configuration of system variables can adversely affect performance and security. The MySQL Enterprise Monitor continually monitors system variables and provides expert advice about appropriate settings. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

5.2.5. Status Variables

The server maintains many status variables that provide information about its operation. You can view these variables and their values by using the SHOW [GLOBAL] STATUS statement. The optional GLOBAL keyword aggregates the values over all connections.

mysql> SHOW GLOBAL STATUS;
+-----------------------------------+------------+
| Variable_name                     | Value      |
+-----------------------------------+------------+
| Aborted_clients                   | 0          |
| Aborted_connects                  | 0          |
| Bytes_received                    | 155372598  |
| Bytes_sent                        | 1176560426 |
...
| Connections                       | 30023      |
| Created_tmp_disk_tables           | 0          |
| Created_tmp_files                 | 3          |
| Created_tmp_tables                | 2          |
...
| Threads_created                   | 217        |
| Threads_running                   | 88         |
| Uptime                            | 1389872    |
+-----------------------------------+------------+

The following table lists all available server status variables:

Variable Name	Variable Type	Variable Scope
`Aborted_clients`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Aborted_connects`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Binlog_cache_disk_use`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Binlog_cache_use`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Bytes_received`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Bytes_sent`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_admin_commands`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_alter_db`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_alter_event`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_alter_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_analyze`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_backup_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_begin`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_call_procedure`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_change_db`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_change_master`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_check`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_checksum`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_commit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_db`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_event`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_function`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_index`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_create_user`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_dealloc_sql`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_delete`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_delete_multi`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_do`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_db`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_event`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_function`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_index`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_drop_user`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_execute_sql`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_flush`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_grant`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_ha_close`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_ha_open`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_ha_read`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_help`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_insert`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_insert_select`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_kill`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_load`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_lock_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_optimize`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_preload_keys`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_prepare_sql`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_purge`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_purge_before_date`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_rename_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_repair`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_replace`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_replace_select`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_reset`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_restore_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_revoke`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_revoke_all`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_rollback`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_savepoint`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_select`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_set_option`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_binlog_events`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_binlogs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_charsets`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_collations`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_column_types`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_create_db`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_create_event`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_create_table`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_databases`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_engine_logs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_engine_mutex`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_engine_status`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_errors`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_events`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_fields`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_grants`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_keys`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_master_status`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_new_master`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_open_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_plugins`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_privileges`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_processlist`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_slave_hosts`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_slave_status`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_status`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_storage_engines`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_triggers`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_variables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_show_warnings`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_slave_start`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_slave_stop`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_close`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_execute`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_fetch`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_prepare`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_reset`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_stmt_send_long_data`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_truncate`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_unlock_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_update`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_update_multi`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_commit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_end`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_prepare`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_recover`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_rollback`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Com_xa_start`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Compression`	numeric	`SESSION`
`Connections`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Created_tmp_disk_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Created_tmp_files`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Created_tmp_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Delayed_errors`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Delayed_insert_threads`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Delayed_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Flush_commands`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Handler_commit`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_delete`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_discover`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_prepare`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_first`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_key`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_next`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_prev`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_rnd`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_read_rnd_next`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_rollback`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_savepoint`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_savepoint_rollback`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_update`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Handler_write`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_data`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_dirty`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_flushed`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_latched`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_misc`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_rnd`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_seq`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_read_requests`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_reads`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_wait_free`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_buffer_pool_write_requests`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_fsyncs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_pending_fsyncs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_pending_reads`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_pending_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_read`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_reads`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_data_written`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_dblwr_pages_written`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_dblwr_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_log_waits`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_log_write_requests`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_log_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_os_log_fsyncs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_os_log_pending_fsyncs`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_os_log_pending_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_os_log_written`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_page_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_pages_created`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_pages_read`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_pages_written`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_row_lock_current_waits`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_row_lock_time`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_row_lock_time_avg`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_row_lock_time_max`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_row_lock_waits`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_rows_deleted`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_rows_inserted`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_rows_read`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Innodb_rows_updated`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_blocks_not_flushed`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_blocks_unused`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_blocks_used`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_read_requests`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_reads`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_write_requests`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Key_writes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Last_query_cost`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Max_used_connections`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Ndb_cluster_node_id`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Ndb_config_from_host`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Ndb_config_from_port`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Not_flushed_delayed_rows`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Open_files`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Open_streams`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Open_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Opened_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`prepared_stmt_count`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Qcache_free_blocks`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_free_memory`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_hits`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_inserts`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_lowmem_prunes`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_not_cached`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_queries_in_cache`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Qcache_total_blocks`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Questions`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Relay_Log_Space`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Rpl_status`		`GLOBAL`
`Select_full_join`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Select_full_range_join`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Select_range`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Select_range_check`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Select_scan`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Slave_open_temp_tables`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Slave_retried_transactions`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Slave_running`	boolean	`GLOBAL`
`Slow_launch_threads`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Slow_queries`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Sort_merge_passes`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Sort_range`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Sort_rows`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Sort_scan`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`
`Table_locks_immediate`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Table_locks_waited`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Tc_log_max_pages_used`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Tc_log_page_size`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Tc_log_page_waits`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Threads_cached`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Threads_connected`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Threads_created`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Threads_running`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Uptime`	numeric	`GLOBAL`
`Uptime_since_flush_status`	numeric	`GLOBAL` \| `SESSION`

Note

Before MySQL 5.0.2, SHOW STATUS returned global status values. Because the default as of 5.0.2 is to return session values, this is incompatible with previous versions. To issue a SHOW STATUS statement that will retrieve global status values for all versions of MySQL, write it like this:

SHOW /*!50002 GLOBAL */ STATUS;

Many status variables are reset to 0 by the FLUSH STATUS statement.

MySQL Enterprise For expert advice on using status variables, subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

The status variables have the following meanings. Variables with no version indicated were already present prior to MySQL 5.0. For information regarding their implementation history, see MySQL 3.23, 4.0, 4.1 Reference Manual.

Aborted_clients
The number of connections that were aborted because the client died without closing the connection properly. See Section B.1.2.10, “Communication Errors and Aborted Connections”.
Aborted_connects
The number of failed attempts to connect to the MySQL server. See Section B.1.2.10, “Communication Errors and Aborted Connections”.
Binlog_cache_disk_use
The number of transactions that used the temporary binary log cache but that exceeded the value of binlog_cache_size and used a temporary file to store statements from the transaction.
Binlog_cache_use
The number of transactions that used the temporary binary log cache.
Bytes_received
The number of bytes received from all clients.
Bytes_sent
The number of bytes sent to all clients.
Com_xxx
The Com_xxx statement counter variables indicate the number of times each xxx statement has been executed. There is one status variable for each type of statement. For example, Com_delete and Com_insert count DELETE and INSERT statements, respectively. However, if a query result is returned from query cache, the server increments the Qcache_hits status variable, not Com_select. See Section 6.5.4.4, “Query Cache Status and Maintenance”.
All of the Com_stmt_xxx variables are increased even if a prepared statement argument is unknown or an error occurred during execution. In other words, their values correspond to the number of requests issued, not to the number of requests successfully completed.
The Com_stmt_xxx status variables were added in 5.0.8:
- Com_stmt_prepare
- Com_stmt_execute
- Com_stmt_fetch
- Com_stmt_send_long_data
- Com_stmt_reset
- Com_stmt_close
Those variables stand for prepared statement commands. Their names refer to the COM_xxx command set used in the network layer. In other words, their values increase whenever prepared statement API calls such as mysql_stmt_prepare(), mysql_stmt_execute(), and so forth are executed. However, Com_stmt_prepare, Com_stmt_execute and Com_stmt_close also increase for PREPARE, EXECUTE, or DEALLOCATE PREPARE, respectively. Additionally, the values of the older (available since MySQL 4.1.3) statement counter variables Com_prepare_sql, Com_execute_sql, and Com_dealloc_sql increase for the PREPARE, EXECUTE, and DEALLOCATE PREPARE statements. Com_stmt_fetch stands for the total number of network round-trips issued when fetching from cursors.
Compression
Whether the client connection uses compression in the client/server protocol. Added in MySQL 5.0.16.
Connections
The number of connection attempts (successful or not) to the MySQL server.
Created_tmp_disk_tables
The number of temporary tables on disk created automatically by the server while executing statements.
Created_tmp_files
How many temporary files mysqld has created.
Created_tmp_tables
The number of in-memory temporary tables created automatically by the server while executing statements. If Created_tmp_disk_tables is large, you may want to increase the tmp_table_size value to cause temporary tables to be memory-based instead of disk-based.
Delayed_errors
The number of rows written with INSERT DELAYED for which some error occurred (probably duplicate key).
Delayed_insert_threads
The number of INSERT DELAYED handler threads in use.
Delayed_writes
The number of INSERT DELAYED rows written.
Flush_commands
The number of executed FLUSH statements.
Handler_commit
The number of internal COMMIT statements.
Handler_delete
The number of times that rows have been deleted from tables.
Handler_discover
The MySQL server can ask the NDB Cluster storage engine if it knows about a table with a given name. This is called discovery. Handler_discover indicates the number of times that tables have been discovered via this mechanism.
Handler_prepare
A counter for the prepare phase of two-phase commit operations. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Handler_read_first
The number of times the first entry was read from an index. If this value is high, it suggests that the server is doing a lot of full index scans; for example, SELECT col1 FROM foo, assuming that col1 is indexed.
Handler_read_key
The number of requests to read a row based on a key. If this value is high, it is a good indication that your tables are properly indexed for your queries.
Handler_read_next
The number of requests to read the next row in key order. This value is incremented if you are querying an index column with a range constraint or if you are doing an index scan.
Handler_read_prev
The number of requests to read the previous row in key order. This read method is mainly used to optimize ORDER BY ... DESC.
Handler_read_rnd
The number of requests to read a row based on a fixed position. This value is high if you are doing a lot of queries that require sorting of the result. You probably have a lot of queries that require MySQL to scan entire tables or you have joins that don't use keys properly.
Handler_read_rnd_next
The number of requests to read the next row in the data file. This value is high if you are doing a lot of table scans. Generally this suggests that your tables are not properly indexed or that your queries are not written to take advantage of the indexes you have.
Handler_rollback
The number of requests for a storage engine to perform a rollback operation.
Handler_savepoint
The number of requests for a storage engine to place a savepoint. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Handler_savepoint_rollback
The number of requests for a storage engine to roll back to a savepoint. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Handler_update
The number of requests to update a row in a table.
Handler_write
The number of requests to insert a row in a table.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_data
The number of pages containing data (dirty or clean). Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_dirty
The number of pages currently dirty. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_flushed
The number of buffer pool page-flush requests. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free
The number of free pages. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_latched
The number of latched pages in InnoDB buffer pool. These are pages currently being read or written or that cannot be flushed or removed for some other reason. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_misc
The number of pages that are busy because they have been allocated for administrative overhead such as row locks or the adaptive hash index. This value can also be calculated as Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total – Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free – Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_data. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total
The total size of buffer pool, in pages. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_rnd
The number of “random” read-aheads initiated by InnoDB. This happens when a query scans a large portion of a table but in random order. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_seq
The number of sequential read-aheads initiated by InnoDB. This happens when InnoDB does a sequential full table scan. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_read_requests
The number of logical read requests InnoDB has done. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_reads
The number of logical reads that InnoDB could not satisfy from the buffer pool and had to do a single-page read. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_wait_free
Normally, writes to the InnoDB buffer pool happen in the background. However, if it is necessary to read or create a page and no clean pages are available, it is also necessary to wait for pages to be flushed first. This counter counts instances of these waits. If the buffer pool size has been set properly, this value should be small. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_buffer_pool_write_requests
The number writes done to the InnoDB buffer pool. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_fsyncs
The number of fsync() operations so far. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_pending_fsyncs
The current number of pending fsync() operations. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_pending_reads
The current number of pending reads. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_pending_writes
The current number of pending writes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_read
The amount of data read so far, in bytes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_reads
The total number of data reads. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_writes
The total number of data writes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_data_written
The amount of data written so far, in bytes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_dblwr_writes, Innodb_dblwr_pages_written
The number of doublewrite operations that have been performed and the number of pages that have been written for this purpose. Added in MySQL 5.0.2. See Section 13.2.14.1, “InnoDB Disk I/O”.
Innodb_log_waits
The number of times that the log buffer was too small and a wait was required for it to be flushed before continuing. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_log_write_requests
The number of log write requests. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_log_writes
The number of physical writes to the log file. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_os_log_fsyncs
The number of fsync() writes done to the log file. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_os_log_pending_fsyncs
The number of pending log file fsync() operations. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_os_log_pending_writes
The number of pending log file writes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_os_log_written
The number of bytes written to the log file. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_page_size
The compiled-in InnoDB page size (default 16KB). Many values are counted in pages; the page size allows them to be easily converted to bytes. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_pages_created
The number of pages created. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_pages_read
The number of pages read. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_pages_written
The number of pages written. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_row_lock_current_waits
The number of row locks currently being waited for. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Innodb_row_lock_time
The total time spent in acquiring row locks, in milliseconds. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Innodb_row_lock_time_avg
The average time to acquire a row lock, in milliseconds. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Innodb_row_lock_time_max
The maximum time to acquire a row lock, in milliseconds. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Innodb_row_lock_waits
The number of times a row lock had to be waited for. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Innodb_rows_deleted
The number of rows deleted from InnoDB tables. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_rows_inserted
The number of rows inserted into InnoDB tables. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_rows_read
The number of rows read from InnoDB tables. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Innodb_rows_updated
The number of rows updated in InnoDB tables. Added in MySQL 5.0.2.
Key_blocks_not_flushed
The number of key blocks in the key cache that have changed but have not yet been flushed to disk.
Key_blocks_unused
The number of unused blocks in the key cache. You can use this value to determine how much of the key cache is in use; see the discussion of key_buffer_size in Section 5.2.3, “System Variables”.
Key_blocks_used
The number of used blocks in the key cache. This value is a high-water mark that indicates the maximum number of blocks that have ever been in use at one time.
Key_read_requests
The number of requests to read a key block from the cache.
Key_reads
The number of physical reads of a key block from disk. If Key_reads is large, then your key_buffer_size value is probably too small. The cache miss rate can be calculated as Key_reads/Key_read_requests.
Key_write_requests
The number of requests to write a key block to the cache.
Key_writes
The number of physical writes of a key block to disk.
Last_query_cost
The total cost of the last compiled query as computed by the query optimizer. This is useful for comparing the cost of different query plans for the same query. The default value of 0 means that no query has been compiled yet. This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.1, with a default value of -1. In MySQL 5.0.7, the default was changed to 0; also in version 5.0.7, the scope of Last_query_cost was changed to session rather than global.
Prior to MySQL 5.0.16, this variable was not updated for queries served from the query cache.
Max_used_connections
The maximum number of connections that have been in use simultaneously since the server started.
Ndb_cluster_node_id
If the server is acting as a MySQL Cluster node, then the value of this variable its node ID in the cluster.
If the server is not part of a MySQL Cluster, then the value of this variable is 0.
Ndb_config_from_host
If the server is part of a MySQL Cluster, the value of this variable is the hostname or IP address of the Cluster management server from which it gets its configuration data.
If the server is not part of a MySQL Cluster, then the value of this variable is an empty string.
Prior to MySQL 5.0.23, this variable was named Ndb_connected_host.
Ndb_config_from_port
If the server is part of a MySQL Cluster, the value of this variable is the number of the port through which it is connected to the Cluster management server from which it gets its configuration data.
If the server is not part of a MySQL Cluster, then the value of this variable is 0.
Prior to MySQL 5.0.23, this variable was named Ndb_connected_port.
Ndb_number_of_data_nodes
If the server is part of a MySQL Cluster, the value of this variable is the number of data nodes in the cluster.
If the server is not part of a MySQL Cluster, then the value of this variable is 0.
Prior to MySQL 5.0.29, this variable was named Ndb_number_of_storage_nodes.
Not_flushed_delayed_rows
The number of rows waiting to be written in INSERT DELAY queues.
Open_files
The number of files that are open.
Open_streams
The number of streams that are open (used mainly for logging).
Open_tables
The number of tables that are open.
Opened_tables
The number of tables that have been opened. If Opened_tables is big, your table_cache value is probably too small.
Prepared_stmt_count
The current number of prepared statements. (The maximum number of statements is given by the max_prepared_stmt_count system variable.) This variable was added in MySQL 5.0.32.
Qcache_free_blocks
The number of free memory blocks in the query cache.
Qcache_free_memory
The amount of free memory for the query cache.
Qcache_hits
The number of query cache hits.
Qcache_inserts
The number of queries added to the query cache.
Qcache_lowmem_prunes
The number of queries that were deleted from the query cache because of low memory.
Qcache_not_cached
The number of non-cached queries (not cacheable, or not cached due to the query_cache_type setting).
Qcache_queries_in_cache
The number of queries registered in the query cache.
Qcache_total_blocks
The total number of blocks in the query cache.
Questions
The number of statements that clients have sent to the server.
Rpl_status
The status of fail-safe replication (not yet implemented).
Select_full_join
The number of joins that perform table scans because they do not use indexes. If this value is not 0, you should carefully check the indexes of your tables.
Select_full_range_join
The number of joins that used a range search on a reference table.
Select_range
The number of joins that used ranges on the first table. This is normally not a critical issue even if the value is quite large.
Select_range_check
The number of joins without keys that check for key usage after each row. If this is not 0, you should carefully check the indexes of your tables.
Select_scan
The number of joins that did a full scan of the first table.
Slave_open_temp_tables
The number of temporary tables that the slave SQL thread currently has open.
Slave_running
This is ON if this server is a slave that is connected to a master.
Slave_retried_transactions
The total number of times since startup that the replication slave SQL thread has retried transactions. This variable was added in version 5.0.4.
Slow_launch_threads
The number of threads that have taken more than slow_launch_time seconds to create.
Slow_queries
The number of queries that have taken more than long_query_time seconds. See Section 5.11.4, “The Slow Query Log”.
Sort_merge_passes
The number of merge passes that the sort algorithm has had to do. If this value is large, you should consider increasing the value of the sort_buffer_size system variable.
Sort_range
The number of sorts that were done using ranges.
Sort_rows
The number of sorted rows.
Sort_scan
The number of sorts that were done by scanning the table.
Ssl_xxx
Variables used for SSL connections.
Table_locks_immediate
The number of times that a table lock was acquired immediately.
Table_locks_waited
The number of times that a table lock could not be acquired immediately and a wait was needed. If this is high and you have performance problems, you should first optimize your queries, and then either split your table or tables or use replication.
Tc_log_max_pages_used
For the memory-mapped implementation of the log that is used by mysqld when it acts as the transaction coordinator for recovery of internal XA transactions, this variable indicates the largest number of pages used for the log since the server started. If the product of Tc_log_max_pages_used and Tc_log_page_size is always significantly less than the log size, the size is larger than necessary and can be reduced. (The size is set by the --log-tc-size option. Currently, this variable is unused: It is unneeded for binary log-based recovery, and the memory-mapped recovery log method is not used unless the number of storage engines capable of two-phase commit is greater than one. (InnoDB is the only applicable engine.) Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Tc_log_page_size
The page size used for the memory-mapped implementation of the XA recovery log. The default value is determined using getpagesize(). Currently, this variable is unused for the same reasons as described for Tc_log_max_pages_used. Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Tc_log_page_waits
For the memory-mapped implementation of the recovery log, this variable increments each time the server was not able to commit a transaction and had to wait for a free page in the log. If this value is large, you might want to increase the log size (with the --log-tc-size option). For binary log-based recovery, this variable increments each time the binary log cannot be closed because there are two-phase commits in progress. (The close operation waits until all such transactions are finished.) Added in MySQL 5.0.3.
Threads_cached
The number of threads in the thread cache.
Threads_connected
The number of currently open connections.
Threads_created
The number of threads created to handle connections. If Threads_created is big, you may want to increase the thread_cache_size value. The cache miss rate can be calculated as Threads_created/Connections.
Threads_running
The number of threads that are not sleeping.
Uptime
The number of seconds that the server has been up.

5.2.6. SQL Modes

The MySQL server can operate in different SQL modes, and can apply these modes differently for different clients. This capability enables each application to tailor the server's operating mode to its own requirements.

For answers to some questions that are often asked about server SQL modes in MySQL, see Section A.3, “MySQL 5.0 FAQ — Server SQL Mode”.

Modes define what SQL syntax MySQL should support and what kind of data validation checks it should perform. This makes it easier to use MySQL in different environments and to use MySQL together with other database servers.

You can set the default SQL mode by starting mysqld with the --sql-mode="modes" option, or by using sql-mode="modes" in my.cnf (Unix operating systems) or my.ini (Windows). modes is a list of different modes separated by comma (“,”) characters. The default value is empty (no modes set). The modes value also can be empty (--sql-mode="" on the command line, or sql-mode="" in my.cnf on Unix systems or in my.ini on Windows) if you want to clear it explicitly.

You can change the SQL mode at runtime by using a SET [GLOBAL|SESSION] sql_mode='modes' statement to set the sql_mode system value. Setting the GLOBAL variable requires the SUPER privilege and affects the operation of all clients that connect from that time on. Setting the SESSION variable affects only the current client. Any client can change its own session sql_mode value at any time.

You can retrieve the current global or session sql_mode value with the following statements:

SELECT @@global.sql_mode;
SELECT @@session.sql_mode;

The most important sql_mode values are probably these:

ANSI
This mode changes syntax and behavior to conform more closely to standard SQL.
STRICT_TRANS_TABLES
If a value could not be inserted as given into a transactional table, abort the statement. For a non-transactional table, abort the statement if the value occurs in a single-row statement or the first row of a multiple-row statement. More detail is given later in this section. (Implemented in MySQL 5.0.2)
TRADITIONAL
Make MySQL behave like a “traditional” SQL database system. A simple description of this mode is “give an error instead of a warning” when inserting an incorrect value into a column. Note: The INSERT/UPDATE aborts as soon as the error is noticed. This may not be what you want if you are using a non-transactional storage engine, because data changes made prior to the error may not be rolled back, resulting in a “partially done” update. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)

When this manual refers to “strict mode,” it means a mode where at least one of STRICT_TRANS_TABLES or STRICT_ALL_TABLES is enabled.

The following list describes all supported modes:

ALLOW_INVALID_DATES
Don't do full checking of dates. Check only that the month is in the range from 1 to 12 and the day is in the range from 1 to 31. This is very convenient for Web applications where you obtain year, month, and day in three different fields and you want to store exactly what the user inserted (without date validation). This mode applies to DATE and DATETIME columns. It does not apply TIMESTAMP columns, which always require a valid date.
This mode is implemented in MySQL 5.0.2. Before 5.0.2, this was the default MySQL date-handling mode. As of 5.0.2, the server requires that month and day values be legal, and not merely in the range 1 to 12 and 1 to 31, respectively. With strict mode disabled, invalid dates such as '2004-04-31' are converted to '0000-00-00' and a warning is generated. With strict mode enabled, invalid dates generate an error. To allow such dates, enable ALLOW_INVALID_DATES.
ANSI_QUOTES
Treat “"” as an identifier quote character (like the “`” quote character) and not as a string quote character. You can still use “`” to quote identifiers with this mode enabled. With ANSI_QUOTES enabled, you cannot use double quotes to quote literal strings, because it is interpreted as an identifier.
ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO
Produce an error in strict mode (otherwise a warning) when a division by zero (or MOD(X,0)) occurs during an INSERT or UPDATE. If this mode is not enabled, MySQL instead returns NULL for divisions by zero. For INSERT IGNORE or UPDATE IGNORE, MySQL generates a warning for divisions by zero, but the result of the operation is NULL. (Implemented in MySQL 5.0.2)
HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE
From MySQL 5.0.2 on, the precedence of the NOT operator is such that expressions such as NOT a BETWEEN b AND c are parsed as NOT (a BETWEEN b AND c). Before MySQL 5.0.2, the expression is parsed as (NOT a) BETWEEN b AND c. The old higher-precedence behavior can be obtained by enabling the HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE SQL mode. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)
```
mysql> SET sql_mode = '';
mysql> SELECT NOT 1 BETWEEN -5 AND 5;
        -> 0
mysql> SET sql_mode = 'HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE';
mysql> SELECT NOT 1 BETWEEN -5 AND 5;
        -> 1
```
IGNORE_SPACE
Allow spaces between a function name and the “(” character. This causes built-in function names to be treated as reserved words. As a result, identifiers that are the same as function names must be quoted as described in Section 8.2, “Database, Table, Index, Column, and Alias Names”. For example, because there is a COUNT() function, the use of count as a table name in the following statement causes an error:
```
mysql> CREATE TABLE count (i INT);
ERROR 1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax
```
The table name should be quoted:
```
mysql> CREATE TABLE `count` (i INT);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
```
The IGNORE_SPACE SQL mode applies to built-in functions, not to user-defined functions or stored functions. It is always allowable to have spaces after a UDF or stored function name, regardless of whether IGNORE_SPACE is enabled.
For further discussion of IGNORE_SPACE, see Section 8.2.3, “Function Name Parsing and Resolution”.
NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER
Prevent the GRANT statement from automatically creating new users if it would otherwise do so, unless a non-empty password also is specified. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)
NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO
NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO affects handling of AUTO_INCREMENT columns. Normally, you generate the next sequence number for the column by inserting either NULL or 0 into it. NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO suppresses this behavior for 0 so that only NULL generates the next sequence number.
This mode can be useful if 0 has been stored in a table's AUTO_INCREMENT column. (Storing 0 is not a recommended practice, by the way.) For example, if you dump the table with mysqldump and then reload it, MySQL normally generates new sequence numbers when it encounters the 0 values, resulting in a table with contents different from the one that was dumped. Enabling NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO before reloading the dump file solves this problem. mysqldump now automatically includes in its output a statement that enables NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO, to avoid this problem.
NO_BACKSLASH_ESCAPES
Disable the use of the backslash character (“\”) as an escape character within strings. With this mode enabled, backslash becomes an ordinary character like any other. (Implemented in MySQL 5.0.1)
NO_DIR_IN_CREATE
When creating a table, ignore all INDEX DIRECTORY and DATA DIRECTORY directives. This option is useful on slave replication servers.
NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION
Control automatic substitution of the default storage engine when a statement such as CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE specifies a storage engine that is disabled or not compiled in. (Implemented in MySQL 5.0.8)
With NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION disabled, the default engine is used and a warning occurs if the desired engine is known but disabled or not compiled in. If the desired engine is invalid (not a known engine name), an error occurs and the table is not created or altered.
With NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION enabled, an error occurs and the table is not created or altered if the desired engine is unavailable for any reason (whether disabled or invalid).
NO_FIELD_OPTIONS
Do not print MySQL-specific column options in the output of SHOW CREATE TABLE. This mode is used by mysqldump in portability mode.
NO_KEY_OPTIONS
Do not print MySQL-specific index options in the output of SHOW CREATE TABLE. This mode is used by mysqldump in portability mode.
NO_TABLE_OPTIONS
Do not print MySQL-specific table options (such as ENGINE) in the output of SHOW CREATE TABLE. This mode is used by mysqldump in portability mode.

NO_UNSIGNED_SUBTRACTION

In integer subtraction operations, do not mark the result as UNSIGNED if one of the operands is unsigned. In other words, the result of a subtraction is always signed whenever this mode is in effect, even if one of the operands is unsigned. For example, compare the type of column c2 in table t1 with that of column c2 in table t2:

mysql> SET SQL_MODE='';
mysql> CREATE TABLE test (c1 BIGINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL);
mysql> CREATE TABLE t1 SELECT c1 - 1 AS c2 FROM test;
mysql> DESCRIBE t1;
+-------+---------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type                | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+---------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| c2    | bigint(21) unsigned |      |     | 0       |       |
+-------+---------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

mysql> SET SQL_MODE='NO_UNSIGNED_SUBTRACTION';
mysql> CREATE TABLE t2 SELECT c1 - 1 AS c2 FROM test;
mysql> DESCRIBE t2;
+-------+------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type       | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| c2    | bigint(21) |      |     | 0       |       |
+-------+------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

Note that this means that BIGINT UNSIGNED is not 100% usable in all contexts. See Section 11.9, “Cast Functions and Operators”.

mysql> SET SQL_MODE = '';
mysql> SELECT CAST(0 AS UNSIGNED) - 1;
+-------------------------+
| CAST(0 AS UNSIGNED) - 1 |
+-------------------------+
|    18446744073709551615 |
+-------------------------+

mysql> SET SQL_MODE = 'NO_UNSIGNED_SUBTRACTION';
mysql> SELECT CAST(0 AS UNSIGNED) - 1;
+-------------------------+
| CAST(0 AS UNSIGNED) - 1 |
+-------------------------+
|                      -1 |
+-------------------------+

NO_ZERO_DATE
In strict mode, don't allow '0000-00-00' as a valid date. You can still insert zero dates with the IGNORE option. When not in strict mode, the date is accepted but a warning is generated. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)
NO_ZERO_IN_DATE
In strict mode, don't accept dates where the month or day part is 0. If used with the IGNORE option, MySQL inserts a '0000-00-00' date for any such date. When not in strict mode, the date is accepted but a warning is generated. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)
ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY
Do not allow queries for which the SELECT list refers to non-aggregated columns that are not named in the GROUP BY clause. The following query is invalid with this mode enabled because address is not named in the GROUP BY clause:
```
SELECT name, address, MAX(age) FROM t GROUP BY name;
```
As of MySQL 5.0.23, this mode also restricts references to non-aggregated columns in the HAVING clause that are not named in the GROUP BY clause.
PIPES_AS_CONCAT
Treat || as a string concatenation operator (same as CONCAT()) rather than as a synonym for OR.
REAL_AS_FLOAT
Treat REAL as a synonym for FLOAT. By default, MySQL treats REAL as a synonym for DOUBLE.
STRICT_ALL_TABLES
Enable strict mode for all storage engines. Invalid data values are rejected. Additional detail follows. (Added in MySQL 5.0.2)
STRICT_TRANS_TABLES
Enable strict mode for transactional storage engines, and when possible for non-transactional storage engines. Additional details follow. (Implemented in MySQL 5.0.2)

Strict mode controls how MySQL handles input values that are invalid or missing. A value can be invalid for several reasons. For example, it might have the wrong data type for the column, or it might be out of range. A value is missing when a new row to be inserted does not contain a value for a non-NULL column that has no explicit DEFAULT clause in its definition. (For a NULL column, NULL is inserted if the value is missing.)

For transactional tables, an error occurs for invalid or missing values in a statement when either of the STRICT_ALL_TABLES or STRICT_TRANS_TABLES modes are enabled. The statement is aborted and rolled back.

For non-transactional tables, the behavior is the same for either mode, if the bad value occurs in the first row to be inserted or updated. The statement is aborted and the table remains unchanged. If the statement inserts or modifies multiple rows and the bad value occurs in the second or later row, the result depends on which strict option is enabled:

For STRICT_ALL_TABLES, MySQL returns an error and ignores the rest of the rows. However, in this case, the earlier rows still have been inserted or updated. This means that you might get a partial update, which might not be what you want. To avoid this, it's best to use single-row statements because these can be aborted without changing the table.
For STRICT_TRANS_TABLES, MySQL converts an invalid value to the closest valid value for the column and insert the adjusted value. If a value is missing, MySQL inserts the implicit default value for the column data type. In either case, MySQL generates a warning rather than an error and continues processing the statement. Implicit defaults are described in Section 10.1.4, “Data Type Default Values”.

Strict mode disallows invalid date values such as '2004-04-31'. It does not disallow dates with zero parts such as '2004-04-00' or “zero” dates. To disallow these as well, enable the NO_ZERO_IN_DATE and NO_ZERO_DATE SQL modes in addition to strict mode.

If you are not using strict mode (that is, neither STRICT_TRANS_TABLES nor STRICT_ALL_TABLES is enabled), MySQL inserts adjusted values for invalid or missing values and produces warnings. In strict mode, you can produce this behavior by using INSERT IGNORE or UPDATE IGNORE. See Section 12.5.4.28, “SHOW WARNINGS Syntax”.

The following special modes are provided as shorthand for combinations of mode values from the preceding list. All are available in MySQL 5.0 beginning with version 5.0.0, except for TRADITIONAL, which was implemented in MySQL 5.0.2.

The descriptions include all mode values that are available in the most recent version of MySQL. For older versions, a combination mode does not include individual mode values that are not available except in newer versions.

ANSI
Equivalent to REAL_AS_FLOAT, PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE. Before MySQL 5.0.3, ANSI also includes ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY.
As of MySQL 5.0.40, ANSI mode also causes the server to return an error for queries where a set function S with an outer reference S(outer_ref) cannot be aggregated in the outer query against which the outer reference has been resolved. This is such a query:
```
SELECT * FROM t1 WHERE t1.a IN (SELECT MAX(t1.b) FROM t2 WHERE ...);
```
Here, MAX(t1.b) cannot aggregated in the outer query because it appears in the WHERE clause of that query. Standard SQL requires an error in this situation. If ANSI mode is not enabled, the server treats S(outer_ref) in such queries the same way that it would interpret S(const), as was always done prior to 5.0.40.
See Section 1.9.3, “Running MySQL in ANSI Mode”.
DB2
Equivalent to PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_KEY_OPTIONS, NO_TABLE_OPTIONS, NO_FIELD_OPTIONS.
MAXDB
Equivalent to PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_KEY_OPTIONS, NO_TABLE_OPTIONS, NO_FIELD_OPTIONS, NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER.
MSSQL
Equivalent to PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_KEY_OPTIONS, NO_TABLE_OPTIONS, NO_FIELD_OPTIONS.
MYSQL323
Equivalent to NO_FIELD_OPTIONS, HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE.
MYSQL40
Equivalent to NO_FIELD_OPTIONS, HIGH_NOT_PRECEDENCE.
ORACLE
Equivalent to PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_KEY_OPTIONS, NO_TABLE_OPTIONS, NO_FIELD_OPTIONS, NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER.
POSTGRESQL
Equivalent to PIPES_AS_CONCAT, ANSI_QUOTES, IGNORE_SPACE, NO_KEY_OPTIONS, NO_TABLE_OPTIONS, NO_FIELD_OPTIONS.
TRADITIONAL
Equivalent to STRICT_TRANS_TABLES, STRICT_ALL_TABLES, NO_ZERO_IN_DATE, NO_ZERO_DATE, ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO, NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER.

5.2.7. The Shutdown Process

The server shutdown process takes place as follows:

The shutdown process is initiated.
Server shutdown can be initiated several ways. For example, a user with the SHUTDOWN privilege can execute a mysqladmin shutdown command. mysqladmin can be used on any platform supported by MySQL. Other operating system-specific shutdown initiation methods are possible as well: The server shuts down on Unix when it receives a SIGTERM signal. A server running as a service on Windows shuts down when the services manager tells it to.
The server creates a shutdown thread if necessary.
Depending on how shutdown was initiated, the server might create a thread to handle the shutdown process. If shutdown was requested by a client, a shutdown thread is created. If shutdown is the result of receiving a SIGTERM signal, the signal thread might handle shutdown itself, or it might create a separate thread to do so. If the server tries to create a shutdown thread and cannot (for example, if memory is exhausted), it issues a diagnostic message that appears in the error log:
```
Error: Can't create thread to kill server
```
The server stops accepting new connections.
To prevent new activity from being initiated during shutdown, the server stops accepting new client connections. It does this by closing the network connections to which it normally listens for connections: the TCP/IP port, the Unix socket file, the Windows named pipe, and shared memory on Windows.
The server terminates current activity.
For each thread that is associated with a client connection, the connection to the client is broken and the thread is marked as killed. Threads die when they notice that they are so marked. Threads for idle connections die quickly. Threads that currently are processing statements check their state periodically and take longer to die. For additional information about thread termination, see Section 12.5.5.3, “KILL Syntax”, in particular for the instructions about killed REPAIR TABLE or OPTIMIZE TABLE operations on MyISAM tables.
For threads that have an open transaction, the transaction is rolled back. Note that if a thread is updating a non-transactional table, an operation such as a multiple-row UPDATE or INSERT may leave the table partially updated, because the operation can terminate before completion.
If the server is a master replication server, threads associated with currently connected slaves are treated like other client threads. That is, each one is marked as killed and exits when it next checks its state.
If the server is a slave replication server, the I/O and SQL threads, if active, are stopped before client threads are marked as killed. The SQL thread is allowed to finish its current statement (to avoid causing replication problems), and then stops. If the SQL thread was in the middle of a transaction at this point, the transaction is rolled back.
Storage engines are shut down or closed.
At this stage, the table cache is flushed and all open tables are closed.
Each storage engine performs any actions necessary for tables that it manages. For example, MyISAM flushes any pending index writes for a table. InnoDB flushes its buffer pool to disk (starting from 5.0.5: unless innodb_fast_shutdown is 2), writes the current LSN to the tablespace, and terminates its own internal threads.
The server exits.

5.2.8. Server-Side Help

MySQL Server supports a HELP statement that returns online information from the MySQL Reference manual (see Section 12.3.2, “HELP Syntax”). The proper operation of this statement requires that the help tables in the mysql database be initialized with help topic information, which is done by processing the contents of the fill_help_tables.sql script.

For a MySQL binary distribution on Unix, help table setup occurs when you run mysql_install_db. For an RPM distribution on Linux or binary distribution on Windows, help table setup occurs as part of the MySQL installation process.

For a MySQL source distribution, you can find the fill_help_tables.sql file in the scripts directory. To load the file manually, make sure that you have initialized the mysql database by running mysql_install_db, and then process the file with the mysql client as follows:

shell> mysql -u root mysql < fill_help_tables.sql

If you are working with BitKeeper and a MySQL development source tree, the tree doesn't contain fill_help_tables.sql. You can download the proper file for your version of MySQL from http://dev.mysql.com/doc/. After downloading and uncompressing the file, process it with mysql as just described.

5.3. MySQL Server Startup Programs

5.3.1. mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script
5.3.2. mysql.server — MySQL Server Startup Script
5.3.3. mysqld_multi — Manage Multiple MySQL Servers

This section describes several programs that are used to start mysqld, the MySQL server.

5.3.1. mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script

mysqld_safe is the recommended way to start a mysqld server on Unix and NetWare. mysqld_safe adds some safety features such as restarting the server when an error occurs and logging runtime information to an error log file. NetWare-specific behaviors are listed later in this section.

Note

To preserve backward compatibility with older versions of MySQL, MySQL binary distributions still include safe_mysqld as a symbolic link to mysqld_safe. However, you should not rely on this because it is removed as of MySQL 5.1.

By default, mysqld_safe before MySQL 5.0.27 tries to start an executable named mysqld-max if it exists, and mysqld otherwise. Be aware of the implications of this behavior:

On Linux, the MySQL-Max RPM relies on this mysqld_safe behavior. The RPM installs an executable named mysqld-max, which causes mysqld_safe to automatically use that executable rather than mysqld from that point on.
If you install a MySQL-Max distribution that includes a server named mysqld-max, and then upgrade later to a non-Max version of MySQL, mysqld_safe will still attempt to run the old mysqld-max server. If you perform such an upgrade, you should manually remove the old mysqld-max server to ensure that mysqld_safe runs the new mysqld server.

To override the default behavior and specify explicitly the name of the server you want to run, specify a --mysqld or --mysqld-version option to mysqld_safe. You can also use --ledir to indicate the directory where mysqld_safe should look for the server.

Many of the options to mysqld_safe are the same as the options to mysqld. See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.

All options specified to mysqld_safe on the command line are passed to mysqld. If you want to use any options that are specific to mysqld_safe and that mysqld doesn't support, do not specify them on the command line. Instead, list them in the [mysqld_safe] group of an option file. See Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”.

mysqld_safe reads all options from the [mysqld], [server], and [mysqld_safe] sections in option files. For example, if you specify a [mysqld] section like this, mysqld_safe will find and use the --log-error option:

[mysqld]
log-error=error.log

For backward compatibility, mysqld_safe also reads [safe_mysqld] sections, although you should rename such sections to [mysqld_safe] in MySQL 5.0 installations.

mysqld_safe supports the following options:

--help
Display a help message and exit. (Added in MySQL 5.0.3)
--autoclose
(NetWare only) On NetWare, mysqld_safe provides a screen presence. When you unload (shut down) the mysqld_safe NLM, the screen does not by default go away. Instead, it prompts for user input:
```
*<NLM has terminated; Press any key to close the screen>*
```
If you want NetWare to close the screen automatically instead, use the --autoclose option to mysqld_safe.
--basedir=path
The path to the MySQL installation directory.
--core-file-size=size
The size of the core file that mysqld should be able to create. The option value is passed to ulimit -c.
--datadir=path
The path to the data directory.
--defaults-extra-file=path
The name of an option file to be read in addition to the usual option files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used. As of MySQL 5.0.6, if the file does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible, the server will exit with an error.
--defaults-file=file_name
The name of an option file to be read instead of the usual option files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.
--ledir=path
If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use this option to indicate the pathname to the directory where the server is located.
--log-error=file_name
Write the error log to the given file. See Section 5.11.1, “The Error Log”.
--mysqld=prog_name
The name of the server program (in the ledir directory) that you want to start. This option is needed if you use the MySQL binary distribution but have the data directory outside of the binary distribution. If mysqld_safe cannot find the server, use the --ledir option to indicate the pathname to the directory where the server is located.
--mysqld-version=suffix
This option is similar to the --mysqld option, but you specify only the suffix for the server program name. The basename is assumed to be mysqld. For example, if you use --mysqld-version=debug, mysqld_safe starts the mysqld-debug program in the ledir directory. If the argument to --mysqld-version is empty, mysqld_safe uses mysqld in the ledir directory.
--nice=priority
Use the nice program to set the server's scheduling priority to the given value.
--no-defaults
Do not read any option files. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.
--open-files-limit=count
The number of files that mysqld should be able to open. The option value is passed to ulimit -n. Note that you need to start mysqld_safe as root for this to work properly!
--pid-file=file_name
The pathname of the process ID file.
--port=port_num
The port number that the server should use when listening for TCP/IP connections. The port number must be 1024 or higher unless the server is started by the root system user.
--skip-kill-mysqld
Do not try to kill stray mysqld processes at startup. This option works only on Linux.
--socket=path
The Unix socket file that the server should use when listening for local connections.
--timezone=timezone
Set the TZ time zone environment variable to the given option value. Consult your operating system documentation for legal time zone specification formats.
--user={user_name|user_id}
Run the mysqld server as the user having the name user_name or the numeric user ID user_id. (“User” in this context refers to a system login account, not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)

If you execute mysqld_safe with the --defaults-file or --defaults-extra-option option to name an option file, the option must be the first one given on the command line or the option file will not be used. For example, this command will not use the named option file:

mysql> mysqld_safe --port=port_num --defaults-file=file_name

Instead, use the following command:

mysql> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name --port=port_num

The mysqld_safe script is written so that it normally can start a server that was installed from either a source or a binary distribution of MySQL, even though these types of distributions typically install the server in slightly different locations. (See Section 2.4.6, “Installation Layouts”.) mysqld_safe expects one of the following conditions to be true:

The server and databases can be found relative to the working directory (the directory from which mysqld_safe is invoked). For binary distributions, mysqld_safe looks under its working directory for bin and data directories. For source distributions, it looks for libexec and var directories. This condition should be met if you execute mysqld_safe from your MySQL installation directory (for example, /usr/local/mysql for a binary distribution).
If the server and databases cannot be found relative to the working directory, mysqld_safe attempts to locate them by absolute pathnames. Typical locations are /usr/local/libexec and /usr/local/var. The actual locations are determined from the values configured into the distribution at the time it was built. They should be correct if MySQL is installed in the location specified at configuration time.

Because mysqld_safe tries to find the server and databases relative to its own working directory, you can install a binary distribution of MySQL anywhere, as long as you run mysqld_safe from the MySQL installation directory:

shell> cd mysql_installation_directory
shell> bin/mysqld_safe &

If mysqld_safe fails, even when invoked from the MySQL installation directory, you can specify the --ledir and --datadir options to indicate the directories in which the server and databases are located on your system.

Normally, you should not edit the mysqld_safe script. Instead, configure mysqld_safe by using command-line options or options in the [mysqld_safe] section of a my.cnf option file. In rare cases, it might be necessary to edit mysqld_safe to get it to start the server properly. However, if you do this, your modified version of mysqld_safe might be overwritten if you upgrade MySQL in the future, so you should make a copy of your edited version that you can reinstall.

On NetWare, mysqld_safe is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) that is ported from the original Unix shell script. It starts the server as follows:

Runs a number of system and option checks.
Runs a check on MyISAM tables.
Provides a screen presence for the MySQL server.
Starts mysqld, monitors it, and restarts it if it terminates in error.
Sends error messages from mysqld to the host_name.err file in the data directory.
Sends mysqld_safe screen output to the host_name.safe file in the data directory.

5.3.2. mysql.server — MySQL Server Startup Script

MySQL distributions on Unix include a script named mysql.server. It can be used on systems such as Linux and Solaris that use System V-style run directories to start and stop system services. It is also used by the Mac OS X Startup Item for MySQL.

mysql.server can be found in the support-files directory under your MySQL installation directory or in a MySQL source distribution.

If you use the Linux server RPM package (MySQL-server-VERSION.rpm), the mysql.server script will be installed in the /etc/init.d directory with the name mysql. You need not install it manually. See Section 2.4.9, “Installing MySQL from RPM Packages on Linux”, for more information on the Linux RPM packages.

Some vendors provide RPM packages that install a startup script under a different name such as mysqld.

If you install MySQL from a source distribution or using a binary distribution format that does not install mysql.server automatically, you can install it manually. Instructions are provided in Section 2.4.16.2.2, “Starting and Stopping MySQL Automatically”.

mysql.server reads options from the [mysql.server] and [mysqld] sections of option files. For backward compatibility, it also reads [mysql_server] sections, although you should rename such sections to [mysql.server] when using MySQL 5.0.

mysql.server understands the following options:

--basedir=path
The path to the MySQL installation directory.
--datadir=path
The path to the MySQL data directory.
--pid-file=file_name
The pathname of the file in which the server should write its process ID.
--service-startup-timeout=file_name
How long in seconds to wait for confirmation of server startup. If the server does not start within this time, mysql.server exits with an error. The default value is 900. A value of 0 means not to wait at all for startup. Negative values mean to wait forever (no timeout). This option was added in MySQL 5.0.40. Before that, a value of 900 is always used.
--use-mysqld_safe
Use mysqld_safe to start the server. This is the default. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.4.
--use-manager
Use Instance Manager to start the server. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.4.
--user=user_name
The login username to use for running mysqld. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.4.

5.3.3. mysqld_multi — Manage Multiple MySQL Servers

mysqld_multi is designed to manage several mysqld processes that listen for connections on different Unix socket files and TCP/IP ports. It can start or stop servers, or report their current status. The MySQL Instance Manager is an alternative means of managing multiple servers (see Section 5.4, “mysqlmanager — The MySQL Instance Manager”).

mysqld_multi searches for groups named [mysqldN] in my.cnf (or in the file named by the --config-file option). N can be any positive integer. This number is referred to in the following discussion as the option group number, or GNR. Group numbers distinguish option groups from one another and are used as arguments to mysqld_multi to specify which servers you want to start, stop, or obtain a status report for. Options listed in these groups are the same that you would use in the [mysqld] group used for starting mysqld. (See, for example, Section 2.4.16.2.2, “Starting and Stopping MySQL Automatically”.) However, when using multiple servers, it is necessary that each one use its own value for options such as the Unix socket file and TCP/IP port number. For more information on which options must be unique per server in a multiple-server environment, see Section 5.12, “Running Multiple MySQL Servers on the Same Machine”.

To invoke mysqld_multi, use the following syntax:

shell> mysqld_multi [options] {start|stop|report} [GNR[,GNR] ...]

start, stop, and report indicate which operation to perform. You can perform the designated operation for a single server or multiple servers, depending on the GNR list that follows the option name. If there is no list, mysqld_multi performs the operation for all servers in the option file.

Each GNR value represents an option group number or range of group numbers. The value should be the number at the end of the group name in the option file. For example, the GNR for a group named [mysqld17] is 17. To specify a range of numbers, separate the first and last numbers by a dash. The GNR value 10-13 represents groups [mysqld10] through [mysqld13]. Multiple groups or group ranges can be specified on the command line, separated by commas. There must be no whitespace characters (spaces or tabs) in the GNR list; anything after a whitespace character is ignored.

This command starts a single server using option group [mysqld17]:

shell> mysqld_multi start 17

This command stops several servers, using option groups [mysqld8] and [mysqld10] through [mysqld13]:

shell> mysqld_multi stop 8,10-13

For an example of how you might set up an option file, use this command:

shell> mysqld_multi --example

As of MySQL 5.0.42, mysqld_multi searches for option files as follows:

With --no-defaults, no option files are read.
With --defaults-file=file_name, only the named file is read.
Otherwise, option files in the standard list of locations are read, including any file named by the --defaults-extra-file=file_name option, if one is given. (If the option is given multiple times, the last value is used.)

Option files read are searched for [mysqld_multi] and [mysqldN] option groups.

Before MySQL 5.0.42, the preceding options are not recognized. Files in the standard locations are read, and any file named by the --config-file=file_name option, if one is given. A file named by --config-file is read only for [mysqldN] option groups, not the [mysqld_multi] group.

mysqld_multi supports the following options:

--help
Display a help message and exit.
--config-file=file_name
As of MySQL 5.0.42, this option is deprecated. If given, it is treated the same way as --defaults-extra-file, described earlier.
Before MySQL 5.0.42, this option specifies the name of an extra option file. It affects where mysqld_multi looks for [mysqldN] option groups. Without this option, all options are read from the usual my.cnf file. The option does not affect where mysqld_multi reads its own options, which are always taken from the [mysqld_multi] group in the usual my.cnf file.
--example
Display a sample option file.
--log=file_name
Specify the name of the log file. If the file exists, log output is appended to it.
--mysqladmin=prog_name
The mysqladmin binary to be used to stop servers.
--mysqld=prog_name
The mysqld binary to be used. Note that you can specify mysqld_safe as the value for this option also. If you use mysqld_safe to start the server, you can include the mysqld or ledir options in the corresponding [mysqldN] option group. These options indicate the name of the server that mysqld_safe should start and the pathname of the directory where the server is located. (See the descriptions for these options in Section 5.3.1, “mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script”.) Example:
```
[mysqld38]
mysqld = mysqld-debug
ledir  = /opt/local/mysql/libexec
```
--no-log
Print log information to stdout rather than to the log file. By default, output goes to the log file.
--password=password
The password of the MySQL account to use when invoking mysqladmin. Note that the password value is not optional for this option, unlike for other MySQL programs.
--silent
Silent mode; disable warnings.
--tcp-ip
Connect to each MySQL server via the TCP/IP port instead of the Unix socket file. (If a socket file is missing, the server might still be running, but accessible only via the TCP/IP port.) By default, connections are made using the Unix socket file. This option affects stop and report operations.
--user=user_name
The username of the MySQL account to use when invoking mysqladmin.
--verbose
Be more verbose.
--version
Display version information and exit.

Some notes about mysqld_multi:

Most important: Before using mysqld_multi be sure that you understand the meanings of the options that are passed to the mysqld servers and why you would want to have separate mysqld processes. Beware of the dangers of using multiple mysqld servers with the same data directory. Use separate data directories, unless you know what you are doing. Starting multiple servers with the same data directory does not give you extra performance in a threaded system. See Section 5.12, “Running Multiple MySQL Servers on the Same Machine”.
Important
Make sure that the data directory for each server is fully accessible to the Unix account that the specific mysqld process is started as. Do not use the Unix root account for this, unless you know what you are doing. See Section 5.6.5, “How to Run MySQL as a Normal User”.
Make sure that the MySQL account used for stopping the mysqld servers (with the mysqladmin program) has the same username and password for each server. Also, make sure that the account has the SHUTDOWN privilege. If the servers that you want to manage have different usernames or passwords for the administrative accounts, you might want to create an account on each server that has the same username and password. For example, you might set up a common multi_admin account by executing the following commands for each server:
```
shell> mysql -u root -S /tmp/mysql.sock -p
Enter password:
mysql> GRANT SHUTDOWN ON *.*
    -> TO 'multi_admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'multipass';
```
See Section 5.7.2, “How the Privilege System Works”. You have to do this for each mysqld server. Change the connection parameters appropriately when connecting to each one. Note that the hostname part of the account name must allow you to connect as multi_admin from the host where you want to run mysqld_multi.
The Unix socket file and the TCP/IP port number must be different for every mysqld. (Alternatively, if the host has multiple network addresses, you can use --bind-adress to cause different servers to listen to different interfaces.)
The --pid-file option is very important if you are using mysqld_safe to start mysqld (for example, --mysqld=mysqld_safe) Every mysqld should have its own process ID file. The advantage of using mysqld_safe instead of mysqld is that mysqld_safe monitors its mysqld process and restarts it if the process terminates due to a signal sent using kill -9 or for other reasons, such as a segmentation fault. Please note that the mysqld_safe script might require that you start it from a certain place. This means that you might have to change location to a certain directory before running mysqld_multi. If you have problems starting, please see the mysqld_safe script. Check especially the lines:
```
----------------------------------------------------------------
MY_PWD=`pwd`
# Check if we are starting this relative (for the binary release)
if test -d $MY_PWD/data/mysql -a -f ./share/mysql/english/errmsg.sys -a \
 -x ./bin/mysqld
----------------------------------------------------------------
```
The test performed by these lines should be successful, or you might encounter problems. See Section 5.3.1, “mysqld_safe — MySQL Server Startup Script”.
You might want to use the --user option for mysqld, but to do this you need to run the mysqld_multi script as the Unix root user. Having the option in the option file doesn't matter; you just get a warning if you are not the superuser and the mysqld processes are started under your own Unix account.

The following example shows how you might set up an option file for use with mysqld_multi. The order in which the mysqld programs are started or stopped depends on the order in which they appear in the option file. Group numbers need not form an unbroken sequence. The first and fifth [mysqldN] groups were intentionally omitted from the example to illustrate that you can have “gaps” in the option file. This gives you more flexibility.

# This file should probably be in your home dir (~/.my.cnf)
# or /etc/my.cnf
# Version 2.1 by Jani Tolonen

[mysqld_multi]
mysqld     = /usr/local/bin/mysqld_safe
mysqladmin = /usr/local/bin/mysqladmin
user       = multi_admin
password   = multipass

[mysqld2]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock2
port       = 3307
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/var2/hostname.pid2
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/var2
language   = /usr/local/share/mysql/english
user       = john

[mysqld3]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock3
port       = 3308
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/var3/hostname.pid3
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/var3
language   = /usr/local/share/mysql/swedish
user       = monty

[mysqld4]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock4
port       = 3309
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/var4/hostname.pid4
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/var4
language   = /usr/local/share/mysql/estonia
user       = tonu

[mysqld6]
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock6
port       = 3311
pid-file   = /usr/local/mysql/var6/hostname.pid6
datadir    = /usr/local/mysql/var6
language   = /usr/local/share/mysql/japanese
user       = jani

See Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”.

5.4. mysqlmanager — The MySQL Instance Manager

5.4.1. MySQL Instance Manager Command Options
5.4.2. MySQL Instance Manager Configuration Files
5.4.3. Starting the MySQL Server with MySQL Instance Manager
5.4.4. Instance Manager User and Password Management
5.4.5. MySQL Server Instance Status Monitoring
5.4.6. Connecting to MySQL Instance Manager
5.4.7. MySQL Instance Manager Commands

mysqlmanager is the MySQL Instance Manager (IM). This program monitors and manages MySQL Database Server instances. MySQL Instance Manager is available for Unix-like operating systems, and also on Windows as of MySQL 5.0.13. It runs as a daemon that listens on a TCP/IP port. On Unix, it also listens on a Unix socket file.

MySQL Instance Manager is included in MySQL distributions from version 5.0.3, and can be used in place of the mysqld_safe script to start and stop one or more instances of MySQL Server. Because Instance Manager can manage multiple server instances, it can also be used in place of the mysqld_multi script. Instance Manager offers these capabilities:

Instance Manager can start and stop instances, and report on the status of instances.
Server instances can be treated as guarded or unguarded:
- When Instance Manager starts, it starts each guarded instance. If the instance crashes, Instance Manager detects this and restarts it. When Instance Manager stops, it stops the instance.
- A nonguarded instance is not started when Instance Manager starts or monitored by it. If the instance crashes after being started, Instance Manager does not restart it. When Instance Manager exits, it does not stop the instance if it is running.
Instances are guarded by default. An instance can be designated as nonguarded by including the nonguarded option in the configuration file.
Instance Manager provides an interactive interface for configuring instances, so that the need to edit the configuration file manually is reduced or eliminated.
Instance Manager provides remote instance management. That is, it runs on the host where you want to control MySQL Server instances, but you can connect to it from a remote host to perform instance-management operations.

The following sections describe MySQL Instance Manager operation in more detail.

5.4.1. MySQL Instance Manager Command Options

The MySQL Instance Manager supports a number of command options. For a brief listing, invoke mysqlmanager with the --help option. Options may be given on the command line or in the Instance Manager configuration file. On Windows, the standard configuration file is my.ini in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the standard file is /etc/my.cnf. To specify a different configuration file, start Instance Manager with the --defaults-file option.

mysqlmanager supports the following options:

--help, -?
Display a help message and exit.
--angel-pid-file=file_name
The file in which the angel process records its process ID when mysqlmanager runs in daemon mode (that is, when the --run-as-service option is given). The default filename is mysqlmanager.angel.pid.
If the --angel-pid-file option is not given, the default angel PID file has the same name as the PID file except that any PID file extension is replaced with an extension of .angel.pid. (For example, mysqlmanager.pid becomes mysqlmanager.angel.pid.)
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.23.
--bind-address=IP
The IP address to bind to.
--default-mysqld-path=path
The pathname of the MySQL Server binary. This pathname is used for all server instance sections in the configuration file for which no mysqld-path option is present. The default value of this option is the compiled-in pathname, which depends on how the MySQL distribution was configured. Example: --default-mysqld-path=/usr/sbin/mysqld
--defaults-file=file_name
Read Instance Manager and MySQL Server settings from the given file. All configuration changes made by the Instance Manager will be written to this file. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used, and the file must exist.
If this option is not given, Instance Manager uses its standard configuration file. On Windows, the standard file is my.ini in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the standard file is /etc/my.cnf.
--install
On Windows, install Instance Manager as a Windows service. The service name is MySQL Manager. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.11.
--log=file_name
The path to the Instance Manager log file. This option has no effect unless the --run-as-service option is also given. If the filename specified for the option is a relative name, the log file is created under the directory from which Instance Manager is started. To ensure that the file is created in a specific directory, specify it as a full pathname.
If --run-as-service is given without --log, the log file is mysqlmanager.log in the data directory.
If --run-as-service is not given, log messages go to the standard output. To capture log output, you can redirect Instance Manager output to a file:
```
mysqlmanager > im.log
```
--monitoring-interval=seconds
The interval in seconds for monitoring server instances. The default value is 20 seconds. Instance Manager tries to connect to each monitored (guarded) instance using the non-existing MySQL_Instance_Manager user account to check whether it is alive/not hanging. If the result of the connection attempt indicates that the instance is unavailable, Instance Manager performs several attempts to restart the instance.
Normally, the MySQL_Instance_Manager account does not exist, so the connection attempts by Instance Manager cause the monitored instance to produce messages in its general query log similar to the following:
```
Access denied for user 'MySQL_Instance_M'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
```
The nonguarded option in the appropriate server instance section disables monitoring for a particular instance. If the instance dies after being started, Instance Manager will not restart it. Instance Manager tries to connect to a nonguarded instance only when you request the instance's status (for example, with the SHOW INSTANCES status.
See Section 5.4.5, “MySQL Server Instance Status Monitoring”, for more information.
--passwd, -P
Prepare an entry for the password file, print it to the standard output, and exit. You can redirect the output from Instance Manager to a file to save the entry in the file.
--password-file=file_name
The name of the file where the Instance Manager looks for users and passwords. On Windows, the default is mysqlmanager.passwd in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the default file is /etc/mysqlmanager.passwd.
--pid-file=file_name
The process ID file to use. On Windows, the default file is mysqlmanager.pid in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the default is mysqlmanager.pid in the data directory.
--port=port_num
The port number to use when listening for TCP/IP connections from clients. The default port number (assigned by IANA) is 2273.
--print-defaults
Print the current defaults and exit. This must be the first option on the command line if it is used.
--remove
On Windows, removes Instance Manager as a Windows service. This assumes that Instance Manager has been run with --install previously. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.11.
--run-as-service
On Unix, daemonize and start an angel process. The angel process monitors Instance Manager and restarts it if it crashes. (The angel process itself is simple and unlikely to crash.)
--socket=path
On Unix, the socket file to use for incoming connections. The default file is named /tmp/mysqlmanager.sock. This option has no meaning on Windows.
--standalone
This option is used on Windows to run Instance Manager in standalone mode. You should specify it when you start Instance Manager from the command line. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.13.
--user=user_name
On Unix, the username of the system account to use for starting and running mysqlmanager. This option generates a warning and has no effect unless you start mysqlmanager as root (so that it can change its effective user ID), or as the named user. It is recommended that you configure mysqlmanager to run using the same account used to run the mysqld server. (“User” in this context refers to a system login account, not a MySQL user listed in the grant tables.)
--version, -V
Display version information and exit.
--wait-timeout=N
The number of seconds to wait for activity on an incoming connection before closing it. The default is 28800 seconds (8 hours).
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.19. Before that, the timeout is 30 seconds and cannot be changed.

5.4.2. MySQL Instance Manager Configuration Files

Instance Manager uses its standard configuration file unless it is started with a --defaults-file option that specifies a different file. On Windows, the standard file is my.ini in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the standard file is /etc/my.cnf. (Prior to MySQL 5.0.10, the MySQL Instance Manager read the same configuration files as the MySQL Server, including /etc/my.cnf, ~/.my.cnf, and so forth.)

Instance Manager reads options for itself from the [manager] section of the configuration file, and options for server instances from [mysqld] or [mysqldN] sections. The [manager] section contains any of the options listed in Section 5.4.1, “MySQL Instance Manager Command Options”, except for those specified as having to be given as the first option on the command line. Here is a sample [manager] section:

# MySQL Instance Manager options section
[manager]
default-mysqld-path = /usr/local/mysql/libexec/mysqld
socket=/tmp/manager.sock
pid-file=/tmp/manager.pid
password-file = /home/cps/.mysqlmanager.passwd
monitoring-interval = 2
port = 1999
bind-address = 192.168.1.5

Each [mysqld] or [mysqldN] instance section specifies options given by Instance Manager to a server instance at startup. These are mainly common MySQL Server options (see Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”). In addition, a [mysqldN] section can contain the options in the following list, which are specific to Instance Manager. These options are interpreted by Instance Manager itself; it does not pass them to the server when it attempts to start that server.

Warning

The Instance Manager-specific options must not be used in a [mysqld] section. If a server is started without using Instance Manager, it will not recognize these options and will fail to start properly.

mysqld-path = path
The pathname of the mysqld server binary to use for the server instance.
nonguarded
This option disables Instance Manager monitoring functionality for the server instance. By default, an instance is guarded: At Instance Manager start time, it starts the instance. It also monitors the instance status and attempts to restart it if it fails. At Instance Manager exit time, it stops the instance. None of these things happen for nonguarded instances.
shutdown-delay = seconds
The number of seconds Instance Manager should wait for the server instance to shut down. The default value is 35 seconds. After the delay expires, Instance Manager assumes that the instance is hanging and attempts to terminate it. If you use InnoDB with large tables, you should increase this value.

Here are some sample instance sections:

[mysqld1]
mysqld-path=/usr/local/mysql/libexec/mysqld
socket=/tmp/mysql.sock
port=3307
server_id=1
skip-stack-trace
core-file
skip-bdb
log-bin
log-error
log=mylog
log-slow-queries

[mysqld2]
nonguarded
port=3308
server_id=2
mysqld-path= /home/cps/mysql/trees/mysql-5.0/sql/mysqld
socket     = /tmp/mysql.sock5
pid-file   = /tmp/hostname.pid5
datadir= /home/cps/mysql_data/data_dir1
language=/home/cps/mysql/trees/mysql-5.0/sql/share/english
log-bin
log=/tmp/fordel.log

5.4.3. Starting the MySQL Server with MySQL Instance Manager

This section discusses how Instance Manager starts server instances when it starts. However, before you start Instance Manager, you should set up a password file for it. Otherwise, you will not be able to connect to Instance Manager to control it after it starts. For details about creating Instance Manager accounts, see Section 5.4.4, “Instance Manager User and Password Management”.

On Unix, the mysqld MySQL database server normally is started with the mysql.server script, which usually resides in the /etc/init.d/ directory. In MySQL 5.0.3, this script invokes mysqlmanager (the MySQL Instance Manager binary) to start MySQL. (In prior versions of MySQL the mysqld_safe script is used for this purpose.) Starting from MySQL 5.0.4, the behavior of the startup script was changed again to incorporate both setup schemes. In version 5.0.4, the startup script uses the old scheme (invoking mysqld_safe) by default, but one can set the use_mysqld_safe variable in the script to 0 (zero) to use the MySQL Instance Manager to start a server.

Starting with MySQL 5.0.19, you can use Instance Manager if you modify the my.cnf configuration file by adding use-manager to the [mysql.server] section:

[mysql.server]
use-manager

When Instance Manager starts, it reads its configuration file if it exists to find server instance sections and prepare a list of instances. Instance sections have names of the form [mysqld] or [mysqldN], where N is an unsigned integer (for example, [mysqld1], [mysqld2], and so forth).

After preparing the list of instances, Instance Manager starts the guarded instances in the list. If there are no instances, Instance Manager creates an instance named mysqld and attempts to start it with default (compiled-in) configuration values. This means that the Instance Manager cannot find the mysqld program if it is not installed in the default location. (Section 2.4.6, “Installation Layouts”, describes default locations for components of MySQL distributions.) If you have installed the MySQL server in a non-standard location, you should create the Instance Manager configuration file.

Instance Manager also stops all guarded server instances when it shuts down.

The allowable options for [mysqldN] server instance sections are described in Section 5.4.2, “MySQL Instance Manager Configuration Files”. In these sections, you can use a special mysqld-path=path-to-mysqld-binary option that is recognized only by Instance Manager. Use this option to let Instance Manager know where the mysqld binary resides. If there are multiple instances, it may also be necessary to set other options such as datadir and port, to ensure that each instance has a different data directory and TCP/IP port number. Section 5.12, “Running Multiple MySQL Servers on the Same Machine”, discusses the configuration values that must differ for each instance when you run multiple instance on the same machine.

Warning

The [mysqld] instance section, if it exists, must not contain any Instance Manager-specific options.

The typical Unix startup/shutdown cycle for a MySQL server with the MySQL Instance Manager enabled is as follows:

The /etc/init.d/mysql script starts MySQL Instance Manager.
Instance Manager starts the guarded server instances and monitors them.
If a server instance fails, Instance Manager restarts it.
If Instance Manager is shut down (for example, with the /etc/init.d/mysql stop command), it shuts down all server instances.

5.4.4. Instance Manager User and Password Management

The Instance Manager stores its user information in a password file. On Windows, the default is mysqlmanager.passwd in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the default file is /etc/mysqlmanager.passwd. To specify a different location for the password file, use the --password-file option.

If the password file does not exist or contains no password entries, you cannot connect to the Instance Manager.

Note

Any Instance Manager process that is running to monitor server instances does not notice changes to the password file. You must stop it and restart it after making password entry changes.

Entries in the password file have the following format, where the two fields are the account username and encrypted password, separated by a colon:

petr:*35110DC9B4D8140F5DE667E28C72DD2597B5C848

Instance Manager password encryption is the same as that used by MySQL Server. It is a one-way operation; no means are provided for decrypting encrypted passwords.

Instance Manager accounts differ somewhat from MySQL Server accounts:

MySQL Server accounts are associated with a hostname, username, and password (see Section 5.8.1, “MySQL Usernames and Passwords”).
Instance Manager accounts are associated with a username and password only.

This means that a client can connect to Instance Manager with a given username from any host. To limit connections so that clients can connect only from the local host, start Instance Manager with the --bind-address=127.0.0.1 option so that it listens only to the local network interface. Remote clients will not be able to connect. Local clients can connect like this:

shell> mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 2273

To generate a new entry, invoke Instance Manager with the --passwd option and append the output to the /etc/mysqlmanager.passwd file. Here is an example:

shell> mysqlmanager --passwd >> /etc/mysqlmanager.passwd
Creating record for new user.
Enter user name: mike
Enter password: mikepass
Re-type password: mikepass

At the prompts, enter the username and password for the new Instance Manager user. You must enter the password twice. It does not echo to the screen, so double entry guards against entering a different password than you intend (if the two passwords do not match, no entry is generated).

The preceding command causes the following line to be added to /etc/mysqlmanager.passwd:

mike:*BBF1F551DD9DD96A01E66EC7DDC073911BAD17BA

5.4.5. MySQL Server Instance Status Monitoring

To monitor the status of each guarded server instance, the MySQL Instance Manager attempts to connect to the instance at regular intervals using the MySQL_Instance_Manager@localhost user account with a password of check_connection.

You are not required to create this account for MySQL Server; in fact, it is expected that it will not exist. Instance Manager can tell that a server is operational if the server accepts the connection attempt but refuses access for the account by returning a login error. However, these failed connection attempts are logged by the server to its general query log (see Section 5.11.2, “The General Query Log”).

Instance Manager also attempts a connection to nonguarded server instances when you use the SHOW INSTANCES or SHOW INSTANCE STATUS command. This is the only status monitoring done for nonguarded instances.

Instance Manager knows if a server instance fails at startup because it receives a status from the attempt. For an instance that starts but later crashes, Instance Manager receives a signal because it is the parent process of the instance.

5.4.6. Connecting to MySQL Instance Manager

After you set up a password file for the MySQL Instance Manager and Instance Manager is running, you can connect to it. The MySQL client-server protocol is used to communicate with the Instance Manager. For example, you can connect to it using the standard mysql client program:

shell> mysql --port=2273 --host=im.example.org --user=mysql --password

Instance Manager supports the version of the MySQL client-server protocol used by the client tools and libraries distributed with MySQL 4.1 or later, so other programs that use the MySQL C API also can connect to it.

5.4.7. MySQL Instance Manager Commands

After you connect to MySQL Instance Manager, you can issue commands. The following general principles apply to Instance Manager command execution:

Commands that take an instance name fail if the name is not a valid instance name.
Commands that take an instance name fail if the instance does not exist.
Instance Manager maintains information about instance configuration in an internal (in-memory) cache. Initially, this information comes from the configuration file if it exists, but some commands change the configuration of an instance. Commands that modify the configuration file fail if the file does not exist or is not accessible to Instance Manager.
On Windows, the standard file is my.ini in the directory where Instance Manager is installed. On Unix, the standard configuration file is /etc/my.cnf. To specify a different configuration file, start Instance Manager with the --defaults-file option.
If a [mysqld] instance section exists in the configuration file, it must not contain any Instance Manager-specific options (see Section 5.4.2, “MySQL Instance Manager Configuration Files”). Therefore, you must not add any of these options if you change the configuration for an instance named mysqld.

The following list describes the commands that Instance Manager accepts, with examples.

START INSTANCE instance_name
This command attempts to start an offline instance. The command is asynchronous; it does not wait for the instance to start.
```
mysql> START INSTANCE mysqld4;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0,00 sec)
```
STOP INSTANCE instance_name
This command attempts to stop an instance. The command is synchronous; it waits for the instance to stop.
```
mysql> STOP INSTANCE mysqld4;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0,00 sec)
```

SHOW INSTANCES

Shows the names and status of all loaded instances.

mysql> SHOW INSTANCES;
+---------------+---------+
| instance_name | status  |
+---------------+---------+
| mysqld3       | offline |
| mysqld4       | online  |
| mysqld2       | offline |
+---------------+---------+

SHOW INSTANCE STATUS instance_name

Shows status and version information for an instance.

mysql> SHOW INSTANCE STATUS mysqld3;
+---------------+--------+---------+
| instance_name | status | version |
+---------------+--------+---------+
| mysqld3       | online | unknown |
+---------------+--------+---------+

SHOW INSTANCE OPTIONS instance_name

Shows the options used by an instance.

mysql> SHOW INSTANCE OPTIONS mysqld3;
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| option_name   | value                                             |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| instance_name | mysqld3                                           |
| mysqld-path   | /home/cps/mysql/trees/mysql-4.1/sql/mysqld        |
| port          | 3309                                              |
| socket        | /tmp/mysql.sock3                                  |
| pid-file      | hostname.pid3                                     |
| datadir       | /home/cps/mysql_data/data_dir1/                   |
| language      | /home/cps/mysql/trees/mysql-4.1/sql/share/english |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+

SHOW instance_name LOG FILES
The command lists all log files used by the instance. The result set contains the path to the log file and the log file size. If no log file path is specified in the instance section of the configuration file (for example, log=/var/mysql.log), the Instance Manager tries to guess its placement. If Instance Manager is unable to guess the log file placement you should specify the log file location explicitly by using a log option in the appropriate instance section of the configuration file.
```
mysql> SHOW mysqld LOG FILES;
+-------------+------------------------------------+----------+
| Logfile     | Path                               | Filesize |
+-------------+------------------------------------+----------+
| ERROR LOG   | /home/cps/var/mysql/owlet.err      | 9186     |
| GENERAL LOG | /home/cps/var/mysql/owlet.log      | 471503   |
| SLOW LOG    | /home/cps/var/mysql/owlet-slow.log | 4463     |
+-------------+------------------------------------+----------+
```
Log options are described in Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.
SHOW instance_name LOG {ERROR | SLOW | GENERAL} size[,offset_from_end]
This command retrieves a portion of the specified log file. Because most users are interested in the latest log messages, the size parameter defines the number of bytes to retrieve from the end of the log. To retrieve data from the middle of the log file, specify the optional offset_from_end parameter. The following example retrieves 21 bytes of data, starting 23 bytes before the end of the log file and ending 2 bytes before the end:
```
mysql> SHOW mysqld LOG GENERAL 21, 2;
+---------------------+
| Log                 |
+---------------------+
| using password: YES |
+---------------------+
```
SET instance_name.option_name[=option_value]
This command edits the specified instance's configuration section to change or add instance options. The option is added to the section is it is not already present. Otherwise, the new setting replaces the existing one.
```
mysql> SET mysqld2.port=3322;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
```
Changes made to the configuration file do not take effect until the MySQL server is restarted. In addition, these changes are not stored in the instance manager's local cache of instance settings until a FLUSH INSTANCES command is executed.
UNSET instance_name.option_name
This command removes an option from an instance's configuration section.
```
mysql> UNSET mysqld2.port;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
```
Changes made to the configuration file do not take effect until the MySQL server is restarted. In addition, these changes are not stored in the instance manager's local cache of instance settings until a FLUSH INSTANCES command is executed.
FLUSH INSTANCES
This command forces Instance Manager reread the configuration file and to refresh internal structures. This command should be performed after editing the configuration file. The command does not restart instances.
```
mysql> FLUSH INSTANCES;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.04 sec)
```
FLUSH INSTANCES is deprecated and will be removed in MySQL 5.2.

5.5. Installation-Related Programs

5.5.1. comp_err — Compile MySQL Error Message File
5.5.2. make_win_bin_dist — Package MySQL Distribution as ZIP Archive
5.5.3. make_win_src_distribution — Create Source Distribution for Windows
5.5.4. mysql_fix_privilege_tables — Upgrade MySQL System Tables
5.5.5. mysql_install_db — Initialize MySQL Data Directory
5.5.6. mysql_secure_installation — Improve MySQL Installation Security
5.5.7. mysql_tzinfo_to_sql — Load the Time Zone Tables
5.5.8. mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade

The programs in this section are used when installing or upgrading MySQL.

5.5.1. comp_err — Compile MySQL Error Message File

comp_err creates the errmsg.sys file that is used by mysqld to determine the error messages to display for different error codes. comp_err normally is run automatically when MySQL is built. It compiles the errmsg.sys file from the plaintext file located at sql/share/errmsg.txt in MySQL source distributions.

comp_err also generates mysqld_error.h, mysqld_ername.h, and sql_state.h header files.

For more information about how error messages are defined, see the MySQL Internals Manual.

Invoke comp_err like this:

shell> comp_err [options]

comp_err understands the options described in the following list.

--help, -?
Display a help message and exit.
--charset=path, -C path
The character set directory. The default is ../sql/share/charsets.
--debug=debug_options, -# debug_options
Write a debugging log. The debug_options string often is 'd:t:O,file_name'. The default is 'd:t:O,/tmp/comp_err.trace'.
--debug-info, -T
Print some debugging information when the program exits.
--header_file=file_name, -H file_name
The name of the error header file. The default is mysqld_error.h.
--in_file=file_name, -F file_name
The name of the input file. The default is ../sql/share/errmsg.txt.
--name_file=file_name, -N file_name
The name of the error name file. The default is mysqld_ername.h.
--out_dir=path, -D path
The name of the output base directory. The default is ../sql/share/.
--out_file=file_name, -O file_name
The name of the output file. The default is errmsg.sys.
--statefile=file_name, -S file_name
The name for the SQLSTATE header file. The default is sql_state.h.
--version, -V
Display version information and exit.

5.5.2. make_win_bin_dist — Package MySQL Distribution as ZIP Archive

This script is used on Windows after building a MySQL distribution from source to create executable programs. It packages the binaries and support files into a ZIP archive that can be unpacked at the location where you want to install MySQL.

make_win_bin_dist is a shell script, so you must have Cygwin installed to use it.

This program's use is subject to change. Currently, you invoke it as follows from the root directory of your source distribution:

shell> make_win_bin_dist [options] package_basename [copy_def ...]

The package_basename argument provides the basename for the resulting ZIP archive. This name will be the name of the directory that results from unpacking the archive.

Because you might want to include files of directories from other builds, you can instruct this script do copy them in for you, via copy_def arguments, which of which is of the form relative_dest_name=source_name.

Example:

bin/mysqld-max.exe=../my-max-build/sql/release/mysqld.exe

If you specify a directory, the entire directory will be copied.

make_win_bin_dist understands the following options:

--debug
Pack the debug binaries and produce an error if they were not built.
--embedded
Pack the embedded server and produce an error if it was not built. The default is to pack it if it was built.
--exe-suffix=suffix
Add a suffix to the basename of the mysql binary. For example, a suffix of -abc produces a binary named mysqld-abc.exe.
--no-debug
Don't pack the debug binaries even if they were built.
--no-embedded
Don't pack the embedded server even if it was built.
--only-debug
Use this option when the target for this build was Debug, and you just want to replace the normal binaries with debug versions (that is, do not use separate debug directories).

5.5.3. make_win_src_distribution — Create Source Distribution for Windows

make_win_src_distribution creates a Windows source package to be used on Windows systems. It is used after you configure and build the source distribution on a Unix or Unix-like system so that you have a server binary to work with. (See the instructions at Section 2.4.15.6.5, “Creating a Windows Source Package from the BitKeeper Repository”.)

Invoke make_win_src_distribution like this from the top-level directory of a MySQL source distribution:

shell> make_win_src_distribution [options]

make_win_src_distribution understands the following options:

--help
Display a help message and exit.
--debug
Print information about script operations; do not create a package.
--tmp
Specify the temporary location.
--suffix
The suffix name for the package.
--dirname
Directory name to copy files (intermediate).
--silent
Do not print verbose list of files processed.
--tar
Create a tar.gz package instead of a .zip package.
By default, make_win_src_distribution creates a Zip-format archive with the name mysql-VERSION-win-src.zip, where VERSION represents the version of your MySQL source tree.

5.5.4. mysql_fix_privilege_tables — Upgrade MySQL System Tables

Some releases of MySQL introduce changes to the structure of the system tables in the mysql database to add new privileges or support new features. When you update to a new version of MySQL, you should update your system tables as well to make sure that their structure is up to date. Otherwise, there might be capabilities that you cannot take advantage of. First, make a backup of your mysql database, and then use the following procedure.

Note

As of MySQL 5.0.19, mysql_fix_privilege_tables is superseded by mysql_upgrade, which should be used instead. See Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.

On Unix or Unix-like systems, update the system tables by running the mysql_fix_privilege_tables script:

shell> mysql_fix_privilege_tables

You must run this script while the server is running. It attempts to connect to the server running on the local host as root. If your root account requires a password, indicate the password on the command line like this:

shell> mysql_fix_privilege_tables --password=root_password

The mysql_fix_privilege_tables script performs any actions necessary to convert your system tables to the current format. You might see some Duplicate column name warnings as it runs; you can ignore them.

After running the script, stop the server and restart it so that it uses any changes that were made to the system tables.

On Windows systems, MySQL distributions include a mysql_fix_privilege_tables.sql SQL script that you can run using the mysql client. For example, if your MySQL installation is located at C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0, the commands look like this:

C:\> cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0"
C:\> bin\mysql -u root -p mysql
mysql> SOURCE scripts/mysql_fix_privilege_tables.sql

The mysql command will prompt you for the root password; enter it when prompted.

If your installation is located in some other directory, adjust the pathnames appropriately.

As with the Unix procedure, you might see some Duplicate column name warnings as mysql processes the statements in the mysql_fix_privilege_tables.sql script; you can ignore them.

After running the script, stop the server and restart it.

5.5.5. mysql_install_db — Initialize MySQL Data Directory

mysql_install_db initializes the MySQL data directory and creates the system tables that it contains, if they do not exist. Because the MySQL server, mysqld, needs to access the data directory when it runs later, you should either run mysql_install_db from the same account that will be used for running mysqld or run it as root and use the --user option to indicate the username that mysqld will run as.

To invoke mysql_install_db, use the following syntax:

shell> mysql_install_db [options]

mysql_install_db needs to invoke mysqld with the --bootstrap and --skip-grant-tables options (see Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”). If MySQL was configured with the --disable-grant-options option, --bootstrap and --skip-grant-tables will be disabled. To handle this, set the MYSQLD_BOOTSTRAP environment variable to the full pathname of a server that has all options enabled. mysql_install_db will use that server.

mysql_install_db supports the following options:

--basedir=path
The path to the MySQL installation directory.
--force
Causes mysql_install_db to run even if DNS does not work. In that case, grant table entries that normally use hostnames will use IP addresses.
--datadir=path, --ldata=path
The path to the MySQL data directory.
--rpm
For internal use. This option is used by RPM files during the MySQL installation process.
--skip-name-resolve
Use IP addresses rather than hostnames when creating grant table entries. This option can be useful if your DNS does not work.
--srcdir=path
For internal use. The directory under which mysql_install_db looks for support files such as the error message file and the file for populating the help tables. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.32.
--user=user_name
The login username to use for running mysqld. Files and directories created by mysqld will be owned by this user. You must be root to use this option. By default, mysqld runs using your current login name and files and directories that it creates will be owned by you.
--verbose
Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does.
--windows
For internal use. This option is used for creating Windows distributions.

5.5.6. mysql_secure_installation — Improve MySQL Installation Security

This program enables you to improve the security of your MySQL installation in the following ways:

You can set a password for root accounts.
You can remove root accounts that are accessible from outside the local host.
You can remove anonymous-user accounts.
You can remove the test database, which by default can be accessed by anonymous users.

Invoke mysql_secure_installation without arguments:

shell> mysql_secure_installation

The script will prompt you to determine which actions to perform.

5.5.7. mysql_tzinfo_to_sql — Load the Time Zone Tables

The mysql_tzinfo_to_sql program loads the time zone tables in the mysql database. It is used on systems that have a zoneinfo database (the set of files describing time zones). Examples of such systems are Linux, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris, and Mac OS X. One likely location for these files is the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory. If your system does not have a zoneinfo database, you can use the downloadable package described in Section 5.10.8, “MySQL Server Time Zone Support”.

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql can be invoked several ways:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql tz_dir
shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql tz_file tz_name
shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql --leap tz_file

For the first invocation syntax, pass the zoneinfo directory pathname to mysql_tzinfo_to_sql and send the output into the mysql program. For example:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql /usr/share/zoneinfo | mysql -u root mysql

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql reads your system's time zone files and generates SQL statements from them. mysql processes those statements to load the time zone tables.

The second syntax causes mysql_tzinfo_to_sql to load a single time zone file tz_file that corresponds to a time zone name tz_name:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql tz_file tz_name | mysql -u root mysql

If your time zone needs to account for leap seconds, invoke mysql_tzinfo_to_sql using the third syntax, which initializes the leap second information. tz_file is the name of your time zone file:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql --leap tz_file | mysql -u root mysql

5.5.8. mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade

mysql_upgrade should be executed each time you upgrade MySQL. It checks all tables in all databases for incompatibilities with the current version of MySQL Server. If a table is found to have a possible incompatibility, it is checked. If any problems are found, the table is repaired. mysql_upgrade also upgrades the system tables so that you can take advantage of new privileges or capabilities that might have been added.

All checked and repaired tables are marked with the current MySQL version number. This ensures that next time you run mysql_upgrade with the same version of the server, it can tell whether there is any need to check or repair the table again.

mysql_upgrade also saves the MySQL version number in a file named mysql_upgrade_info in the data directory. This is used to quickly check if all tables have been checked for this release so that table-checking can be skipped. To ignore this file, use the --force option.

To check and repair tables and to upgrade the system tables, mysql_upgrade executes the following commands:

mysqlcheck --check-upgrade --all-databases --auto-repair
mysql_fix_privilege_tables

mysql_upgrade supersedes the older mysql_fix_privilege_tables script. In MySQL 5.0.19, mysql_upgrade was added as a shell script and worked only for Unix systems. As of MySQL 5.0.25, mysql_upgrade is an executable binary and is available on all systems. On systems older than those supporting mysql_upgrade, you can execute the mysqlcheck command manually, and then upgrade your system tables as described in Section 5.5.4, “mysql_fix_privilege_tables — Upgrade MySQL System Tables”.

For details about what is checked, see the description of the FOR UPGRADE option of the CHECK TABLE statement (see Section 12.5.2.3, “CHECK TABLE Syntax”).

To use mysql_upgrade, make sure that the server is running, and then invoke it like this:

shell> mysql_upgrade [options]

After running mysql_upgrade, stop the server and restart it so that it uses any changes that were made to the system tables.

mysql_upgrade reads options from the command line and from the [mysql_upgrade] group in option files. It supports the following options:

--help
Display a short help message and exit.
--basedir=path
The path to the MySQL installation directory.
--datadir=path
The path to the data directory.
--force
Force execution of mysqlcheck even if mysql_upgrade has already been executed for the current version of MySQL. (In other words, this option causes the mysql_upgrade_info file to be ignored.)
--user=user_name, -u user_name
The MySQL username to use when connecting to the server. The default username is root.
--verbose
Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does.

Other options are passed to mysqlcheck and to mysql_fix_privilege_tables. For example, it might be necessary to specify the --password[=password] option.

5.6. General Security Issues

5.6.1. General Security Guidelines
5.6.2. Making MySQL Secure Against Attackers
5.6.3. Security-Related mysqld Options
5.6.4. Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL
5.6.5. How to Run MySQL as a Normal User

This section describes some general security issues to be aware of and what you can do to make your MySQL installation more secure against attack or misuse. For information specifically about the access control system that MySQL uses for setting up user accounts and checking database access, see Section 5.7, “The MySQL Access Privilege System”.

For answers to some questions that are often asked about MySQL Server security issues, see Section A.9, “MySQL 5.0 FAQ — Security”.

5.6.1. General Security Guidelines

Anyone using MySQL on a computer connected to the Internet should read this section to avoid the most common security mistakes.

In discussing security, we emphasize the necessity of fully protecting the entire server host (not just the MySQL server) against all types of applicable attacks: eavesdropping, altering, playback, and denial of service. We do not cover all aspects of availability and fault tolerance here.

MySQL uses security based on Access Control Lists (ACLs) for all connections, queries, and other operations that users can attempt to perform. There is also support for SSL-encrypted connections between MySQL clients and servers. Many of the concepts discussed here are not specific to MySQL at all; the same general ideas apply to almost all applications.

When running MySQL, follow these guidelines whenever possible:

Do not ever give anyone (except MySQL root accounts) access to the user table in the mysql database! This is critical.
Learn the MySQL access privilege system. The GRANT and REVOKE statements are used for controlling access to MySQL. Do not grant more privileges than necessary. Never grant privileges to all hosts.
Checklist:
- Try mysql -u root. If you are able to connect successfully to the server without being asked for a password, anyone can connect to your MySQL server as the MySQL root user with full privileges! Review the MySQL installation instructions, paying particular attention to the information about setting a root password. See Section 2.4.16.3, “Securing the Initial MySQL Accounts”.
- Use the SHOW GRANTS statement to check which accounts have access to what. Then use the REVOKE statement to remove those privileges that are not necessary.
Do not store any plain-text passwords in your database. If your computer becomes compromised, the intruder can take the full list of passwords and use them. Instead, use MD5(), SHA1(), or some other one-way hashing function and store the hash value.
Do not choose passwords from dictionaries. Special programs exist to break passwords. Even passwords like “xfish98” are very bad. Much better is “duag98” which contains the same word “fish” but typed one key to the left on a standard QWERTY keyboard. Another method is to use a password that is taken from the first characters of each word in a sentence (for example, “Mary had a little lamb” results in a password of “Mhall”). The password is easy to remember and type, but difficult to guess for someone who does not know the sentence.
MySQL Enterprise MySQL Enterprise subscribers can find an example of a function that checks password security in the Knowledge Base article, Checking Password Complexity. To subscribe to MySQL Enterprise see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
Invest in a firewall. This protects you from at least 50% of all types of exploits in any software. Put MySQL behind the firewall or in a demilitarized zone (DMZ).
Checklist:
- Try to scan your ports from the Internet using a tool such as nmap. MySQL uses port 3306 by default. This port should not be accessible from untrusted hosts. Another simple way to check whether or not your MySQL port is open is to try the following command from some remote machine, where server_host is the hostname or IP number of the host on which your MySQL server runs:
```
shell> telnet server_host 3306
```
  If you get a connection and some garbage characters, the port is open, and should be closed on your firewall or router, unless you really have a good reason to keep it open. If telnet hangs or the connection is refused, the port is blocked, which is how you want it to be.
Do not trust any data entered by users of your applications. They can try to trick your code by entering special or escaped character sequences in Web forms, URLs, or whatever application you have built. Be sure that your application remains secure if a user enters something like “; DROP DATABASE mysql;”. This is an extreme example, but large security leaks and data loss might occur as a result of hackers using similar techniques, if you do not prepare for them.
A common mistake is to protect only string data values. Remember to check numeric data as well. If an application generates a query such as SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID=234 when a user enters the value 234, the user can enter the value 234 OR 1=1 to cause the application to generate the query SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID=234 OR 1=1. As a result, the server retrieves every row in the table. This exposes every row and causes excessive server load. The simplest way to protect from this type of attack is to use single quotes around the numeric constants: SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID='234'. If the user enters extra information, it all becomes part of the string. In a numeric context, MySQL automatically converts this string to a number and strips any trailing non-numeric characters from it.
Sometimes people think that if a database contains only publicly available data, it need not be protected. This is incorrect. Even if it is allowable to display any row in the database, you should still protect against denial of service attacks (for example, those that are based on the technique in the preceding paragraph that causes the server to waste resources). Otherwise, your server becomes unresponsive to legitimate users.
Checklist:
- Try to enter single and double quote marks (“'” and “"”) in all of your Web forms. If you get any kind of MySQL error, investigate the problem right away.
- Try to modify dynamic URLs by adding %22 (“"”), %23 (“#”), and %27 (“'”) to them.
- Try to modify data types in dynamic URLs from numeric to character types using the characters shown in the previous examples. Your application should be safe against these and similar attacks.
- Try to enter characters, spaces, and special symbols rather than numbers in numeric fields. Your application should remove them before passing them to MySQL or else generate an error. Passing unchecked values to MySQL is very dangerous!
- Check the size of data before passing it to MySQL.
- Have your application connect to the database using a username different from the one you use for administrative purposes. Do not give your applications any access privileges they do not need.
Many application programming interfaces provide a means of escaping special characters in data values. Properly used, this prevents application users from entering values that cause the application to generate statements that have a different effect than you intend:
- MySQL C API: Use the mysql_real_escape_string() API call.
- MySQL++: Use the escape and quote modifiers for query streams.
- PHP: Use the mysql_real_escape_string() function (available as of PHP 4.3.0, prior to that PHP version use mysql_escape_string(), and prior to PHP 4.0.3, use addslashes() ). Note that only mysql_real_escape_string() is character set-aware; the other functions can be “bypassed” when using (invalid) multi-byte character sets. In PHP 5, you can use the mysqli extension, which supports the improved MySQL authentication protocol and passwords, as well as prepared statements with placeholders.
- Perl DBI: Use placeholders or the quote() method.
- Ruby DBI: Use placeholders or the quote() method.
- Java JDBC: Use a PreparedStatement object and placeholders.
Other programming interfaces might have similar capabilities.
Do not transmit plain (unencrypted) data over the Internet. This information is accessible to everyone who has the time and ability to intercept it and use it for their own purposes. Instead, use an encrypted protocol such as SSL or SSH. MySQL supports internal SSL connections as of version 4.0. Another technique is to use SSH port-forwarding to create an encrypted (and compressed) tunnel for the communication.
Learn to use the tcpdump and strings utilities. In most cases, you can check whether MySQL data streams are unencrypted by issuing a command like the following:
```
shell> tcpdump -l -i eth0 -w - src or dst port 3306 | strings
```
(This works under Linux and should work with small modifications under other systems.) Warning: If you do not see plaintext data, this doesn't always mean that the information actually is encrypted. If you need high security, you should consult with a security expert.

5.6.2. Making MySQL Secure Against Attackers

When you connect to a MySQL server, you should use a password. The password is not transmitted in clear text over the connection. Password handling during the client connection sequence was upgraded in MySQL 4.1.1 to be very secure. If you are still using pre-4.1.1-style passwords, the encryption algorithm is not as strong as the newer algorithm. With some effort, a clever attacker who can sniff the traffic between the client and the server can crack the password. (See Section 5.7.9, “Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1”, for a discussion of the different password handling methods.)

MySQL Enterprise The MySQL Enterprise Monitor enforces best practices for maximizing the security of your servers. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

All other information is transferred as text, and can be read by anyone who is able to watch the connection. If the connection between the client and the server goes through an untrusted network, and you are concerned about this, you can use the compressed protocol to make traffic much more difficult to decipher. You can also use MySQL's internal SSL support to make the connection even more secure. See Section 5.8.7, “Using Secure Connections”. Alternatively, use SSH to get an encrypted TCP/IP connection between a MySQL server and a MySQL client. You can find an Open Source SSH client at http://www.openssh.org/, and a commercial SSH client at http://www.ssh.com/.

To make a MySQL system secure, you should strongly consider the following suggestions:

Require all MySQL accounts to have a password. A client program does not necessarily know the identity of the person running it. It is common for client/server applications that the user can specify any username to the client program. For example, anyone can use the mysql program to connect as any other person simply by invoking it as mysql -u other_user db_name if other_user has no password. If all accounts have a password, connecting using another user's account becomes much more difficult.
For a discussion of methods for setting passwords, see Section 5.8.5, “Assigning Account Passwords”.
Never run the MySQL server as the Unix root user. This is extremely dangerous, because any user with the FILE privilege is able to cause the server to create files as root (for example, ~root/.bashrc). To prevent this, mysqld refuses to run as root unless that is specified explicitly using the --user=root option.
mysqld can (and should) be run as an ordinary, unprivileged user instead. You can create a separate Unix account named mysql to make everything even more secure. Use this account only for administering MySQL. To start mysqld as a different Unix user, add a user option that specifies the username in the [mysqld] group of the my.cnf option file where you specify server options. For example:
```
[mysqld]
user=mysql
```
This causes the server to start as the designated user whether you start it manually or by using mysqld_safe or mysql.server. For more details, see Section 5.6.5, “How to Run MySQL as a Normal User”.
Running mysqld as a Unix user other than root does not mean that you need to change the root username in the user table. Usernames for MySQL accounts have nothing to do with usernames for Unix accounts.
Do not allow the use of symlinks to tables. (This capability can be disabled with the --skip-symbolic-links option.) This is especially important if you run mysqld as root, because anyone that has write access to the server's data directory then could delete any file in the system! See Section 6.6.1.2, “Using Symbolic Links for Tables on Unix”.
Make sure that the only Unix user with read or write privileges in the database directories is the user that mysqld runs as.
Do not grant the PROCESS or SUPER privilege to non-administrative users. The output of mysqladmin processlist and SHOW PROCESSLIST shows the text of any statements currently being executed, so any user who is allowed to see the server process list might be able to see statements issued by other users such as UPDATE user SET password=PASSWORD('not_secure').
mysqld reserves an extra connection for users who have the SUPER privilege, so that a MySQL root user can log in and check server activity even if all normal connections are in use.
The SUPER privilege can be used to terminate client connections, change server operation by changing the value of system variables, and control replication servers.
Do not grant the FILE privilege to non-administrative users. Any user that has this privilege can write a file anywhere in the filesystem with the privileges of the mysqld daemon. To make this a bit safer, files generated with SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE do not overwrite existing files and are writable by everyone.
The FILE privilege may also be used to read any file that is world-readable or accessible to the Unix user that the server runs as. With this privilege, you can read any file into a database table. This could be abused, for example, by using LOAD DATA to load /etc/passwd into a table, which then can be displayed with SELECT.
If you do not trust your DNS, you should use IP numbers rather than hostnames in the grant tables. In any case, you should be very careful about creating grant table entries using hostname values that contain wildcards.
If you want to restrict the number of connections allowed to a single account, you can do so by setting the max_user_connections variable in mysqld. The GRANT statement also supports resource control options for limiting the extent of server use allowed to an account. See Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.
--ssl*
Options that begin with --ssl specify whether to allow clients to connect via SSL and indicate where to find SSL keys and certificates. See Section 5.8.7.3, “SSL Command Options”.

5.6.3. Security-Related mysqld Options

The following mysqld options affect security:

--allow-suspicious-udfs
This option controls whether user-defined functions that have only an xxx symbol for the main function can be loaded. By default, the option is off and only UDFs that have at least one auxiliary symbol can be loaded; this prevents attempts at loading functions from shared object files other than those containing legitimate UDFs. For MySQL 5.0, this option was added in MySQL 5.0.3. See Section 26.2.4.6, “User-Defined Function Security Precautions”.
--local-infile[={0|1}]
If you start the server with --local-infile=0, clients cannot use LOCAL in LOAD DATA statements. See Section 5.6.4, “Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL”.
--old-passwords
Force the server to generate short (pre-4.1) password hashes for new passwords. This is useful for compatibility when the server must support older client programs. See Section 5.7.9, “Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1”.
MySQL Enterprise The MySQL Enterprise Monitor offers advice on the security implications of using this option. For subscription information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
--safe-show-database (OBSOLETE)
In previous versions of MySQL, this option caused the SHOW DATABASES statement to display the names of only those databases for which the user had some kind of privilege. In MySQL 5.0, this option is no longer available as this is now the default behavior, and there is a SHOW DATABASES privilege that can be used to control access to database names on a per-account basis. See Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.
--safe-user-create
If this option is enabled, a user cannot create new MySQL users by using the GRANT statement unless the user has the INSERT privilege for the mysql.user table or any column in the table. If you want a user to have the ability to create new users that have those privileges that the user has the right to grant, you should grant the user the following privilege:
```
GRANT INSERT(user) ON mysql.user TO 'user_name'@'host_name';
```
This ensures that the user cannot change any privilege columns directly, but has to use the GRANT statement to give privileges to other users.
--secure-auth
Disallow authentication for accounts that have old (pre-4.1) passwords.
The mysql client also has a --secure-auth option, which prevents connections to a server if the server requires a password in old format for the client account.
--secure-file-priv=path
This option limits the effect of the LOAD_FILE() function and the LOAD DATA and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements to work only with files in the specified directory.
This option was added in MySQL 5.0.38.
--skip-grant-tables
This option causes the server not to use the privilege system at all. This gives anyone with access to the server unrestricted access to all databases. You can cause a running server to start using the grant tables again by executing mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command from a system shell, or by issuing a MySQL FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement. This option also suppresses loading of user-defined functions (UDFs).
--skip-name-resolve
Hostnames are not resolved. All Host column values in the grant tables must be IP numbers or localhost.
--skip-networking
Do not allow TCP/IP connections over the network. All connections to mysqld must be made via Unix socket files.
--skip-show-database
With this option, the SHOW DATABASES statement is allowed only to users who have the SHOW DATABASES privilege, and the statement displays all database names. Without this option, SHOW DATABASES is allowed to all users, but displays each database name only if the user has the SHOW DATABASES privilege or some privilege for the database. Note that any global privilege is a privilege for the database.

5.6.4. Security Issues with `LOAD DATA LOCAL`

The LOAD DATA statement can load a file that is located on the server host, or it can load a file that is located on the client host when the LOCAL keyword is specified.

There are two potential security issues with supporting the LOCAL version of LOAD DATA statements:

The transfer of the file from the client host to the server host is initiated by the MySQL server. In theory, a patched server could be built that would tell the client program to transfer a file of the server's choosing rather than the file named by the client in the LOAD DATA statement. Such a server could access any file on the client host to which the client user has read access.
In a Web environment where the clients are connecting from a Web server, a user could use LOAD DATA LOCAL to read any files that the Web server process has read access to (assuming that a user could run any command against the SQL server). In this environment, the client with respect to the MySQL server actually is the Web server, not the remote program being run by the user who connects to the Web server.

To deal with these problems, we changed how LOAD DATA LOCAL is handled as of MySQL 3.23.49 and MySQL 4.0.2 (4.0.13 on Windows):

By default, all MySQL clients and libraries in binary distributions are compiled with the --enable-local-infile option, to be compatible with MySQL 3.23.48 and before.
If you build MySQL from source but do not invoke configure with the --enable-local-infile option, LOAD DATA LOCAL cannot be used by any client unless it is written explicitly to invoke mysql_options(... MYSQL_OPT_LOCAL_INFILE, 0). See Section 23.2.3.49, “mysql_options()”.
You can disable all LOAD DATA LOCAL commands from the server side by starting mysqld with the --local-infile=0 option.
For the mysql command-line client, LOAD DATA LOCAL can be enabled by specifying the --local-infile[=1] option, or disabled with the --local-infile=0 option. Similarly, for mysqlimport, the --local or -L option enables local data file loading. In any case, successful use of a local loading operation requires that the server is enabled to allow it.
If you use LOAD DATA LOCAL in Perl scripts or other programs that read the [client] group from option files, you can add the local-infile=1 option to that group. However, to keep this from causing problems for programs that do not understand local-infile, specify it using the loose- prefix:
```
[client]
loose-local-infile=1
```
If LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled, either in the server or the client, a client that attempts to issue such a statement receives the following error message:
```
ERROR 1148: The used command is not allowed with this MySQL version
```

MySQL Enterprise Security advisors notify subscribers to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor whenever a server is started with the --local-infile option enabled. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

5.6.5. How to Run MySQL as a Normal User

On Windows, you can run the server as a Windows service using a normal user account.

On Unix, the MySQL server mysqld can be started and run by any user. However, you should avoid running the server as the Unix root user for security reasons. To change mysqld to run as a normal unprivileged Unix user user_name, you must do the following:

Stop the server if it's running (use mysqladmin shutdown).
Change the database directories and files so that user_name has privileges to read and write files in them (you might need to do this as the Unix root user):
```
shell> chown -R user_name /path/to/mysql/datadir
```
If you do not do this, the server will not be able to access databases or tables when it runs as user_name.
If directories or files within the MySQL data directory are symbolic links, you'll also need to follow those links and change the directories and files they point to. chown -R might not follow symbolic links for you.
Start the server as user user_name. If you are using MySQL 3.22 or later, another alternative is to start mysqld as the Unix root user and use the --user=user_name option. mysqld starts up, then switches to run as the Unix user user_name before accepting any connections.
To start the server as the given user automatically at system startup time, specify the username by adding a user option to the [mysqld] group of the /etc/my.cnf option file or the my.cnf option file in the server's data directory. For example:
```
[mysqld]
user=user_name
```

If your Unix machine itself isn't secured, you should assign passwords to the MySQL root accounts in the grant tables. Otherwise, any user with a login account on that machine can run the mysql client with a --user=root option and perform any operation. (It is a good idea to assign passwords to MySQL accounts in any case, but especially so when other login accounts exist on the server host.) See Section 2.4.16, “Post-Installation Setup and Testing”.

5.7. The MySQL Access Privilege System

5.7.1. What the Privilege System Does
5.7.2. How the Privilege System Works
5.7.3. Privileges Provided by MySQL
5.7.4. Connecting to the MySQL Server
5.7.5. Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification
5.7.6. Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification
5.7.7. When Privilege Changes Take Effect
5.7.8. Causes of Access denied Errors
5.7.9. Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1

MySQL has an advanced but non-standard security and privilege system. The following discussion describes how it works.

5.7.1. What the Privilege System Does

The primary function of the MySQL privilege system is to authenticate a user who connects from a given host and to associate that user with privileges on a database such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.

Additional functionality includes the ability to have anonymous users and to grant privileges for MySQL-specific functions such as LOAD DATA INFILE and administrative operations.

5.7.2. How the Privilege System Works

The MySQL privilege system ensures that all users may perform only the operations allowed to them. As a user, when you connect to a MySQL server, your identity is determined by the host from which you connect and the username you specify. When you issue requests after connecting, the system grants privileges according to your identity and what you want to do.

MySQL considers both your hostname and username in identifying you because there is little reason to assume that a given username belongs to the same person everywhere on the Internet. For example, the user joe who connects from office.example.com need not be the same person as the user joe who connects from home.example.com. MySQL handles this by allowing you to distinguish users on different hosts that happen to have the same name: You can grant one set of privileges for connections by joe from office.example.com, and a different set of privileges for connections by joe from home.example.com.

MySQL access control involves two stages when you run a client program that connects to the server:

Stage 1: The server checks whether it should allow you to connect.
Stage 2: Assuming that you can connect, the server checks each statement you issue to determine whether you have sufficient privileges to perform it. For example, if you try to select rows from a table in a database or drop a table from the database, the server verifies that you have the SELECT privilege for the table or the DROP privilege for the database.

If your privileges are changed (either by yourself or someone else) while you are connected, those changes do not necessarily take effect immediately for the next statement that you issue. See Section 5.7.7, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”, for details.

The server stores privilege information in the grant tables of the mysql database (that is, in the database named mysql). The MySQL server reads the contents of these tables into memory when it starts and re-reads them under the circumstances indicated in Section 5.7.7, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”. Access-control decisions are based on the in-memory copies of the grant tables.

Normally, you manipulate the contents of the grant tables indirectly by using statements such as GRANT and REVOKE to set up accounts and control the privileges available to each one. See Section 12.5.1, “Account Management Statements”. The discussion here describes the underlying structure of the grant tables and how the server uses their contents when interacting with clients.

The server uses the user, db, and host tables in the mysql database at both stages of access control. The columns in the user and db tables are shown here. The host table is similar to the db table but has a specialized use as described in Section 5.7.6, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”.

Table Name	user	db
Scope columns	`Host`	`Host`
	`User`	`Db`
	`Password`	`User`
Privilege columns	`Select_priv`	`Select_priv`
	`Insert_priv`	`Insert_priv`
	`Update_priv`	`Update_priv`
	`Delete_priv`	`Delete_priv`
	`Index_priv`	`Index_priv`
	`Alter_priv`	`Alter_priv`
	`Create_priv`	`Create_priv`
	`Drop_priv`	`Drop_priv`
	`Grant_priv`	`Grant_priv`
	`Create_view_priv`	`Create_view_priv`
	`Show_view_priv`	`Show_view_priv`
	`Create_routine_priv`	`Create_routine_priv`
	`Alter_routine_priv`	`Alter_routine_priv`
	`Execute_priv`	`Execute_priv`
	`Create_tmp_table_priv`	`Create_tmp_table_priv`
	`Lock_tables_priv`	`Lock_tables_priv`
	`References_priv`	`References_priv`
	`Reload_priv`
	`Shutdown_priv`
	`Process_priv`
	`File_priv`
	`Show_db_priv`
	`Super_priv`
	`Repl_slave_priv`
	`Repl_client_priv`
	`Create_user_priv`
Security columns	`ssl_type`
	`ssl_cipher`
	`x509_issuer`
	`x509_subject`
Resource control columns	`max_questions`
	`max_updates`
	`max_connections`
	`max_user_connections`

Execute_priv was present in MySQL 5.0.0, but did not become operational until MySQL 5.0.3.

The Create_view_priv and Show_view_priv columns were added in MySQL 5.0.1.

The Create_routine_priv, Alter_routine_priv, and max_user_connections columns were added in MySQL 5.0.3.

During the second stage of access control, the server performs request verification to make sure that each client has sufficient privileges for each request that it issues. In addition to the user, db, and host grant tables, the server may also consult the tables_priv and columns_priv tables for requests that involve tables. The tables_priv and columns_priv tables provide finer privilege control at the table and column levels. They have the following columns:

Table Name	tables_priv	columns_priv
Scope columns	`Host`	`Host`
	`Db`	`Db`
	`User`	`User`
	`Table_name`	`Table_name`
		`Column_name`
Privilege columns	`Table_priv`	`Column_priv`
	`Column_priv`
Other columns	`Timestamp`	`Timestamp`
	`Grantor`

The Timestamp and Grantor columns currently are unused and are discussed no further here.

For verification of requests that involve stored routines, the server may consult the procs_priv table. This table has the following columns:

Table Name	procs_priv
Scope columns	`Host`
	`Db`
	`User`
	`Routine_name`
	`Routine_type`
Privilege columns	`Proc_priv`
Other columns	`Timestamp`
	`Grantor`

The procs_priv table exists as of MySQL 5.0.3. The Routine_type column was added in MySQL 5.0.6. It is an ENUM column with values of 'FUNCTION' or 'PROCEDURE' to indicate the type of routine the row refers to. This column allows privileges to be granted separately for a function and a procedure with the same name.

The Timestamp and Grantor columns currently are unused and are discussed no further here.

Each grant table contains scope columns and privilege columns:

Scope columns determine the scope of each row (entry) in the tables; that is, the context in which the row applies. For example, a user table row with Host and User values of 'thomas.loc.gov' and 'bob' would be used for authenticating connections made to the server from the host thomas.loc.gov by a client that specifies a username of bob. Similarly, a db table row with Host, User, and Db column values of 'thomas.loc.gov', 'bob' and 'reports' would be used when bob connects from the host thomas.loc.gov to access the reports database. The tables_priv and columns_priv tables contain scope columns indicating tables or table/column combinations to which each row applies. The procs_priv scope columns indicate the stored routine to which each row applies.
Privilege columns indicate which privileges are granted by a table row; that is, what operations can be performed. The server combines the information in the various grant tables to form a complete description of a user's privileges. Section 5.7.6, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”, describes the rules that are used to do this.

Scope columns contain strings. They are declared as shown here; the default value for each is the empty string:

Column Name	Type
`Host`	`CHAR(60)`
`User`	`CHAR(16)`
`Password`	`CHAR(16)`
`Db`	`CHAR(64)`
`Table_name`	`CHAR(64)`
`Column_name`	`CHAR(64)`
`Routine_name`	`CHAR(64)`

For access-checking purposes, comparisons of Host values are case-insensitive. User, Password, Db, and Table_name values are case sensitive. Column_name and Routine_name values are case insensitive.

In the user, db, and host tables, each privilege is listed in a separate column that is declared as ENUM('N','Y') DEFAULT 'N'. In other words, each privilege can be disabled or enabled, with the default being disabled.

In the tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables, the privilege columns are declared as SET columns. Values in these columns can contain any combination of the privileges controlled by the table:

Table Name	Column Name	Possible Set Elements
`tables_priv`	`Table_priv`	`'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'Delete', 'Create', 'Drop', 'Grant', 'References', 'Index', 'Alter', 'Create View', 'Show view'`
`tables_priv`	`Column_priv`	`'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References'`
`columns_priv`	`Column_priv`	`'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References'`
`procs_priv`	`Proc_priv`	`'Execute', 'Alter Routine', 'Grant'`

Briefly, the server uses the grant tables in the following manner:

The user table scope columns determine whether to reject or allow incoming connections. For allowed connections, any privileges granted in the user table indicate the user's global (superuser) privileges. Any privilege granted in this table applies to all databases on the server.
Note
Because any global privilege is considered a privilege for all databases, any global privilege enables a user to see all database names with SHOW DATABASES or by examining the SCHEMATA table of INFORMATION_SCHEMA.
The db table scope columns determine which users can access which databases from which hosts. The privilege columns determine which operations are allowed. A privilege granted at the database level applies to the database and to all its tables.
The host table is used in conjunction with the db table when you want a given db table row to apply to several hosts. For example, if you want a user to be able to use a database from several hosts in your network, leave the Host value empty in the user's db table row, then populate the host table with a row for each of those hosts. This mechanism is described more detail in Section 5.7.6, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”.
Note
The host table must be modified directly with statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE. It is not affected by statements such as GRANT and REVOKE that modify the grant tables indirectly. Most MySQL installations need not use this table at all.
The tables_priv and columns_priv tables are similar to the db table, but are more fine-grained: They apply at the table and column levels rather than at the database level. A privilege granted at the table level applies to the table and to all its columns. A privilege granted at the column level applies only to a specific column.
The procs_priv table applies to stored routines. A privilege granted at the routine level applies only to a single routine.

Administrative privileges (such as RELOAD or SHUTDOWN) are specified only in the user table. The reason for this is that administrative operations are operations on the server itself and are not database-specific, so there is no reason to list these privileges in the other grant tables. In fact, to determine whether you can perform an administrative operation, the server need consult only the user table.

The FILE privilege also is specified only in the user table. It is not an administrative privilege as such, but your ability to read or write files on the server host is independent of the database you are accessing.

The mysqld server reads the contents of the grant tables into memory when it starts. You can tell it to re-read the tables by issuing a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or executing a mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command. Changes to the grant tables take effect as indicated in Section 5.7.7, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”.

When you modify the contents of the grant tables, it is a good idea to make sure that your changes set up privileges the way you want. To check the privileges for a given account, use the SHOW GRANTS statement. (See Section 12.5.4.12, “SHOW GRANTS Syntax”.) For example, to determine the privileges that are granted to an account with Host and User values of pc84.example.com and bob, issue this statement:

SHOW GRANTS FOR 'bob'@'pc84.example.com';

For additional help in diagnosing privilege-related problems, see Section 5.7.8, “Causes of Access denied Errors”. For general advice on security issues, see Section 5.6, “General Security Issues”.

5.7.3. Privileges Provided by MySQL

Information about account privileges is stored in the user, db, host, tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables in the mysql database. The MySQL server reads the contents of these tables into memory when it starts and re-reads them under the circumstances indicated in Section 5.7.7, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”. Access-control decisions are based on the in-memory copies of the grant tables.

The names used in the GRANT and REVOKE statements to refer to privileges are shown in the following table, along with the column name associated with each privilege in the grant tables and the context in which the privilege applies. Further information about the meaning of each privilege may be found at Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.

Privilege	Column	Context
`CREATE`	`Create_priv`	databases, tables, or indexes
`DROP`	`Drop_priv`	databases or tables
`GRANT OPTION`	`Grant_priv`	databases, tables, or stored routines
`REFERENCES`	`References_priv`	databases or tables (unused)
`ALTER`	`Alter_priv`	tables
`DELETE`	`Delete_priv`	tables
`INDEX`	`Index_priv`	tables
`INSERT`	`Insert_priv`	tables
`SELECT`	`Select_priv`	tables
`UPDATE`	`Update_priv`	tables
`CREATE VIEW`	`Create_view_priv`	views
`SHOW VIEW`	`Show_view_priv`	views
`ALTER ROUTINE`	`Alter_routine_priv`	stored routines
`CREATE ROUTINE`	`Create_routine_priv`	stored routines
`EXECUTE`	`Execute_priv`	stored routines
`FILE`	`File_priv`	file access on server host
`CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES`	`Create_tmp_table_priv`	server administration
`LOCK TABLES`	`Lock_tables_priv`	server administration
`CREATE USER`	`Create_user_priv`	server administration
`PROCESS`	`Process_priv`	server administration
`RELOAD`	`Reload_priv`	server administration
`REPLICATION CLIENT`	`Repl_client_priv`	server administration
`REPLICATION SLAVE`	`Repl_slave_priv`	server administration
`SHOW DATABASES`	`Show_db_priv`	server administration
`SHUTDOWN`	`Shutdown_priv`	server administration
`SUPER`	`Super_priv`	server administration

Some releases of MySQL introduce changes to the structure of the grant tables to add new privileges or features. Whenever you update to a new version of MySQL, you should update your grant tables to make sure that they have the current structure so that you can take advantage of any new capabilities. See Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.

CREATE VIEW and SHOW VIEW were added in MySQL 5.0.1. CREATE USER, CREATE ROUTINE, and ALTER ROUTINE were added in MySQL 5.0.3. Although EXECUTE was present in MySQL 5.0.0, it did not become operational until MySQL 5.0.3.

To create or alter stored routines if binary logging is enabled, you may also need the SUPER privilege, as described in Section 18.4, “Binary Logging of Stored Routines and Triggers”.

The CREATE and DROP privileges allow you to create new databases and tables, or to drop (remove) existing databases and tables. If you grant the DROP privilege for the mysql database to a user, that user can drop the database in which the MySQL access privileges are stored.

The SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges allow you to perform operations on rows in existing tables in a database. INSERT is also required for the ANALYZE TABLE, OPTIMIZE TABLE, and REPAIR TABLE table-maintenance statements.

SELECT statements require the SELECT privilege only if they actually retrieve rows from a table. Some SELECT statements do not access tables and can be executed without permission for any database. For example, you can use the mysql client as a simple calculator to evaluate expressions that make no reference to tables:

SELECT 1+1;
SELECT PI()*2;

The INDEX privilege enables you to create or drop (remove) indexes. INDEX applies to existing tables. If you have the CREATE privilege for a table, you can include index definitions in the CREATE TABLE statement.

The ALTER privilege enables you to use ALTER TABLE to change the structure of or rename tables.

MySQL Enterprise In some circumstances the ALTER privilege is entirely unnecessary — on slaves where there are no non-replicated tables, for instance. The MySQL Enterprise Monitor notifies subscribers when accounts have inappropriate privileges. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

The CREATE ROUTINE privilege is needed for creating stored routines (functions and procedures). ALTER ROUTINE privilege is needed for altering or dropping stored routines, and EXECUTE is needed for executing stored routines.

The GRANT privilege enables you to give to other users those privileges that you yourself possess. It can be used for databases, tables, and stored routines.

The FILE privilege gives you permission to read and write files on the server host using the LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements. A user who has the FILE privilege can read any file on the server host that is either world-readable or readable by the MySQL server. (This implies the user can read any file in any database directory, because the server can access any of those files.) The FILE privilege also enables the user to create new files in any directory where the MySQL server has write access. As a security measure, the server will not overwrite existing files.

The remaining privileges are used for administrative operations. Many of them can be performed by using the mysqladmin program or by issuing SQL statements. The following table shows which mysqladmin commands each administrative privilege enables you to execute:

Privilege	Commands Permitted to Privilege Holders
`RELOAD`	`flush-hosts`, `flush-logs`, `flush-privileges`, `flush-status`, `flush-tables`, `flush-threads`, `refresh`, `reload`
`SHUTDOWN`	`shutdown`
`PROCESS`	`processlist`
`SUPER`	`kill`

The reload command tells the server to re-read the grant tables into memory. flush-privileges is a synonym for reload. The refresh command closes and reopens the log files and flushes all tables. The other flush-xxx commands perform functions similar to refresh, but are more specific and may be preferable in some instances. For example, if you want to flush just the log files, flush-logs is a better choice than refresh.

The shutdown command shuts down the server. There is no corresponding SQL statement.

The processlist command displays information about the threads executing within the server (that is, information about the statements being executed by clients). The kill command terminates server threads. You can always display or kill your own threads, but you need the PROCESS privilege to display threads initiated by other users and the SUPER privilege to kill them. See Section 12.5.5.3, “KILL Syntax”.

The CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES privilege enables the use of the keyword TEMPORARY in CREATE TABLE statements.

The LOCK TABLES privilege enables the use of explicit LOCK TABLES statements to lock tables for which you have the SELECT privilege. This includes the use of write locks, which prevents anyone else from reading the locked table.

The REPLICATION CLIENT privilege enables the use of SHOW MASTER STATUS and SHOW SLAVE STATUS.

The REPLICATION SLAVE privilege should be granted to accounts that are used by slave servers to connect to the current server as their master. Without this privilege, the slave cannot request updates that have been made to databases on the master server.

The SHOW DATABASES privilege allows the account to see database names by issuing the SHOW DATABASE statement. Accounts that do not have this privilege see only databases for which they have some privileges, and cannot use the statement at all if the server was started with the --skip-show-database option. Note that any global privilege is a privilege for the database.

It is a good idea to grant to an account only those privileges that it needs. You should exercise particular caution in granting the FILE and administrative privileges:

The FILE privilege can be abused to read into a database table any files that the MySQL server can read on the server host. This includes all world-readable files and files in the server's data directory. The table can then be accessed using SELECT to transfer its contents to the client host.
The GRANT privilege enables users to give their privileges to other users. Two users that have different privileges and with the GRANT privilege are able to combine privileges.
The ALTER privilege may be used to subvert the privilege system by renaming tables.
The SHUTDOWN privilege can be abused to deny service to other users entirely by terminating the server.
The PROCESS privilege can be used to view the plain text of currently executing statements, including statements that set or change passwords.
The SUPER privilege can be used to terminate other clients or change how the server operates.
Privileges granted for the mysql database itself can be used to change passwords and other access privilege information. Passwords are stored encrypted, so a malicious user cannot simply read them to know the plain text password. However, a user with write access to the user table Password column can change an account's password, and then connect to the MySQL server using that account.
MySQL Enterprise Accounts with unnecessary global privileges constitute a security risk. Subscribers to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor are automatically alerted to the existence of such accounts. For detailed information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

There are some things that you cannot do with the MySQL privilege system:

You cannot explicitly specify that a given user should be denied access. That is, you cannot explicitly match a user and then refuse the connection.
You cannot specify that a user has privileges to create or drop tables in a database but not to create or drop the database itself.
A password applies globally to an account. You cannot associate a password with a specific object such as a database, table, or routine.

5.7.4. Connecting to the MySQL Server

MySQL client programs generally expect you to specify certain connection parameters when you want to access a MySQL server:

The name of the host where the MySQL server is running
Your username
Your password

For example, the mysql client can be started as follows from a command-line prompt (indicated here by shell>):

shell> mysql -h host_name -u user_name -pyour_pass

Alternative forms of the -h, -u, and -p options are --host=host_name, --user=user_name, and --password=your_pass. Note that there is no space between -p or --password= and the password following it.

If you use a -p or --password option but do not specify the password value, the client program prompts you to enter the password. The password is not displayed as you enter it. This is more secure than giving the password on the command line. Any user on your system may be able to see a password specified on the command line by executing a command such as ps auxw. See Section 5.8.6, “Keeping Your Password Secure”.

MySQL client programs use default values for any connection parameter option that you do not specify:

The default hostname is localhost.
The default username is ODBC on Windows and your Unix login name on Unix.
No password is supplied if neither -p nor --passwordis given.

Thus, for a Unix user with a login name of joe, all of the following commands are equivalent:

shell> mysql -h localhost -u joe
shell> mysql -h localhost
shell> mysql -u joe
shell> mysql

Other MySQL clients behave similarly.

You can specify different default values to be used when you make a connection so that you need not enter them on the command line each time you invoke a client program. This can be done in a couple of ways:

You can specify connection parameters in the [client] section of an option file. The relevant section of the file might look like this:
```
[client]
host=host_name
user=user_name
password=your_pass
```
Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”, discusses option files further.
You can specify some connection parameters using environment variables. The host can be specified for mysql using MYSQL_HOST. The MySQL username can be specified using USER (this is for Windows and NetWare only). The password can be specified using MYSQL_PWD, although this is insecure; see Section 5.8.6, “Keeping Your Password Secure”. For a list of variables, see Section 2.4.20, “Environment Variables”.

5.7.5. Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification

When you attempt to connect to a MySQL server, the server accepts or rejects the connection based on your identity and whether you can verify your identity by supplying the correct password. If not, the server denies access to you completely. Otherwise, the server accepts the connection, and then enters Stage 2 and waits for requests.

Your identity is based on two pieces of information:

The client host from which you connect
Your MySQL username

Identity checking is performed using the three user table scope columns (Host, User, and Password). The server accepts the connection only if the Host and User columns in some user table row match the client hostname and username and the client supplies the password specified in that row.

Host values in the user table may be specified as follows:

A Host value may be a hostname or an IP number, or 'localhost' to indicate the local host.
You can use the wildcard characters “%” and “_” in Host column values. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator. For example, a Host value of '%' matches any hostname, whereas a value of '%.mysql.com' matches any host in the mysql.com domain.
MySQL Enterprise An overly broad host specifier such as “%” constitutes a security risk. The MySQL Enterprise Monitor provides safeguards against this kind of vulnerability. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
For Host values specified as IP numbers, you can specify a netmask indicating how many address bits to use for the network number. For example:
```
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON db.* TO david@'192.58.197.0/255.255.255.0';
```
This allows david to connect from any client host having an IP number client_ip for which the following condition is true:
```
client_ip & netmask = host_ip
```
That is, for the GRANT statement just shown:
```
client_ip & 255.255.255.0 = 192.58.197.0
```
IP numbers that satisfy this condition and can connect to the MySQL server are those in the range from 192.58.197.0 to 192.58.197.255.
Note: The netmask can only be used to tell the server to use 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits of the address. Examples:
- 192.0.0.0/255.0.0.0: anything on the 192 class A network
- 192.168.0.0/255.255.0.0: anything on the 192.168 class B network
- 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0: anything on the 192.168.1 class C network
- 192.168.1.1: only this specific IP
The following netmask (28 bits) will not work:
```
192.168.0.1/255.255.255.240
```
A blank Host value in a db table row means that its privileges should be combined with those in the row in the host table that matches the client hostname. The privileges are combined using an AND (intersection) operation, not OR (union). Section 5.7.6, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”, discusses use of the host table further.
A blank Host value in the other grant tables is the same as '%'.

Because you can use IP wildcard values in the Host column (for example, '144.155.166.%' to match every host on a subnet), someone could try to exploit this capability by naming a host 144.155.166.somewhere.com. To foil such attempts, MySQL disallows matching on hostnames that start with digits and a dot. Thus, if you have a host named something like 1.2.foo.com, its name never matches the Host column of the grant tables. An IP wildcard value can match only IP numbers, not hostnames.

In the User column, wildcard characters are not allowed, but you can specify a blank value, which matches any name. If the user table row that matches an incoming connection has a blank username, the user is considered to be an anonymous user with no name, not a user with the name that the client actually specified. This means that a blank username is used for all further access checking for the duration of the connection (that is, during Stage 2).

The Password column can be blank. This is not a wildcard and does not mean that any password matches. It means that the user must connect without specifying a password.

Non-blank Password values in the user table represent encrypted passwords. MySQL does not store passwords in plaintext form for anyone to see. Rather, the password supplied by a user who is attempting to connect is encrypted (using the PASSWORD() function). The encrypted password then is used during the connection process when checking whether the password is correct. (This is done without the encrypted password ever traveling over the connection.) From MySQL's point of view, the encrypted password is the real password, so you should never give anyone access to it. In particular, do not give non-administrative users read access to tables in the mysql database.

MySQL 5.0 employs the stronger authentication method (first implemented in MySQL 4.1) that has better password protection during the connection process than in earlier versions. It is secure even if TCP/IP packets are sniffed or the mysql database is captured. Section 5.7.9, “Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1”, discusses password encryption further.

The following table shows how various combinations of Host and User values in the user table apply to incoming connections.

`Host` Value	`User` Value	Allowable Connections
`'thomas.loc.gov'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from `thomas.loc.gov`
`'thomas.loc.gov'`	`''`	Any user, connecting from `thomas.loc.gov`
`'%'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from any host
`'%'`	`''`	Any user, connecting from any host
`'%.loc.gov'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from any host in the `loc.gov` domain
`'x.y.%'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from `x.y.net`, `x.y.com`, `x.y.edu`, and so on (this is probably not useful)
`'144.155.166.177'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from the host with IP address `144.155.166.177`
`'144.155.166.%'`	`'fred'`	`fred`, connecting from any host in the `144.155.166` class C subnet
`'144.155.166.0/255.255.255.0'`	`'fred'`	Same as previous example

It is possible for the client hostname and username of an incoming connection to match more than one row in the user table. The preceding set of examples demonstrates this: Several of the entries shown match a connection from thomas.loc.gov by fred.

When multiple matches are possible, the server must determine which of them to use. It resolves this issue as follows:

Whenever the server reads the user table into memory, it sorts the rows.
When a client attempts to connect, the server looks through the rows in sorted order.
The server uses the first row that matches the client hostname and username.

To see how this works, suppose that the user table looks like this:

+-----------+----------+-
| Host      | User     | ...
+-----------+----------+-
| %         | root     | ...
| %         | jeffrey  | ...
| localhost | root     | ...
| localhost |          | ...
+-----------+----------+-

When the server reads the table into memory, it orders the rows with the most-specific Host values first. Literal hostnames and IP numbers are the most specific. The pattern '%' means “any host” and is least specific. Rows with the same Host value are ordered with the most-specific User values first (a blank User value means “any user” and is least specific). For the user table just shown, the result after sorting looks like this:

+-----------+----------+-
| Host      | User     | ...
+-----------+----------+-
| localhost | root     | ...
| localhost |          | ...
| %         | jeffrey  | ...
| %         | root     | ...
+-----------+----------+-

When a client attempts to connect, the server looks through the sorted rows and uses the first match found. For a connection from localhost by jeffrey, two of the rows from the table match: the one with Host and User values of 'localhost' and '', and the one with values of '%' and 'jeffrey'. The 'localhost' row appears first in sorted order, so that is the one the server uses.

Here is another example. Suppose that the user table looks like this:

+----------------+----------+-
| Host           | User     | ...
+----------------+----------+-
| %              | jeffrey  | ...
| thomas.loc.gov |          | ...
+----------------+----------+-

The sorted table looks like this:

+----------------+----------+-
| Host           | User     | ...
+----------------+----------+-
| thomas.loc.gov |          | ...
| %              | jeffrey  | ...
+----------------+----------+-

A connection by jeffrey from thomas.loc.gov is matched by the first row, whereas a connection by jeffrey from whitehouse.gov is matched by the second.

It is a common misconception to think that, for a given username, all rows that explicitly name that user are used first when the server attempts to find a match for the connection. This is simply not true. The previous example illustrates this, where a connection from thomas.loc.gov by jeffrey is first matched not by the row containing 'jeffrey' as the User column value, but by the row with no username. As a result, jeffrey is authenticated as an anonymous user, even though he specified a username when connecting.

If you are able to connect to the server, but your privileges are not what you expect, you probably are being authenticated as some other account. To find out what account the server used to authenticate you, use the CURRENT_USER() function. (See Section 11.10.3, “Information Functions”.) It returns a value in user_name@host_name format that indicates the User and Host values from the matching user table row. Suppose that jeffrey connects and issues the following query:

mysql> SELECT CURRENT_USER();
+----------------+
| CURRENT_USER() |
+----------------+
| @localhost     |
+----------------+

The result shown here indicates that the matching user table row had a blank User column value. In other words, the server is treating jeffrey as an anonymous user.

Another thing you can do to diagnose authentication problems is to print out the user table and sort it by hand to see where the first match is being made.

5.7.6. Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification

After you establish a connection, the server enters Stage 2 of access control. For each request that you issue via that connection, the server determines what operation you want to perform, then checks whether you have sufficient privileges to do so. This is where the privilege columns in the grant tables come into play. These privileges can come from any of the user, db, host, tables_priv, columns_priv, or procs_priv tables. (You may find it helpful to refer to Section 5.7.2, “How the Privilege System Works”, which lists the columns present in each of the grant tables.)

The user table grants privileges that are assigned to you on a global basis and that apply no matter what the default database is. For example, if the user table grants you the DELETE privilege, you can delete rows from any table in any database on the server host! In other words, user table privileges are superuser privileges. It is wise to grant privileges in the user table only to superusers such as database administrators. For other users, you should leave all privileges in the user table set to 'N' and grant privileges at more specific levels only. You can grant privileges for particular databases, tables, columns, or routines.

The db and host tables grant database-specific privileges. Values in the scope columns of these tables can take the following forms:

The wildcard characters “%” and “_” can be used in the Host and Db columns of either table. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator. If you want to use either character literally when granting privileges, you must escape it with a backslash. For example, to include the underscore character (“_”) as part of a database name, specify it as “\_” in the GRANT statement.
A '%' Host value in the db table means “any host.” A blank Host value in the db table means “consult the host table for further information” (a process that is described later in this section).
A '%' or blank Host value in the host table means “any host.”
A '%' or blank Db value in either table means “any database.”
A blank User value in either table matches the anonymous user.

The server reads the db and host tables into memory and sorts them at the same time that it reads the user table. The server sorts the db table based on the Host, Db, and User scope columns, and sorts the host table based on the Host and Db scope columns. As with the user table, sorting puts the most-specific values first and least-specific values last, and when the server looks for matching entries, it uses the first match that it finds.

The tables_priv columns_priv, and procs_priv tables grant table-specific, column-specific, and routine-specific privileges. Values in the scope columns of these tables can take the following forms:

The wildcard characters “%” and “_” can be used in the Host column. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator.
A '%' or blank Host value means “any host.”
The Db, Table_name, and Column_name columns cannot contain wildcards or be blank.

The server sorts the tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables based on the Host, Db, and User columns. This is similar to db table sorting, but simpler because only the Host column can contain wildcards.

The server uses the sorted tables to verify each request that it receives. For requests that require administrative privileges such as SHUTDOWN or RELOAD, the server checks only the user table row because that is the only table that specifies administrative privileges. The server grants access if the row allows the requested operation and denies access otherwise. For example, if you want to execute mysqladmin shutdown but your user table row doesn't grant the SHUTDOWN privilege to you, the server denies access without even checking the db or host tables. (They contain no Shutdown_priv column, so there is no need to do so.)

For database-related requests (INSERT, UPDATE, and so on), the server first checks the user's global (superuser) privileges by looking in the user table row. If the row allows the requested operation, access is granted. If the global privileges in the user table are insufficient, the server determines the user's database-specific privileges by checking the db and host tables:

The server looks in the db table for a match on the Host, Db, and User columns. The Host and User columns are matched to the connecting user's hostname and MySQL username. The Db column is matched to the database that the user wants to access. If there is no row for the Host and User, access is denied.
If there is a matching db table row and its Host column is not blank, that row defines the user's database-specific privileges.
If the matching db table row's Host column is blank, it signifies that the host table enumerates which hosts should be allowed access to the database. In this case, a further lookup is done in the host table to find a match on the Host and Db columns. If no host table row matches, access is denied. If there is a match, the user's database-specific privileges are computed as the intersection (not the union!) of the privileges in the db and host table entries; that is, the privileges that are 'Y' in both entries. (This way you can grant general privileges in the db table row and then selectively restrict them on a host-by-host basis using the host table entries.)

After determining the database-specific privileges granted by the db and host table entries, the server adds them to the global privileges granted by the user table. If the result allows the requested operation, access is granted. Otherwise, the server successively checks the user's table and column privileges in the tables_priv and columns_priv tables, adds those to the user's privileges, and allows or denies access based on the result. For stored routine operations, the server uses the procs_priv table rather than tables_priv and columns_priv.

Expressed in boolean terms, the preceding description of how a user's privileges are calculated may be summarized like this:

global privileges
OR (database privileges AND host privileges)
OR table privileges
OR column privileges
OR routine privileges

It may not be apparent why, if the global user row privileges are initially found to be insufficient for the requested operation, the server adds those privileges to the database, table, and column privileges later. The reason is that a request might require more than one type of privilege. For example, if you execute an INSERT INTO ... SELECT statement, you need both the INSERT and the SELECT privileges. Your privileges might be such that the user table row grants one privilege and the db table row grants the other. In this case, you have the necessary privileges to perform the request, but the server cannot tell that from either table by itself; the privileges granted by the entries in both tables must be combined.

The host table is not affected by the GRANT or REVOKE statements, so it is unused in most MySQL installations. If you modify it directly, you can use it for some specialized purposes, such as to maintain a list of secure servers. For example, at TcX, the host table contains a list of all machines on the local network. These are granted all privileges.

You can also use the host table to indicate hosts that are not secure. Suppose that you have a machine public.your.domain that is located in a public area that you do not consider secure. You can allow access to all hosts on your network except that machine by using host table entries like this:

+--------------------+----+-
| Host               | Db | ...
+--------------------+----+-
| public.your.domain | %  | ... (all privileges set to 'N')
| %.your.domain      | %  | ... (all privileges set to 'Y')
+--------------------+----+-

Naturally, you should always test your changes to the grant tables (for example, by using SHOW GRANTS) to make sure that your access privileges are actually set up the way you think they are.

5.7.7. When Privilege Changes Take Effect

When mysqld starts, it reads all grant table contents into memory. The in-memory tables become effective for access control at that point.

When the server reloads the grant tables, privileges for existing client connections are affected as follows:

Table and column privilege changes take effect with the client's next request.
Database privilege changes take effect at the next USE db_name statement.
Note
Client applications may cache the database name; thus, this effect may not be visible to them without actually changing to a different database or executing a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement.
Changes to global privileges and passwords take effect the next time the client connects.

If you modify the grant tables indirectly using statements such as GRANT, REVOKE, or SET PASSWORD, the server notices these changes and loads the grant tables into memory again immediately.

If you modify the grant tables directly using statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE, your changes have no effect on privilege checking until you either restart the server or tell it to reload the tables. To reload the grant tables manually, issue a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or execute a mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command.

If you change the grant tables directly but forget to reload them, your changes have no effect until you restart the server. This may leave you wondering why your changes do not seem to make any difference!

5.7.8. Causes of `Access denied` Errors

If you encounter problems when you try to connect to the MySQL server, the following items describe some courses of action you can take to correct the problem.

Make sure that the server is running. If it is not running, you cannot connect to it. For example, if you attempt to connect to the server and see a message such as one of those following, one cause might be that the server is not running:
```
shell> mysql
ERROR 2003: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'host_name' (111)
shell> mysql
ERROR 2002: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket
'/tmp/mysql.sock' (111)
```
It might also be that the server is running, but you are trying to connect using a TCP/IP port, named pipe, or Unix socket file different from the one on which the server is listening. To correct this when you invoke a client program, specify a --port option to indicate the proper port number, or a --socket option to indicate the proper named pipe or Unix socket file. To find out where the socket file is, you can use this command:
```
shell> netstat -ln | grep mysql
```
The grant tables must be properly set up so that the server can use them for access control. For some distribution types (such as binary distributions on Windows, or RPM distributions on Linux), the installation process initializes the mysql database containing the grant tables. For distributions that do not do this, you must initialize the grant tables manually by running the mysql_install_db script. For details, see Section 2.4.16.2, “Unix Post-Installation Procedures”.
One way to determine whether you need to initialize the grant tables is to look for a mysql directory under the data directory. (The data directory normally is named data or var and is located under your MySQL installation directory.) Make sure that you have a file named user.MYD in the mysql database directory. If you do not, execute the mysql_install_db script. After running this script and starting the server, test the initial privileges by executing this command:
```
shell> mysql -u root test
```
The server should let you connect without error.
After a fresh installation, you should connect to the server and set up your users and their access permissions:
```
shell> mysql -u root mysql
```
The server should let you connect because the MySQL root user has no password initially. That is also a security risk, so setting the password for the root accounts is something you should do while you're setting up your other MySQL accounts. For instructions on setting the initial passwords, see Section 2.4.16.3, “Securing the Initial MySQL Accounts”.
MySQL Enterprise The MySQL Enterprise Monitor enforces security-related best practices. For example, subscribers are alerted whenever there is any account without a password. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
If you have updated an existing MySQL installation to a newer version, did you run the mysql_upgrade script? If not, do so. The structure of the grant tables changes occasionally when new capabilities are added, so after an upgrade you should always make sure that your tables have the current structure. For instructions, see Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.
If a client program receives the following error message when it tries to connect, it means that the server expects passwords in a newer format than the client is capable of generating:
```
shell> mysql
Client does not support authentication protocol requested
by server; consider upgrading MySQL client
```
For information on how to deal with this, see Section 5.7.9, “Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1”, and Section B.1.2.3, “Client does not support authentication protocol”.
If you try to connect as root and get the following error, it means that you do not have a row in the user table with a User column value of 'root' and that mysqld cannot resolve the hostname for your client:
```
Access denied for user ''@'unknown' to database mysql
```
In this case, you must restart the server with the --skip-grant-tables option and edit your /etc/hosts file or \windows\hosts file to add an entry for your host.
Remember that client programs use connection parameters specified in option files or environment variables. If a client program seems to be sending incorrect default connection parameters when you have not specified them on the command line, check your environment and any applicable option files. For example, if you get Access denied when you run a client without any options, make sure that you have not specified an old password in any of your option files!
You can suppress the use of option files by a client program by invoking it with the --no-defaults option. For example:
```
shell> mysqladmin --no-defaults -u root version
```
The option files that clients use are listed in Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”. Environment variables are listed in Section 2.4.20, “Environment Variables”.
If you get the following error, it means that you are using an incorrect root password:
```
shell> mysqladmin -u root -pxxxx ver
Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
```
If the preceding error occurs even when you have not specified a password, it means that you have an incorrect password listed in some option file. Try the --no-defaults option as described in the previous item.
For information on changing passwords, see Section 5.8.5, “Assigning Account Passwords”.
If you have lost or forgotten the root password, you can restart mysqld with --skip-grant-tables to change the password. See Section B.1.4.1, “How to Reset the Root Password”.
If you change a password by using SET PASSWORD, INSERT, or UPDATE, you must encrypt the password using the PASSWORD() function. If you do not use PASSWORD() for these statements, the password will not work. For example, the following statement sets a password, but fails to encrypt it, so the user is not able to connect afterward:
```
SET PASSWORD FOR 'abe'@'host_name' = 'eagle';
```
Instead, set the password like this:
```
SET PASSWORD FOR 'abe'@'host_name' = PASSWORD('eagle');
```
The PASSWORD() function is unnecessary when you specify a password using the GRANT or (beginning with MySQL 5.0.2) CREATE USER statements, or the mysqladmin password command. Each of those automatically uses PASSWORD() to encrypt the password. See Section 5.8.5, “Assigning Account Passwords”, and Section 12.5.1.1, “CREATE USER Syntax”.
localhost is a synonym for your local hostname, and is also the default host to which clients try to connect if you specify no host explicitly.
To avoid this problem on such systems, you can use a --host=127.0.0.1 option to name the server host explicitly. This will make a TCP/IP connection to the local mysqld server. You can also use TCP/IP by specifying a --host option that uses the actual hostname of the local host. In this case, the hostname must be specified in a user table row on the server host, even though you are running the client program on the same host as the server.
If you get an Access denied error when trying to connect to the database with mysql -u user_name, you may have a problem with the user table. Check this by executing mysql -u root mysql and issuing this SQL statement:
```
SELECT * FROM user;
```
The result should include a row with the Host and User columns matching your computer's hostname and your MySQL username.
The Access denied error message tells you who you are trying to log in as, the client host from which you are trying to connect, and whether you were using a password. Normally, you should have one row in the user table that exactly matches the hostname and username that were given in the error message. For example, if you get an error message that contains using password: NO, it means that you tried to log in without a password.
If the following error occurs when you try to connect from a host other than the one on which the MySQL server is running, it means that there is no row in the user table with a Host value that matches the client host:
```
Host ... is not allowed to connect to this MySQL server
```
You can fix this by setting up an account for the combination of client hostname and username that you are using when trying to connect.
If you do not know the IP number or hostname of the machine from which you are connecting, you should put a row with '%' as the Host column value in the user table. After trying to connect from the client machine, use a SELECT USER() query to see how you really did connect. (Then change the '%' in the user table row to the actual hostname that shows up in the log. Otherwise, your system is left insecure because it allows connections from any host for the given username.)
On Linux, another reason that this error might occur is that you are using a binary MySQL version that is compiled with a different version of the glibc library than the one you are using. In this case, you should either upgrade your operating system or glibc, or download a source distribution of MySQL version and compile it yourself. A source RPM is normally trivial to compile and install, so this is not a big problem.
If you specify a hostname when trying to connect, but get an error message where the hostname is not shown or is an IP number, it means that the MySQL server got an error when trying to resolve the IP number of the client host to a name:
```
shell> mysqladmin -u root -pxxxx -h some_hostname ver
Access denied for user 'root'@'' (using password: YES)
```
This indicates a DNS problem. To fix it, execute mysqladmin flush-hosts to reset the internal DNS hostname cache. See Section 6.5.9, “How MySQL Uses DNS”.
Some permanent solutions are:
- Determine what is wrong with your DNS server and fix it.
- Specify IP numbers rather than hostnames in the MySQL grant tables.
- Put an entry for the client machine name in /etc/hosts or \windows\hosts.
- Start mysqld with the --skip-name-resolve option.
- Start mysqld with the --skip-host-cache option.
- On Unix, if you are running the server and the client on the same machine, connect to localhost. Unix connections to localhost use a Unix socket file rather than TCP/IP.
- On Windows, if you are running the server and the client on the same machine and the server supports named pipe connections, connect to the hostname . (period). Connections to . use a named pipe rather than TCP/IP.
If mysql -u root test works but mysql -h your_hostname -u root test results in Access denied (where your_hostname is the actual hostname of the local host), you may not have the correct name for your host in the user table. A common problem here is that the Host value in the user table row specifies an unqualified hostname, but your system's name resolution routines return a fully qualified domain name (or vice versa). For example, if you have an entry with host 'tcx' in the user table, but your DNS tells MySQL that your hostname is 'tcx.subnet.se', the entry does not work. Try adding an entry to the user table that contains the IP number of your host as the Host column value. (Alternatively, you could add an entry to the user table with a Host value that contains a wildcard; for example, 'tcx.%'. However, use of hostnames ending with “%” is insecure and is not recommended!)
If mysql -u user_name test works but mysql -u user_name other_db_name does not, you have not granted database access for other_db_name to the given user.
If mysql -u user_name works when executed on the server host, but mysql -h host_name -u user_name does not work when executed on a remote client host, you have not enabled access to the server for the given username from the remote host.
If you cannot figure out why you get Access denied, remove from the user table all entries that have Host values containing wildcards (entries that contain “%” or “_”). A very common error is to insert a new entry with Host='%' and User='some_user', thinking that this allows you to specify localhost to connect from the same machine. The reason that this does not work is that the default privileges include an entry with Host='localhost' and User=''. Because that entry has a Host value 'localhost' that is more specific than '%', it is used in preference to the new entry when connecting from localhost! The correct procedure is to insert a second entry with Host='localhost' and User='some_user', or to delete the entry with Host='localhost' and User=''. After deleting the entry, remember to issue a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement to reload the grant tables.
If you get the following error, you may have a problem with the db or host table:
```
Access to database denied
```
If the entry selected from the db table has an empty value in the Host column, make sure that there are one or more corresponding entries in the host table specifying which hosts the db table entry applies to.
If you are able to connect to the MySQL server, but get an Access denied message whenever you issue a SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE or LOAD DATA INFILE statement, your entry in the user table does not have the FILE privilege enabled.
If you change the grant tables directly (for example, by using INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements) and your changes seem to be ignored, remember that you must execute a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or a mysqladmin flush-privileges command to cause the server to re-read the privilege tables. Otherwise, your changes have no effect until the next time the server is restarted. Remember that after you change the root password with an UPDATE command, you won't need to specify the new password until after you flush the privileges, because the server won't know you've changed the password yet!
If your privileges seem to have changed in the middle of a session, it may be that a MySQL administrator has changed them. Reloading the grant tables affects new client connections, but it also affects existing connections as indicated in Section 5.7.7, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”.
If you have access problems with a Perl, PHP, Python, or ODBC program, try to connect to the server with mysql -u user_name db_name or mysql -u user_name -pyour_pass db_name. If you are able to connect using the mysql client, the problem lies with your program, not with the access privileges. (There is no space between -p and the password; you can also use the --password=your_pass syntax to specify the password. If you use the -p --passwordoption with no password value, MySQL prompts you for the password.)
For testing, start the mysqld server with the --skip-grant-tables option. Then you can change the MySQL grant tables and use the mysqlaccess script to check whether your modifications have the desired effect. When you are satisfied with your changes, execute mysqladmin flush-privileges to tell the mysqld server to start using the new grant tables. (Reloading the grant tables overrides the --skip-grant-tables option. This enables you to tell the server to begin using the grant tables again without stopping and restarting it.)
If everything else fails, start the mysqld server with a debugging option (for example, --debug=d,general,query). This prints host and user information about attempted connections, as well as information about each command issued. See MySQL Internals: Porting.
If you have any other problems with the MySQL grant tables and feel you must post the problem to the mailing list, always provide a dump of the MySQL grant tables. You can dump the tables with the mysqldump mysql command. To file a bug report, see the instructions at Section 1.8, “How to Report Bugs or Problems”. In some cases, you may need to restart mysqld with --skip-grant-tables to run mysqldump.

5.7.9. Password Hashing as of MySQL 4.1

5.7.9.1. Implications of Password Hashing Changes for Application Programs

MySQL user accounts are listed in the user table of the mysql database. Each MySQL account is assigned a password, although what is stored in the Password column of the user table is not the plaintext version of the password, but a hash value computed from it. Password hash values are computed by the PASSWORD() function.

MySQL uses passwords in two phases of client/server communication:

When a client attempts to connect to the server, there is an initial authentication step in which the client must present a password that has a hash value matching the hash value stored in the user table for the account that the client wants to use.
After the client connects, it can (if it has sufficient privileges) set or change the password hashes for accounts listed in the user table. The client can do this by using the PASSWORD() function to generate a password hash, or by using the GRANT or SET PASSWORD statements.

In other words, the server uses hash values during authentication when a client first attempts to connect. The server generates hash values if a connected client invokes the PASSWORD() function or uses a GRANT or SET PASSWORD statement to set or change a password.

The password hashing mechanism was updated in MySQL 4.1 to provide better security and to reduce the risk of passwords being intercepted. However, this new mechanism is understood only by MySQL 4.1 (and newer) servers and clients, which can result in some compatibility problems. A 4.1 or newer client can connect to a pre-4.1 server, because the client understands both the old and new password hashing mechanisms. However, a pre-4.1 client that attempts to connect to a 4.1 or newer server may run into difficulties. For example, a 3.23 mysql client that attempts to connect to a 5.0 server may fail with the following error message:

shell> mysql -h localhost -u root
Client does not support authentication protocol requested
by server; consider upgrading MySQL client

Another common example of this phenomenon occurs for attempts to use the older PHP mysql extension after upgrading to MySQL 4.1 or newer. (See Section 23.3.1, “Common Problems with MySQL and PHP”.)

The following discussion describes the differences between the old and new password mechanisms, and what you should do if you upgrade your server but need to maintain backward compatibility with pre-4.1 clients. Additional information can be found in Section B.1.2.3, “Client does not support authentication protocol”. This information is of particular importance to PHP programmers migrating MySQL databases from version 4.0 or lower to version 4.1 or higher.

Note

This discussion contrasts 4.1 behavior with pre-4.1 behavior, but the 4.1 behavior described here actually begins with 4.1.1. MySQL 4.1.0 is an “odd” release because it has a slightly different mechanism than that implemented in 4.1.1 and up. Differences between 4.1.0 and more recent versions are described further in MySQL 3.23, 4.0, 4.1 Reference Manual.

Prior to MySQL 4.1, password hashes computed by the PASSWORD() function are 16 bytes long. Such hashes look like this:

mysql> SELECT PASSWORD('mypass');
+--------------------+
| PASSWORD('mypass') |
+--------------------+
| 6f8c114b58f2ce9e   |
+--------------------+

The Password column of the user table (in which these hashes are stored) also is 16 bytes long before MySQL 4.1.

As of MySQL 4.1, the PASSWORD() function has been modified to produce a longer 41-byte hash value:

mysql> SELECT PASSWORD('mypass');
+-------------------------------------------+
| PASSWORD('mypass')                        |
+-------------------------------------------+
| *6C8989366EAF75BB670AD8EA7A7FC1176A95CEF4 |
+-------------------------------------------+

Accordingly, the Password column in the user table also must be 41 bytes long to store these values:

If you perform a new installation of MySQL 5.0, the Password column is made 41 bytes long automatically.
Upgrading from MySQL 4.1 (4.1.1 or later in the 4.1 series) to MySQL 5.0 should not give rise to any issues in this regard because both versions use the same password hashing mechanism. If you wish to upgrade an older release of MySQL to version 5.0, you should upgrade to version 4.1 first, then upgrade the 4.1 installation to 5.0.

A widened Password column can store password hashes in both the old and new formats. The format of any given password hash value can be determined two ways:

The obvious difference is the length (16 bytes versus 41 bytes).
A second difference is that password hashes in the new format always begin with a “*” character, whereas passwords in the old format never do.

The longer password hash format has better cryptographic properties, and client authentication based on long hashes is more secure than that based on the older short hashes.

The differences between short and long password hashes are relevant both for how the server uses passwords during authentication and for how it generates password hashes for connected clients that perform password-changing operations.

The way in which the server uses password hashes during authentication is affected by the width of the Password column:

If the column is short, only short-hash authentication is used.
If the column is long, it can hold either short or long hashes, and the server can use either format:
- Pre-4.1 clients can connect, although because they know only about the old hashing mechanism, they can authenticate only using accounts that have short hashes.
- 4.1 and later clients can authenticate using accounts that have short or long hashes.

Even for short-hash accounts, the authentication process is actually a bit more secure for 4.1 and later clients than for older clients. In terms of security, the gradient from least to most secure is:

Pre-4.1 client authenticating with short password hash
4.1 or later client authenticating with short password hash
4.1 or later client authenticating with long password hash

The way in which the server generates password hashes for connected clients is affected by the width of the Password column and by the --old-passwords option. A 4.1 or later server generates long hashes only if certain conditions are met: The Password column must be wide enough to hold long values and the --old-passwords option must not be given. These conditions apply as follows:

The Password column must be wide enough to hold long hashes (41 bytes). If the column has not been updated and still has the pre-4.1 width of 16 bytes, the server notices that long hashes cannot fit into it and generates only short hashes when a client performs password-changing operations using PASSWORD(), GRANT, or SET PASSWORD. This is the behavior that occurs if you have upgraded to 4.1 but have not yet run the mysql_fix_privilege_tables script to widen the Password column.
If the Password column is wide, it can store either short or long password hashes. In this case, PASSWORD(), GRANT, and SET PASSWORD generate long hashes unless the server was started with the --old-passwords option. That option forces the server to generate short password hashes instead.

The purpose of the --old-passwords option is to enable you to maintain backward compatibility with pre-4.1 clients under circumstances where the server would otherwise generate long password hashes. The option doesn't affect authentication (4.1 and later clients can still use accounts that have long password hashes), but it does prevent creation of a long password hash in the user table as the result of a password-changing operation. Were that to occur, the account no longer could be used by pre-4.1 clients. Without the --old-passwords option, the following undesirable scenario is possible:

An old client connects to an account that has a short password hash.
The client changes its own password. Without --old-passwords, this results in the account having a long password hash.
The next time the old client attempts to connect to the account, it cannot, because the account has a long password hash that requires the new hashing mechanism during authentication. (Once an account has a long password hash in the user table, only 4.1 and later clients can authenticate for it, because pre-4.1 clients do not understand long hashes.)

This scenario illustrates that, if you must support older pre-4.1 clients, it is dangerous to run a 4.1 or newer server without using the --old-passwords option. By running the server with --old-passwords, password-changing operations do not generate long password hashes and thus do not cause accounts to become inaccessible to older clients. (Those clients cannot inadvertently lock themselves out by changing their password and ending up with a long password hash.)

The downside of the --old-passwords option is that any passwords you create or change use short hashes, even for 4.1 clients. Thus, you lose the additional security provided by long password hashes. If you want to create an account that has a long hash (for example, for use by 4.1 clients), you must do so while running the server without --old-passwords.

MySQL Enterprise Subscribers to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor are automatically alerted whenever a server is running with the --old-passwords option. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

The following scenarios are possible for running a 4.1 or later server:

Scenario 1: Short Password column in user table:

Only short hashes can be stored in the Password column.
The server uses only short hashes during client authentication.
For connected clients, password hash-generating operations involving PASSWORD(), GRANT, or SET PASSWORD use short hashes exclusively. Any change to an account's password results in that account having a short password hash.
The --old-passwords option can be used but is superfluous because with a short Password column, the server generates only short password hashes anyway.

Scenario 2: Long Password column; server not started with --old-passwords option:

Short or long hashes can be stored in the Password column.
4.1 and later clients can authenticate using accounts that have short or long hashes.
Pre-4.1 clients can authenticate only using accounts that have short hashes.
For connected clients, password hash-generating operations involving PASSWORD(), GRANT, or SET PASSWORD use long hashes exclusively. A change to an account's password results in that account having a long password hash.

As indicated earlier, a danger in this scenario is that it is possible for accounts that have a short password hash to become inaccessible to pre-4.1 clients. A change to such an account's password made via GRANT, PASSWORD(), or SET PASSWORD results in the account being given a long password hash. From that point on, no pre-4.1 client can authenticate to that account until the client upgrades to 4.1.

To deal with this problem, you can change a password in a special way. For example, normally you use SET PASSWORD as follows to change an account password:

SET PASSWORD FOR 'some_user'@'some_host' = PASSWORD('mypass');

To change the password but create a short hash, use the OLD_PASSWORD() function instead:

SET PASSWORD FOR 'some_user'@'some_host' = OLD_PASSWORD('mypass');

OLD_PASSWORD() is useful for situations in which you explicitly want to generate a short hash.

Scenario 3: Long Password column; 4.1 or newer server started with --old-passwords option:

Short or long hashes can be stored in the Password column.
4.1 and later clients can authenticate for accounts that have short or long hashes (but note that it is possible to create long hashes only when the server is started without --old-passwords).
Pre-4.1 clients can authenticate only for accounts that have short hashes.
For connected clients, password hash-generating operations involving PASSWORD(), GRANT, or SET PASSWORD use short hashes exclusively. Any change to an account's password results in that account having a short password hash.

In this scenario, you cannot create accounts that have long password hashes, because the --old-passwords option prevents generation of long hashes. Also, if you create an account with a long hash before using the --old-passwords option, changing the account's password while --old-passwords is in effect results in the account being given a short password, causing it to lose the security benefits of a longer hash.

The disadvantages for these scenarios may be summarized as follows:

In scenario 1, you cannot take advantage of longer hashes that provide more secure authentication.

In scenario 2, accounts with short hashes become inaccessible to pre-4.1 clients if you change their passwords without explicitly using OLD_PASSWORD().

In scenario 3, --old-passwords prevents accounts with short hashes from becoming inaccessible, but password-changing operations cause accounts with long hashes to revert to short hashes, and you cannot change them back to long hashes while --old-passwords is in effect.

5.7.9.1. Implications of Password Hashing Changes for Application Programs

An upgrade to MySQL version 4.1 or later can cause compatibility issues for applications that use PASSWORD() to generate passwords for their own purposes. Applications really should not do this, because PASSWORD() should be used only to manage passwords for MySQL accounts. But some applications use PASSWORD() for their own purposes anyway.

If you upgrade to 4.1 or later from a pre-4.1 version of MySQL and run the server under conditions where it generates long password hashes, an application using PASSWORD() for its own passwords breaks. The recommended course of action in such cases is to modify the application to use another function, such as SHA1() or MD5(), to produce hashed values. If that is not possible, you can use the OLD_PASSWORD() function, which is provided for generate short hashes in the old format. However, you should note that OLD_PASSWORD() may one day no longer be supported.

If the server is running under circumstances where it generates short hashes, OLD_PASSWORD() is available but is equivalent to PASSWORD().

PHP programmers migrating their MySQL databases from version 4.0 or lower to version 4.1 or higher should see Section 23.3, “MySQL PHP API”.

5.8. MySQL User Account Management

5.8.1. MySQL Usernames and Passwords
5.8.2. Adding New User Accounts to MySQL
5.8.3. Removing User Accounts from MySQL
5.8.4. Limiting Account Resources
5.8.5. Assigning Account Passwords
5.8.6. Keeping Your Password Secure
5.8.7. Using Secure Connections

This section describes how to set up accounts for clients of your MySQL server. It discusses the following topics:

The meaning of account names and passwords as used in MySQL and how that compares to names and passwords used by your operating system
How to set up new accounts and remove existing accounts
How to change passwords
Guidelines for using passwords securely
How to use secure connections with SSL

5.8.1. MySQL Usernames and Passwords

A MySQL account is defined in terms of a username and the client host or hosts from which the user can connect to the server. The account also has a password. There are several distinctions between the way usernames and passwords are used by MySQL and the way they are used by your operating system:

Usernames, as used by MySQL for authentication purposes, have nothing to do with usernames (login names) as used by Windows or Unix. On Unix, most MySQL clients by default try to log in using the current Unix username as the MySQL username, but that is for convenience only. The default can be overridden easily, because client programs allow any username to be specified with a -u or --user option. Because this means that anyone can attempt to connect to the server using any username, you cannot make a database secure in any way unless all MySQL accounts have passwords. Anyone who specifies a username for an account that has no password is able to connect successfully to the server.
MySQL usernames can be up to 16 characters long. This limit is hard-coded in the MySQL servers and clients, and trying to circumvent it by modifying the definitions of the tables in the mysql database does not work.
Note
You should never alter any of the tables in the mysql database in any manner whatsoever except by means of the procedure prescribed by MySQL AB that is described in Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”. Attempting to redefine MySQL's system tables in any other fashion results in undefined (and unsupported!) behavior.
Operating system usernames are completely unrelated to MySQL usernames and may even be of a different maximum length. For example, Unix usernames typically are limited to eight characters.
MySQL passwords have nothing to do with passwords for logging in to your operating system. There is no necessary connection between the password you use to log in to a Windows or Unix machine and the password you use to access the MySQL server on that machine.
MySQL encrypts passwords using its own algorithm. This encryption is different from that used during the Unix login process. MySQL password encryption is the same as that implemented by the PASSWORD() SQL function. Unix password encryption is the same as that implemented by the ENCRYPT() SQL function. See the descriptions of the PASSWORD() and ENCRYPT() functions in Section 11.10.2, “Encryption and Compression Functions”. From version 4.1 on, MySQL employs a stronger authentication method that has better password protection during the connection process than in earlier versions. It is secure even if TCP/IP packets are sniffed or the mysql database is captured. (In earlier versions, even though passwords are stored in encrypted form in the user table, knowledge of the encrypted password value could be used to connect to the MySQL server.)

When you install MySQL, the grant tables are populated with an initial set of accounts. These accounts have names and access privileges that are described in Section 2.4.16.3, “Securing the Initial MySQL Accounts”, which also discusses how to assign passwords to them. Thereafter, you normally set up, modify, and remove MySQL accounts using statements such as GRANT and REVOKE. See Section 12.5.1, “Account Management Statements”.

When you connect to a MySQL server with a command-line client, you should specify the username and password for the account that you want to use:

shell> mysql --user=monty --password=guess db_name

If you prefer short options, the command looks like this:

shell> mysql -u monty -pguess db_name

There must be no space between the -p option and the following password value. See Section 5.7.4, “Connecting to the MySQL Server”.

The preceding commands include the password value on the command line, which can be a security risk. See Section 5.8.6, “Keeping Your Password Secure”. To avoid this problem, specify the --password or -p option without any following password value:

shell> mysql --user=monty --password db_name
shell> mysql -u monty -p db_name

When the password option has no password value, the client program prints a prompt and waits for you to enter the password. (In these examples, db_name is not interpreted as a password because it is separated from the preceding password option by a space.)

On some systems, the library routine that MySQL uses to prompt for a password automatically limits the password to eight characters. That is a problem with the system library, not with MySQL. Internally, MySQL doesn't have any limit for the length of the password. To work around the problem, change your MySQL password to a value that is eight or fewer characters long, or put your password in an option file.

5.8.2. Adding New User Accounts to MySQL

You can create MySQL accounts in two ways:

By using statements intended for creating accounts, such as CREATE USER or GRANT
By manipulating the MySQL grant tables directly with statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE

The preferred method is to use account-creation statements because they are more concise and less error-prone. CREATE USER and GRANT are described in Section 12.5.1.1, “CREATE USER Syntax”, and Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.

Another option for creating accounts is to use one of several available third-party programs that offer capabilities for MySQL account administration. phpMyAdmin is one such program.

The following examples show how to use the mysql client program to set up new users. These examples assume that privileges are set up according to the defaults described in Section 2.4.16.3, “Securing the Initial MySQL Accounts”. This means that to make changes, you must connect to the MySQL server as the MySQL root user, and the root account must have the INSERT privilege for the mysql database and the RELOAD administrative privilege.

As noted in the examples where appropriate, some of the statements will fail if you have the server's SQL mode has been set to enable certain restrictions. In particular, strict mode (STRICT_TRANS_TABLES, STRICT_ALL_TABLES) and NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER will prevent the server from accepting some of the statements. Workarounds are indicated for these cases. For more information about SQL modes and their effect on grant table manipulation, see Section 5.2.6, “SQL Modes”, and Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.

First, use the mysql program to connect to the server as the MySQL root user:

shell> mysql --user=root mysql

If you have assigned a password to the root account, you'll also need to supply a --password or -p option for this mysql command and also for those later in this section.

After connecting to the server as root, you can add new accounts. The following statements use GRANT to set up four new accounts:

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'monty'@'localhost'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'some_pass' WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'monty'@'%'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'some_pass' WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> GRANT RELOAD,PROCESS ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost';
mysql> GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO 'dummy'@'localhost';

The accounts created by these GRANT statements have the following properties:

Two of the accounts have a username of monty and a password of some_pass. Both accounts are superuser accounts with full privileges to do anything. One account ('monty'@'localhost') can be used only when connecting from the local host. The other ('monty'@'%') can be used to connect from any other host. Note that it is necessary to have both accounts for monty to be able to connect from anywhere as monty. Without the localhost account, the anonymous-user account for localhost that is created by mysql_install_db would take precedence when monty connects from the local host. As a result, monty would be treated as an anonymous user. The reason for this is that the anonymous-user account has a more specific Host column value than the 'monty'@'%' account and thus comes earlier in the user table sort order. (user table sorting is discussed in Section 5.7.5, “Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification”.)
One account has a username of admin and no password. This account can be used only by connecting from the local host. It is granted the RELOAD and PROCESS administrative privileges. These privileges allow the admin user to execute the mysqladmin reload, mysqladmin refresh, and mysqladmin flush-xxx commands, as well as mysqladmin processlist . No privileges are granted for accessing any databases. You could add such privileges later by issuing additional GRANT statements.
One account has a username of dummy and no password. This account can be used only by connecting from the local host. No privileges are granted. The USAGE privilege in the GRANT statement enables you to create an account without giving it any privileges. It has the effect of setting all the global privileges to 'N'. It is assumed that you will grant specific privileges to the account later.
The statements that create accounts with no password will fail if the NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER SQL mode is enabled. To deal with this, use an IDENTIFIED BY clause that specifies a non-empty password.

As an alternative to GRANT, you can create the same accounts directly by issuing INSERT statements and then telling the server to reload the grant tables using FLUSH PRIVILEGES:

shell> mysql --user=root mysql
mysql> INSERT INTO user
    ->     VALUES('localhost','monty',PASSWORD('some_pass'),
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y');
mysql> INSERT INTO user
    ->     VALUES('%','monty',PASSWORD('some_pass'),
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y',
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y',
    ->     '','','','',0,0,0,0);
mysql> INSERT INTO user SET Host='localhost',User='admin',
    ->     Reload_priv='Y', Process_priv='Y';
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    ->     VALUES('localhost','dummy','');
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

The reason for using FLUSH PRIVILEGES when you create accounts with INSERT is to tell the server to re-read the grant tables. Otherwise, the changes go unnoticed until you restart the server. With GRANT, FLUSH PRIVILEGES is unnecessary.

The reason for using the PASSWORD() function with INSERT is to encrypt the password. The GRANT statement encrypts the password for you, so PASSWORD() is unnecessary.

The 'Y' values enable privileges for the accounts. Depending on your MySQL version, you may have to use a different number of 'Y' values in the first two INSERT statements. For the admin account, you may also employ the more readable extended INSERT syntax using SET.

In the INSERT statement for the dummy account, only the Host, User, and Password columns in the user table row are assigned values. None of the privilege columns are set explicitly, so MySQL assigns them all the default value of 'N'. This is equivalent to what GRANT USAGE does.

If strict SQL mode is enabled, all columns that have no default value must have a value specified. In this case, INSERT statements must explicitly specify values for the ssl_cipher, x509_issuer, and x509_subject columns.

Note that to set up a superuser account, it is necessary only to create a user table entry with the privilege columns set to 'Y'. user table privileges are global, so no entries in any of the other grant tables are needed.

The next examples create three accounts and give them access to specific databases. Each of them has a username of custom and password of obscure.

To create the accounts with GRANT, use the following statements:

shell> mysql --user=root mysql
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON bankaccount.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'localhost'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON expenses.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'whitehouse.gov'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON customer.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'server.domain'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';

The three accounts can be used as follows:

The first account can access the bankaccount database, but only from the local host.
The second account can access the expenses database, but only from the host whitehouse.gov.
The third account can access the customer database, but only from the host server.domain.

To set up the custom accounts without GRANT, use INSERT statements as follows to modify the grant tables directly:

shell> mysql --user=root mysql
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    ->     VALUES('localhost','custom',PASSWORD('obscure'));
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    ->     VALUES('whitehouse.gov','custom',PASSWORD('obscure'));
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    ->     VALUES('server.domain','custom',PASSWORD('obscure'));
mysql> INSERT INTO db
    ->     (Host,Db,User,Select_priv,Insert_priv,
    ->     Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv)
    ->     VALUES('localhost','bankaccount','custom',
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y');
mysql> INSERT INTO db
    ->     (Host,Db,User,Select_priv,Insert_priv,
    ->     Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv)
    ->     VALUES('whitehouse.gov','expenses','custom',
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y');
mysql> INSERT INTO db
    ->     (Host,Db,User,Select_priv,Insert_priv,
    ->     Update_priv,Delete_priv,Create_priv,Drop_priv)
    ->     VALUES('server.domain','customer','custom',
    ->     'Y','Y','Y','Y','Y','Y');
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

The first three INSERT statements add user table entries that allow the user custom to connect from the various hosts with the given password, but grant no global privileges (all privileges are set to the default value of 'N'). The next three INSERT statements add db table entries that grant privileges to custom for the bankaccount, expenses, and customer databases, but only when accessed from the proper hosts. As usual when you modify the grant tables directly, you must tell the server to reload them with FLUSH PRIVILEGES so that the privilege changes take effect.

If you want to give a specific user access from all machines in a given domain (for example, mydomain.com), you can issue a GRANT statement that uses the “%” wildcard character in the host part of the account name:

mysql> GRANT ...
    ->     ON *.*
    ->     TO 'myname'@'%.mydomain.com'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'mypass';

To do the same thing by modifying the grant tables directly, do this:

mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password,...)
    ->     VALUES('%.mydomain.com','myname',PASSWORD('mypass'),...);
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

5.8.3. Removing User Accounts from MySQL

To remove an account, use the DROP USER statement, which is described in Section 12.5.1.2, “DROP USER Syntax”.

5.8.4. Limiting Account Resources

One means of limiting use of MySQL server resources is to set the max_user_connections system variable to a non-zero value. However, this method is strictly global, and does not allow for management of individual accounts. In addition, it limits only the number of simultaneous connections made using a single account, and not what a client can do once connected. Both types of control are of interest to many MySQL administrators, particularly those working for Internet Service Providers.

In MySQL 5.0, you can limit the following server resources for individual accounts:

The number of queries that an account can issue per hour
The number of updates that an account can issue per hour
The number of times an account can connect to the server per hour

Any statement that a client can issue counts against the query limit. Only statements that modify databases or tables count against the update limit.

From MySQL 5.0.3 on, it is also possible to limit the number of simultaneous connections to the server on a per-account basis.

An account in this context is a single row in the user table. Each account is uniquely identified by its User and Host column values.

As a prerequisite for using this feature, the user table in the mysql database must contain the resource-related columns. Resource limits are stored in the max_questions, max_updates, max_connections, and max_user_connections columns. If your user table doesn't have these columns, it must be upgraded; see Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.

To set resource limits with a GRANT statement, use a WITH clause that names each resource to be limited and a per-hour count indicating the limit value. For example, to create a new account that can access the customer database, but only in a limited fashion, issue this statement:

mysql> GRANT ALL ON customer.* TO 'francis'@'localhost'
    ->     IDENTIFIED BY 'frank'
    ->     WITH MAX_QUERIES_PER_HOUR 20
    ->          MAX_UPDATES_PER_HOUR 10
    ->          MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_HOUR 5
    ->          MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS 2;

The limit types need not all be named in the WITH clause, but those named can be present in any order. The value for each per-hour limit should be an integer representing a count per hour. If the GRANT statement has no WITH clause, the limits are each set to the default value of zero (that is, no limit). For MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS, the limit is an integer indicating the maximum number of simultaneous connections the account can make at any one time. If the limit is set to the default value of zero, the max_user_connections system variable determines the number of simultaneous connections for the account.

To set or change limits for an existing account, use a GRANT USAGE statement at the global level (ON *.*). The following statement changes the query limit for francis to 100:

mysql> GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO 'francis'@'localhost'
    ->     WITH MAX_QUERIES_PER_HOUR 100;

This statement leaves the account's existing privileges unchanged and modifies only the limit values specified.

To remove an existing limit, set its value to zero. For example, to remove the limit on how many times per hour francis can connect, use this statement:

mysql> GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO 'francis'@'localhost'
    ->     WITH MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_HOUR 0;

Resource-use counting takes place when any account has a non-zero limit placed on its use of any of the resources.

As the server runs, it counts the number of times each account uses resources. If an account reaches its limit on number of connections within the last hour, further connections for the account are rejected until that hour is up. Similarly, if the account reaches its limit on the number of queries or updates, further queries or updates are rejected until the hour is up. In all such cases, an appropriate error message is issued.

Resource counting is done per account, not per client. For example, if your account has a query limit of 50, you cannot increase your limit to 100 by making two simultaneous client connections to the server. Queries issued on both connections are counted together.

Queries for which results are served from the query cache do not count against the MAX_QUERIES_PER_HOUR limit.

The current per-hour resource-use counts can be reset globally for all accounts, or individually for a given account:

To reset the current counts to zero for all accounts, issue a FLUSH USER_RESOURCES statement. The counts also can be reset by reloading the grant tables (for example, with a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or a mysqladmin reload command).
The counts for an individual account can be set to zero by re-granting it any of its limits. To do this, use GRANT USAGE as described earlier and specify a limit value equal to the value that the account currently has.

Counter resets do not affect the MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit.

All counts begin at zero when the server starts; counts are not carried over through a restart.

5.8.5. Assigning Account Passwords

Passwords may be assigned from the command line by using the mysqladmin command:

shell> mysqladmin -u user_name -h host_name password "newpwd"

The account for which this command resets the password is the one with a user table row that matches user_name in the User column and the client host from which you connect in the Host column.

Another way to assign a password to an account is to issue a SET PASSWORD statement:

mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'jeffrey'@'%' = PASSWORD('biscuit');

Only users such as root that have update access to the mysql database can change the password for other users. If you are not connected as an anonymous user, you can change your own password by omitting the FOR clause:

mysql> SET PASSWORD = PASSWORD('biscuit');

You can also use a GRANT USAGE statement at the global level (ON *.*) to assign a password to an account without affecting the account's current privileges:

mysql> GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO 'jeffrey'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'biscuit';

Although it is generally preferable to assign passwords using one of the preceding methods, you can also do so by modifying the user table directly:

To establish a password when creating a new account, provide a value for the Password column:

shell> mysql -u root mysql
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    -> VALUES('%','jeffrey',PASSWORD('biscuit'));
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

To change the password for an existing account, use UPDATE to set the Password column value:

shell> mysql -u root mysql
mysql> UPDATE user SET Password = PASSWORD('bagel')
    -> WHERE Host = '%' AND User = 'francis';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

When you assign an account a non-empty password using SET PASSWORD, INSERT, or UPDATE, you must use the PASSWORD() function to encrypt it. PASSWORD() is necessary because the user table stores passwords in encrypted form, not as plaintext. If you forget that fact, you are likely to set passwords like this:

shell> mysql -u root mysql
mysql> INSERT INTO user (Host,User,Password)
    -> VALUES('%','jeffrey','biscuit');
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

The result is that the literal value 'biscuit' is stored as the password in the user table, not the encrypted value. When jeffrey attempts to connect to the server using this password, the value is encrypted and compared to the value stored in the user table. However, the stored value is the literal string 'biscuit', so the comparison fails and the server rejects the connection:

shell> mysql -u jeffrey -pbiscuit test
Access denied

If you assign passwords using the GRANT ... IDENTIFIED BY statement or the mysqladmin password command, they both take care of encrypting the password for you. In these cases, using PASSWORD() function is unnecessary.

Note

PASSWORD() encryption is different from Unix password encryption. See Section 5.8.1, “MySQL Usernames and Passwords”.

5.8.6. Keeping Your Password Secure

On an administrative level, you should never grant access to the user grant table to any non-administrative accounts.

When you run a client program to connect to the MySQL server, it is inadvisable to specify your password in a way that exposes it to discovery by other users. The methods you can use to specify your password when you run client programs are listed here, along with an assessment of the risks of each method:

Use a -pyour_pass or --password=your_pass option on the command line. For example:
```
shell> mysql -u francis -pfrank db_name
```
This is convenient but insecure, because your password becomes visible to system status programs such as ps that may be invoked by other users to display command lines. MySQL clients typically overwrite the command-line password argument with zeros during their initialization sequence. However, there is still a brief interval during which the value is visible. On some systems this strategy is ineffective, anyway, and the password remains visible to ps. (SystemV Unix systems and perhaps others are subject to this problem.)
Use the -p or --password option with no password value specified. In this case, the client program solicits the password from the terminal:
```
shell> mysql -u francis -p db_name
Enter password: ********
```
The “*” characters indicate where you enter your password. The password is not displayed as you enter it.
It is more secure to enter your password this way than to specify it on the command line because it is not visible to other users. However, this method of entering a password is suitable only for programs that you run interactively. If you want to invoke a client from a script that runs non-interactively, there is no opportunity to enter the password from the terminal. On some systems, you may even find that the first line of your script is read and interpreted (incorrectly) as your password.
Store your password in an option file. For example, on Unix you can list your password in the [client] section of the .my.cnf file in your home directory:
```
[client]
password=your_pass
```
If you store your password in .my.cnf, the file should not be accessible to anyone but yourself. To ensure this, set the file access mode to 400 or 600. For example:
```
shell> chmod 600 .my.cnf
```
Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”, discusses option files in more detail.
Store your password in the MYSQL_PWD environment variable. This method of specifying your MySQL password must be considered extremely insecure and should not be used. Some versions of ps include an option to display the environment of running processes. If you set MYSQL_PWD, your password is exposed to any other user who runs ps. Even on systems without such a version of ps, it is unwise to assume that there are no other methods by which users can examine process environments. See Section 2.4.20, “Environment Variables”.

All in all, the safest methods are to have the client program prompt for the password or to specify the password in a properly protected option file.

5.8.7. Using Secure Connections

5.8.7.1. Basic SSL Concepts
5.8.7.2. Using SSL Connections
5.8.7.3. SSL Command Options
5.8.7.4. Setting Up SSL Certificates for MySQL
5.8.7.5. Connecting to MySQL Remotely from Windows with SSH

MySQL supports secure (encrypted) connections between MySQL clients and the server using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. This section discusses how to use SSL connections. It also describes a way to set up SSH on Windows. For information on how to require users to use SSL connections, see the discussion of the REQUIRE clause of the GRANT statement in Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.

The standard configuration of MySQL is intended to be as fast as possible, so encrypted connections are not used by default. Doing so would make the client/server protocol much slower. Encrypting data is a CPU-intensive operation that requires the computer to do additional work and can delay other MySQL tasks. For applications that require the security provided by encrypted connections, the extra computation is warranted.

MySQL allows encryption to be enabled on a per-connection basis. You can choose a normal unencrypted connection or a secure encrypted SSL connection according the requirements of individual applications.

Secure connections are based on the OpenSSL API and are available through the MySQL C API. Replication uses the C API, so secure connections can be used between master and slave servers.

5.8.7.1. Basic SSL Concepts

To understand how MySQL uses SSL, it is necessary to explain some basic SSL and X509 concepts. People who are familiar with these can skip this part of the discussion.

By default, MySQL uses unencrypted connections between the client and the server. This means that someone with access to the network could watch all your traffic and look at the data being sent or received. They could even change the data while it is in transit between client and server. To improve security a little, you can compress client/server traffic by using the --compress option when invoking client programs. However, this does not foil a determined attacker.

When you need to move information over a network in a secure fashion, an unencrypted connection is unacceptable. Encryption is the way to make any kind of data unreadable. In fact, today's practice requires many additional security elements from encryption algorithms. They should resist many kind of known attacks such as changing the order of encrypted messages or replaying data twice.

SSL is a protocol that uses different encryption algorithms to ensure that data received over a public network can be trusted. It has mechanisms to detect any data change, loss, or replay. SSL also incorporates algorithms that provide identity verification using the X509 standard.

X509 makes it possible to identify someone on the Internet. It is most commonly used in e-commerce applications. In basic terms, there should be some company called a “Certificate Authority” (or CA) that assigns electronic certificates to anyone who needs them. Certificates rely on asymmetric encryption algorithms that have two encryption keys (a public key and a secret key). A certificate owner can show the certificate to another party as proof of identity. A certificate consists of its owner's public key. Any data encrypted with this public key can be decrypted only using the corresponding secret key, which is held by the owner of the certificate.

If you need more information about SSL, X509, or encryption, use your favorite Internet search engine to search for the keywords in which you are interested.

5.8.7.2. Using SSL Connections

To use SSL connections between the MySQL server and client programs, your system must support either OpenSSL or yaSSL and your version of MySQL must be built with SSL support.

To make it easier to use secure connections, MySQL is bundled with yaSSL as of MySQL 5.0.10. (MySQL and yaSSL employ the same licensing model, whereas OpenSSL uses an Apache-style license.) yaSSL support initially was available only for a few platforms, but now it is available on all platforms supported by MySQL AB.

To get secure connections to work with MySQL and SSL, you must do the following:

If you are not using a binary (precompiled) version of MySQL that has been built with SSL support, and you are going to use OpenSSL rather than the bundled yaSSL library, install OpenSSL if it has not already been installed. We have tested MySQL with OpenSSL 0.9.6. To obtain OpenSSL, visit http://www.openssl.org.
If you are not using a binary (precompiled) version of MySQL that has been built with SSL support, configure a MySQL source distribution to use SSL. When you configure MySQL, invoke the configure script with the appropriate option to select the SSL library that you want to use.
For yaSSL:
```
shell> ./configure --with-yassl
```
For OpenSSL:
```
shell> ./configure --with-openssl
```
Before MySQL 5.0, it was also neccessary to use --with-vio, but that option is no longer required.
Note that yaSSL support on Unix platforms requires that either /dev/urandom or /dev/random be available to retrieve true random numbers. For additional information (especially regarding yaSSL on Solaris versions prior to 2.8 and HP-UX), see Bug#13164.
Make sure that you have upgraded your grant tables to include the SSL-related columns in the mysql.user table. This is necessary if your grant tables date from a version of MySQL older than 4.0. The upgrade procedure is described in Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”.
To check whether a server binary is compiled with SSL support, invoke it with the --ssl option. An error will occur if the server does not support SSL:
```
shell> mysqld --ssl --help
060525 14:18:52 [ERROR] mysqld: unknown option '--ssl'
```
To check whether a running mysqld server supports SSL, examine the value of the have_openssl system variable:
```
mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'have_openssl';
+---------------+-------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+---------------+-------+
| have_openssl  | YES   |
+---------------+-------+
```
If the value is YES, the server supports SSL connections. If the value is DISABLED, the server supports SSL connections but was not started with the appropriate --ssl-xxx options (described later in this section). If the value is YES, the server supports SSL connections.

To enable SSL connections, the proper SSL-related command options must be used (see Section 5.8.7.3, “SSL Command Options”).

To start the MySQL server so that it allows clients to connect via SSL, use the options that identify the key and certificate files the server needs when establishing a secure connection:

shell> mysqld --ssl-ca=cacert.pem \
       --ssl-cert=server-cert.pem \
       --ssl-key=server-key.pem

--ssl-ca identifies the Certificate Authority (CA) certificate.
--ssl-cert identifies the server public key. This can be sent to the client and authenticated against the CA certificate that it has.
--ssl-key identifies the server private key.

To establish a secure connection to a MySQL server with SSL support, the options that a client must specify depend on the SSL requirements of the user account that the client uses. (See the discussion of the REQUIRE clause in Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”.)

If the account has no special SSL requirements or was created using a GRANT statement that includes the REQUIRE SSL option, a client can connect securely by using just the --ssl-ca option:

shell> mysql --ssl-ca=cacert.pem

To require that a client certificate also be specified, create the account using the REQUIRE X509 option. Then the client must also specify the proper client key and certificate files or the server will reject the connection:

shell> mysql --ssl-ca=cacert.pem \
       --ssl-cert=client-cert.pem \
       --ssl-key=client-key.pem

In other words, the options are similar to those used for the server. Note that the Certificate Authority certificate has to be the same.

A client can determine whether the current connection with the server uses SSL by checking the value of the Ssl_cipher status variable. The value of Ssl_cipher is non-empty if SSL is used, and empty otherwise. For example:

mysql> SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_cipher';
+---------------+--------------------+
| Variable_name | Value              |
+---------------+--------------------+
| Ssl_cipher    | DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA |
+---------------+--------------------+

For the mysql client, you can use the STATUS or \s command and check the SSL line:

mysql> \s
...
SSL:                    Not in use
...

Or:

mysql> \s
...
SSL:                    Cipher in use is DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
...

To establish a secure connection from within an application program, use the mysql_ssl_set() C API function to set the appropriate certificate options before calling mysql_real_connect(). See Section 23.2.3.67, “mysql_ssl_set()”. After the connection is established, you can use mysql_get_ssl_cipher() to determine whether SSL is in use. A non-NULL return value indicates a secure connection and names the SSL cipher used for encryption. A NULL return value indicates that SSL is not being used. See Section 23.2.3.33, “mysql_get_ssl_cipher()”.

5.8.7.3. SSL Command Options

The following list describes options that are used for specifying the use of SSL, certificate files, and key files. They can be given on the command line or in an option file. These options are not available unless MySQL has been built with SSL support. See Section 5.8.7.2, “Using SSL Connections”. (There are also --master-ssl* options that can be used for setting up a secure connection from a slave replication server to a master server; see Section 15.1.2, “Replication Startup Options and Variables”.)

--ssl
For the server, this option specifies that the server allows SSL connections. For a client program, it allows the client to connect to the server using SSL. This option is not sufficient in itself to cause an SSL connection to be used. You must also specify the --ssl-ca option, and possibly the --ssl-cert and --ssl-key options.
This option is more often used in its opposite form to override any other SSL options and indicate that SSL should not be used. To do this, specify the option as --skip-ssl or --ssl=0.
Note that use of --ssl does not require an SSL connection. For example, if the server or client is compiled without SSL support, a normal unencrypted connection is used.
The secure way to require use of an SSL connection is to create an account on the server that includes a REQUIRE SSL clause in the GRANT statement. Then use that account to connect to the server, where both the server and the client have SSL support enabled.
The REQUIRE clause allows other SSL-related restrictions as well. The description of REQUIRE in Section 12.5.1.3, “GRANT Syntax”, provides additional detail about which SSL command options may or must be specified by clients that connect using accounts that are created using the various REQUIRE options.
--ssl-ca=file_name
The path to a file that contains a list of trusted SSL CAs.
--ssl-capath=directory_name
The path to a directory that contains trusted SSL CA certificates in PEM format.
--ssl-cert=file_name
The name of the SSL certificate file to use for establishing a secure connection.
--ssl-cipher=cipher_list
A list of allowable ciphers to use for SSL encryption. cipher_list has the same format as the openssl ciphers command.
Example: --ssl-cipher=ALL:-AES:-EXP
--ssl-key=file_name
The name of the SSL key file to use for establishing a secure connection.
--ssl-verify-server-cert
This option is available for client programs. It causes the server's Common Name value in the certificate that the server sends to the client to be verified against the hostname that the client uses for connecting to the server, and the connection is rejected if there is a mismatch. This feature can be used to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Verification is disabled by default. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.23.

As of MySQL 5.0.40, if you use SSL when establishing a client connection, you can tell the client not to authenticate the server certificate by specifying neither --ssl-ca nor --ssl-capath. The server still verifies the client according to any applicable requirements established via GRANT statements for the client, and it still uses any --ssl-ca/--ssl-capath values that were passed to server at startup time.

5.8.7.4. Setting Up SSL Certificates for MySQL

This section demonstrates how to set up SSL certificate and key files for use by MySQL servers and clients. The first example shows a simplified procedure such as you might use from the command line. The second shows a script that contains more detail. Both examples use the openssl command that is part of OpenSSL.

The following example shows a set of commands to create MySQL server and client certificate and key files. You will need to respond to several prompts by the openssl commands. For testing, you can press Enter to all prompts. For production use, you should provide non-empty responses.

# Create clean environment
shell> rm -rf newcerts
shell> mkdir newcerts && cd newcerts

# Create CA certificate
shell> openssl genrsa 2048 > ca-key.pem
shell> openssl req -new -x509 -nodes -days 1000 \
         -key ca-key.pem > ca-cert.pem

# Create server certificate
shell> openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -days 1000 \
         -nodes -keyout server-key.pem > server-req.pem
shell> openssl x509 -req -in server-req.pem -days 1000 \
         -CA ca-cert.pem -CAkey ca-key.pem -set_serial 01 > server-cert.pem

# Create client certificate
shell> openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -days 1000 \
         -nodes -keyout client-key.pem > client-req.pem
shell> openssl x509 -req -in client-req.pem -days 1000 \
         -CA ca-cert.pem -CAkey ca-key.pem -set_serial 01 > client-cert.pem

Here is an example script that shows how to set up SSL certificates for MySQL:

DIR=`pwd`/openssl
PRIV=$DIR/private

mkdir $DIR $PRIV $DIR/newcerts
cp /usr/share/ssl/openssl.cnf $DIR
replace ./demoCA $DIR -- $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Create necessary files: $database, $serial and $new_certs_dir
# directory (optional)

touch $DIR/index.txt
echo "01" > $DIR/serial

#
# Generation of Certificate Authority(CA)
#

openssl req -new -x509 -keyout $PRIV/cakey.pem -out $DIR/cacert.pem \
    -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# ................++++++
# .........++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/private/cakey.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL admin
# Email Address []:

#
# Create server request and key
#
openssl req -new -keyout $DIR/server-key.pem -out \
    $DIR/server-req.pem -days 3600 -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# ..++++++
# ..........++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/server-key.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL server
# Email Address []:
#
# Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
# to be sent with your certificate request
# A challenge password []:
# An optional company name []:

#
# Remove the passphrase from the key (optional)
#

openssl rsa -in $DIR/server-key.pem -out $DIR/server-key.pem

#
# Sign server cert
#
openssl ca  -policy policy_anything -out $DIR/server-cert.pem \
    -config $DIR/openssl.cnf -infiles $DIR/server-req.pem

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Check that the request matches the signature
# Signature ok
# The Subjects Distinguished Name is as follows
# countryName           :PRINTABLE:'FI'
# organizationName      :PRINTABLE:'MySQL AB'
# commonName            :PRINTABLE:'MySQL admin'
# Certificate is to be certified until Sep 13 14:22:46 2003 GMT
# (365 days)
# Sign the certificate? [y/n]:y
#
#
# 1 out of 1 certificate requests certified, commit? [y/n]y
# Write out database with 1 new entries
# Data Base Updated

#
# Create client request and key
#
openssl req -new -keyout $DIR/client-key.pem -out \
    $DIR/client-req.pem -days 3600 -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# .....................................++++++
# .............................................++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/client-key.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL user
# Email Address []:
#
# Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
# to be sent with your certificate request
# A challenge password []:
# An optional company name []:

#
# Remove a passphrase from the key (optional)
#
openssl rsa -in $DIR/client-key.pem -out $DIR/client-key.pem

#
# Sign client cert
#

openssl ca  -policy policy_anything -out $DIR/client-cert.pem \
    -config $DIR/openssl.cnf -infiles $DIR/client-req.pem

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Check that the request matches the signature
# Signature ok
# The Subjects Distinguished Name is as follows
# countryName           :PRINTABLE:'FI'
# organizationName      :PRINTABLE:'MySQL AB'
# commonName            :PRINTABLE:'MySQL user'
# Certificate is to be certified until Sep 13 16:45:17 2003 GMT
# (365 days)
# Sign the certificate? [y/n]:y
#
#
# 1 out of 1 certificate requests certified, commit? [y/n]y
# Write out database with 1 new entries
# Data Base Updated

#
# Create a my.cnf file that you can use to test the certificates
#

cnf=""
cnf="$cnf [client]"
cnf="$cnf ssl-ca=$DIR/cacert.pem"
cnf="$cnf ssl-cert=$DIR/client-cert.pem"
cnf="$cnf ssl-key=$DIR/client-key.pem"
cnf="$cnf [mysqld]"
cnf="$cnf ssl-ca=$DIR/cacert.pem"
cnf="$cnf ssl-cert=$DIR/server-cert.pem"
cnf="$cnf ssl-key=$DIR/server-key.pem"
echo $cnf | replace " " '
' > $DIR/my.cnf

To test SSL connections, start the server as follows, where $DIR is the pathname to the directory where the sample my.cnf option file is located:

shell> mysqld --defaults-file=$DIR/my.cnf &

Then invoke a client program using the same option file:

shell> mysql --defaults-file=$DIR/my.cnf

If you have a MySQL source distribution, you can also test your setup by modifying the preceding my.cnf file to refer to the demonstration certificate and key files in the SSL directory of the distribution.

5.8.7.5. Connecting to MySQL Remotely from Windows with SSH

Here is a note that describes how to get a secure connection to a remote MySQL server with SSH (by David Carlson <dcarlson@mplcomm.com>):

Install an SSH client on your Windows machine. As a user, the best non-free one I have found is from SecureCRT from http://www.vandyke.com/. Another option is f-secure from http://www.f-secure.com/. You can also find some free ones on Google at http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/Protocols/SSH/Clients/Windows/.
Start your Windows SSH client. Set Host_Name = yourmysqlserver_URL_or_IP. Set userid=your_userid to log in to your server. This userid value might not be the same as the username of your MySQL account.
Set up port forwarding. Either do a remote forward (Set local_port: 3306, remote_host: yourmysqlservername_or_ip, remote_port: 3306 ) or a local forward (Set port: 3306, host: localhost, remote port: 3306).
Save everything, otherwise you will have to redo it the next time.
Log in to your server with the SSH session you just created.
On your Windows machine, start some ODBC application (such as Access).
Create a new file in Windows and link to MySQL using the ODBC driver the same way you normally do, except type in localhost for the MySQL host server, not yourmysqlservername.

At this point, you should have an ODBC connection to MySQL, encrypted using SSH.

5.9. Backup and Recovery

5.9.1. Database Backups
5.9.2. Example Backup and Recovery Strategy
5.9.3. Point-in-Time Recovery
5.9.4. Table Maintenance and Crash Recovery

This section discusses how to make database backups (full and incremental) and how to perform table maintenance. The syntax of the SQL statements described here is given in Chapter 12, SQL Statement Syntax. Much of the information here pertains primarily to MyISAM tables. Additional information about InnoDB backup procedures is given in Section 13.2.8, “Backing Up and Recovering an InnoDB Database”.

5.9.1. Database Backups

Because MySQL tables are stored as files, it is easy to do a backup. To get a consistent backup, do a LOCK TABLES on the relevant tables, followed by FLUSH TABLES for the tables. See Section 12.4.5, “LOCK TABLES and UNLOCK TABLES Syntax”, and Section 12.5.5.2, “FLUSH Syntax”. You need only a read lock; this allows other clients to continue to query the tables while you are making a copy of the files in the database directory. The FLUSH TABLES statement is needed to ensure that the all active index pages are written to disk before you start the backup.

To make an SQL-level backup of a table, you can use SELECT INTO ... OUTFILE. For this statement, the output file cannot already exist because allowing files to be overwritten would constitute a security risk. See Section 12.2.7, “SELECT Syntax”.

Another technique for backing up a database is to use the mysqldump program or the mysqlhotcopy script. See Section 7.13, “mysqldump — A Database Backup Program”, and Section 7.14, “mysqlhotcopy — A Database Backup Program”.

Create a full backup of your database:
```
shell> mysqldump --tab=/path/to/some/dir --opt db_name
```
Or:
```
shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name /path/to/some/dir
```
You can also create a binary backup simply by copying all table files (*.frm, *.MYD, and *.MYI files), as long as the server isn't updating anything. The mysqlhotcopy script uses this method. (But note that these methods do not work if your database contains InnoDB tables. InnoDB does not store table contents in database directories, and mysqlhotcopy works only for MyISAM tables.)
Stop mysqld if it is running, then start it with the --log-bin[=file_name] option. See Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”. The binary log files provide you with the information you need to replicate changes to the database that are made subsequent to the point at which you executed mysqldump.

For InnoDB tables, it is possible to perform an online backup that takes no locks on tables; see Section 7.13, “mysqldump — A Database Backup Program”.

MySQL supports incremental backups: You need to start the server with the --log-bin option to enable binary logging; see Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”. At the moment you want to make an incremental backup (containing all changes that happened since the last full or incremental backup), you should rotate the binary log by using FLUSH LOGS. This done, you need to copy to the backup location all binary logs which range from the one of the moment of the last full or incremental backup to the last but one. These binary logs are the incremental backup; at restore time, you apply them as explained further below. The next time you do a full backup, you should also rotate the binary log using FLUSH LOGS, mysqldump --flush-logs, or mysqlhotcopy --flushlog. See Section 7.13, “mysqldump — A Database Backup Program”, and Section 7.14, “mysqlhotcopy — A Database Backup Program”.

If your MySQL server is a slave replication server, then regardless of the backup method you choose, you should also back up the master.info and relay-log.info files when you back up your slave's data. These files are always needed to resume replication after you restore the slave's data. If your slave is subject to replicating LOAD DATA INFILE commands, you should also back up any SQL_LOAD-* files that may exist in the directory specified by the --slave-load-tmpdir option. (This location defaults to the value of the tmpdir variable if not specified.) The slave needs these files to resume replication of any interrupted LOAD DATA INFILE operations.

MySQL Enterprise The MySQL Enterprise Monitor provides numerous advisors that issue immediate warnings should replication issues arise. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

If you have to restore MyISAM tables, try to recover them using REPAIR TABLE or myisamchk -r first. That should work in 99.9% of all cases. If myisamchk fails, try the following procedure. Note that it works only if you have enabled binary logging by starting MySQL with the --log-bin option.

Restore the original mysqldump backup, or binary backup.
Execute the following command to re-run the updates in the binary logs:
```
shell> mysqlbinlog binlog.[0-9]* | mysql
```
In some cases, you may want to re-run only certain binary logs, from certain positions (usually you want to re-run all binary logs from the date of the restored backup, excepting possibly some incorrect statements). See Section 7.11, “mysqlbinlog — Utility for Processing Binary Log Files”, for more information on the mysqlbinlog utility and how to use it.

You can also make selective backups of individual files:

To dump the table, use SELECT * INTO OUTFILE 'file_name' FROM tbl_name.
To reload the table, use LOAD DATA INFILE 'file_name' REPLACE .... To avoid duplicate rows, the table must have a PRIMARY KEY or a UNIQUE index. The REPLACE keyword causes old rows to be replaced with new ones when a new row duplicates an old row on a unique key value.

If you have performance problems with your server while making backups, one strategy that can help is to set up replication and perform backups on the slave rather than on the master. See Chapter 15, Replication.

If you are using a Veritas filesystem, you can make a backup like this:

From a client program, execute FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK.
From another shell, execute mount vxfs snapshot.
From the first client, execute UNLOCK TABLES.
Copy files from the snapshot.
Unmount the snapshot.

5.9.2. Example Backup and Recovery Strategy

5.9.2.1. Backup Policy
5.9.2.2. Using Backups for Recovery
5.9.2.3. Backup Strategy Summary

This section discusses a procedure for performing backups that allows you to recover data after several types of crashes:

Operating system crash
Power failure
Filesystem crash
Hardware problem (hard drive, motherboard, and so forth)

The example commands do not include options such as --user and --password for the mysqldump and mysql programs. You should include such options as necessary so that the MySQL server allows you to connect to it.

We assume that data is stored in the InnoDB storage engine, which has support for transactions and automatic crash recovery. We also assume that the MySQL server is under load at the time of the crash. If it were not, no recovery would ever be needed.

For cases of operating system crashes or power failures, we can assume that MySQL's disk data is available after a restart. The InnoDB data files might not contain consistent data due to the crash, but InnoDB reads its logs and finds in them the list of pending committed and non-committed transactions that have not been flushed to the data files. InnoDB automatically rolls back those transactions that were not committed, and flushes to its data files those that were committed. Information about this recovery process is conveyed to the user through the MySQL error log. The following is an example log excerpt:

InnoDB: Database was not shut down normally.
InnoDB: Starting recovery from log files...
InnoDB: Starting log scan based on checkpoint at
InnoDB: log sequence number 0 13674004
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 13739520
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 13805056
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 13870592
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 13936128
...
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 20555264
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 20620800
InnoDB: Doing recovery: scanned up to log sequence number 0 20664692
InnoDB: 1 uncommitted transaction(s) which must be rolled back
InnoDB: Starting rollback of uncommitted transactions
InnoDB: Rolling back trx no 16745
InnoDB: Rolling back of trx no 16745 completed
InnoDB: Rollback of uncommitted transactions completed
InnoDB: Starting an apply batch of log records to the database...
InnoDB: Apply batch completed
InnoDB: Started
mysqld: ready for connections

For the cases of filesystem crashes or hardware problems, we can assume that the MySQL disk data is not available after a restart. This means that MySQL fails to start successfully because some blocks of disk data are no longer readable. In this case, it is necessary to reformat the disk, install a new one, or otherwise correct the underlying problem. Then it is necessary to recover our MySQL data from backups, which means that we must already have made backups. To make sure that is the case, we should design a backup policy.

5.9.2.1. Backup Policy

We all know that backups must be scheduled periodically. A full backups (a snapshot of the data at a point in time) can be done in MySQL with several tools. For example, InnoDB Hot Backup provides online non-blocking physical backup of the InnoDB data files, and mysqldump provides online logical backup. This discussion uses mysqldump.

MySQL Enterprise For expert advice on backups and replication, subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

Assume that we make a backup on Sunday at 1 p.m., when load is low. The following command makes a full backup of all our InnoDB tables in all databases:

shell> mysqldump --single-transaction --all-databases > backup_sunday_1_PM.sql

This is an online, non-blocking backup that does not disturb the reads and writes on the tables. We assumed earlier that our tables are InnoDB tables, so --single-transaction uses a consistent read and guarantees that data seen by mysqldump does not change. (Changes made by other clients to InnoDB tables are not seen by the mysqldump process.) If we do also have other types of tables, we must assume that they are not changed during the backup. For example, for the MyISAM tables in the mysql database, we must assume that no administrative changes are being made to MySQL accounts during the backup.

The resulting .sql file produced by mysqldump contains a set of SQL INSERT statements that can be used to reload the dumped tables at a later time.

Full backups are necessary, but they are not always convenient. They produce large backup files and take time to generate. They are not optimal in the sense that each successive full backup includes all data, even that part that has not changed since the previous full backup. After we have made the initial full backup, it is more efficient to make incremental backups. They are smaller and take less time to produce. The tradeoff is that, at recovery time, you cannot restore your data just by reloading the full backup. You must also process the incremental backups to recover the incremental changes.

To make incremental backups, we need to save the incremental changes. The MySQL server should always be started with the --log-bin option so that it stores these changes in a file while it updates data. This option enables binary logging, so that the server writes each SQL statement that updates data into a file called a MySQL binary log. Looking at the data directory of a MySQL server that was started with the --log-bin option and that has been running for some days, we find these MySQL binary log files:

-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem   1277324 Nov 10 23:59 gbichot2-bin.000001
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem         4 Nov 10 23:59 gbichot2-bin.000002
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem        79 Nov 11 11:06 gbichot2-bin.000003
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem       508 Nov 11 11:08 gbichot2-bin.000004
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem 220047446 Nov 12 16:47 gbichot2-bin.000005
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem    998412 Nov 14 10:08 gbichot2-bin.000006
-rw-rw---- 1 guilhem  guilhem       361 Nov 14 10:07 gbichot2-bin.index

Each time it restarts, the MySQL server creates a new binary log file using the next number in the sequence. While the server is running, you can also tell it to close the current binary log file and begin a new one manually by issuing a FLUSH LOGS SQL statement or with a mysqladmin flush-logs command. mysqldump also has an option to flush the logs. The .index file in the data directory contains the list of all MySQL binary logs in the directory. This file is used for replication.

The MySQL binary logs are important for recovery because they form the set of incremental backups. If you make sure to flush the logs when you make your full backup, then any binary log files created afterward contain all the data changes made since the backup. Let's modify the previous mysqldump command a bit so that it flushes the MySQL binary logs at the moment of the full backup, and so that the dump file contains the name of the new current binary log:

shell> mysqldump --single-transaction --flush-logs --master-data=2 \
         --all-databases > backup_sunday_1_PM.sql

After executing this command, the data directory contains a new binary log file, gbichot2-bin.000007. The resulting .sql file includes these lines:

-- Position to start replication or point-in-time recovery from
-- CHANGE MASTER TO MASTER_LOG_FILE='gbichot2-bin.000007',MASTER_LOG_POS=4;

Because the mysqldump command made a full backup, those lines mean two things:

The .sql file contains all changes made before any changes written to the gbichot2-bin.000007 binary log file or newer.
All data changes logged after the backup are not present in the .sql, but are present in the gbichot2-bin.000007 binary log file or newer.

On Monday at 1 p.m., we can create an incremental backup by flushing the logs to begin a new binary log file. For example, executing a mysqladmin flush-logs command creates gbichot2-bin.000008. All changes between the Sunday 1 p.m. full backup and Monday 1 p.m. will be in the gbichot2-bin.000007 file. This incremental backup is important, so it is a good idea to copy it to a safe place. (For example, back it up on tape or DVD, or copy it to another machine.) On Tuesday at 1 p.m., execute another mysqladmin flush-logs command. All changes between Monday 1 p.m. and Tuesday 1 p.m. will be in the gbichot2-bin.000008 file (which also should be copied somewhere safe).

The MySQL binary logs take up disk space. To free up space, purge them from time to time. One way to do this is by deleting the binary logs that are no longer needed, such as when we make a full backup:

shell> mysqldump --single-transaction --flush-logs --master-data=2 \
         --all-databases --delete-master-logs > backup_sunday_1_PM.sql

Note

Deleting the MySQL binary logs with mysqldump --delete-master-logs can be dangerous if your server is a replication master server, because slave servers might not yet fully have processed the contents of the binary log. The description for the PURGE MASTER LOGS statement explains what should be verified before deleting the MySQL binary logs. See Section 12.6.1.1, “PURGE MASTER LOGS Syntax”.

5.9.2.2. Using Backups for Recovery

Now, suppose that we have a catastrophic crash on Wednesday at 8 a.m. that requires recovery from backups. To recover, first we restore the last full backup we have (the one from Sunday 1 p.m.). The full backup file is just a set of SQL statements, so restoring it is very easy:

shell> mysql < backup_sunday_1_PM.sql

At this point, the data is restored to its state as of Sunday 1 p.m.. To restore the changes made since then, we must use the incremental backups; that is, the gbichot2-bin.000007 and gbichot2-bin.000008 binary log files. Fetch the files if necessary from where they were backed up, and then process their contents like this:

shell> mysqlbinlog gbichot2-bin.000007 gbichot2-bin.000008 | mysql

We now have recovered the data to its state as of Tuesday 1 p.m., but still are missing the changes from that date to the date of the crash. To not lose them, we would have needed to have the MySQL server store its MySQL binary logs into a safe location (RAID disks, SAN, ...) different from the place where it stores its data files, so that these logs were not on the destroyed disk. (That is, we can start the server with a --log-bin option that specifies a location on a different physical device from the one on which the data directory resides. That way, the logs are safe even if the device containing the directory is lost.) If we had done this, we would have the gbichot2-bin.000009 file at hand, and we could apply it using mysqlbinlog and mysql to restore the most recent data changes with no loss up to the moment of the crash.

5.9.2.3. Backup Strategy Summary

In case of an operating system crash or power failure, InnoDB itself does all the job of recovering data. But to make sure that you can sleep well, observe the following guidelines:

Always run the MySQL server with the --log-bin option, or even --log-bin=log_name, where the log file name is located on some safe media different from the drive on which the data directory is located. If you have such safe media, this technique can also be good for disk load balancing (which results in a performance improvement).
Make periodic full backups, using the mysqldump command shown earlier in Section 5.9.2.1, “Backup Policy”, that makes an online, non-blocking backup.
Make periodic incremental backups by flushing the logs with FLUSH LOGS or mysqladmin flush-logs.

5.9.3. Point-in-Time Recovery

5.9.3.1. Specifying Times for Recovery
5.9.3.2. Specifying Positions for Recovery

If a MySQL server was started with the --log-bin option to enable binary logging, you can use the mysqlbinlog utility to recover data from the binary log files, starting from a specified point in time (for example, since your last backup) until the present or another specified point in time. For information on enabling the binary log and using mysqlbinlog, see Section 5.11.3, “The Binary Log”, and Section 7.11, “mysqlbinlog — Utility for Processing Binary Log Files”.

MySQL Enterprise For maximum data recovery, the MySQL Enterprise Monitor advises subscribers to synchronize to disk at each write. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

To restore data from a binary log, you must know the location and name of the current binary log file. By default, the server creates binary log files in the data directory, but a pathname can be specified with the --log-bin option to place the files in a different location. Typically the option is given in an option file (that is, my.cnf or my.ini, depending on your system). It can also be given on the command line when the server is started. To determine the name of the current binary log file, issue the following statement:

mysql> SHOW MASTER STATUS

If you prefer, you can execute the following command from the command line instead:

shell> mysql -u root -p -E -e "SHOW MASTER STATUS"

Enter the root password for your server when mysql prompts you for it.

To view the contents of a binary log, use mysqlbinlog. See Section 7.11, “mysqlbinlog — Utility for Processing Binary Log Files”.

5.9.3.1. Specifying Times for Recovery

To indicate the start and end times for recovery, specify the --start-date and --stop-date options for mysqlbinlog, in DATETIME format. As an example, suppose that exactly at 10:00 a.m. on April 20, 2005 an SQL statement was executed that deleted a large table. To restore the table and data, you could restore the previous night's backup, and then execute the following command:

shell> mysqlbinlog --stop-date="2005-04-20 9:59:59" \
         /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 | mysql -u root -p

This command recovers all of the data up until the date and time given by the --stop-date option. If you did not detect the erroneous SQL statement that was entered until hours later, you will probably also want to recover the activity that occurred afterward. Based on this, you could run mysqlbinlog again with a start date and time, like so:

shell> mysqlbinlog --start-date="2005-04-20 10:01:00" \
         /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 | mysql -u root -p

In this command, the SQL statements logged from 10:01 a.m. on will be re-executed. The combination of restoring of the previous night's dump file and the two mysqlbinlog commands restores everything up until one second before 10:00 a.m. and everything from 10:01 a.m. on. You should examine the log to be sure of the exact times to specify for the commands. To display the log file contents without executing them, use this command:

shell> mysqlbinlog /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 > /tmp/mysql_restore.sql

Then open the file with a text editor to examine it.

5.9.3.2. Specifying Positions for Recovery

Instead of specifying dates and times, the --start-position and --stop-position options for mysqlbinlog can be used for specifying log positions. They work the same as the start and stop date options, except that you specify log position numbers rather than dates. Using positions may enable you to be more precise about which part of the log to recover, especially if many transactions occurred around the same time as a damaging SQL statement. To determine the position numbers, run mysqlbinlog for a range of times near the time when the unwanted transaction was executed, but redirect the results to a text file for examination. This can be done like so:

shell> mysqlbinlog --start-date="2005-04-20 9:55:00" \
         --stop-date="2005-04-20 10:05:00" \
         /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 > /tmp/mysql_restore.sql

This command creates a small text file in the /tmp directory that contains the SQL statements around the time that the deleterious SQL statement was executed. Open this file with a text editor and look for the statement that you don't want to repeat. Determine the positions in the binary log for stopping and resuming the recovery and make note of them. Positions are labeled as log_pos followed by a number. After restoring the previous backup file, use the position numbers to process the binary log file. For example, you would use commands something like these:

shell> mysqlbinlog --stop-position="368312" /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 \
         | mysql -u root -p

shell> mysqlbinlog --start-position="368315" /var/log/mysql/bin.123456 \
         | mysql -u root -p

The first command recovers all the transactions up until the stop position given. The second command recovers all transactions from the starting position given until the end of the binary log. Because the output of mysqlbinlog includes SET TIMESTAMP statements before each SQL statement recorded, the recovered data and related MySQL logs will reflect the original times at which the transactions were executed.

5.9.4. Table Maintenance and Crash Recovery

5.9.4.1. Using myisamchk for Crash Recovery
5.9.4.2. How to Check MyISAM Tables for Errors
5.9.4.3. How to Repair Tables
5.9.4.4. Table Optimization
5.9.4.5. Getting Information About a Table
5.9.4.6. Setting Up a Table Maintenance Schedule

This section discusses how to use myisamchk to check or repair MyISAM tables (tables that have .MYD and .MYI files for storing data and indexes). For general myisamchk background, see Section 7.5, “myisamchk — MyISAM Table-Maintenance Utility”.

You can use myisamchk to get information about your database tables or to check, repair, or optimize them. The following sections describe how to perform these operations and how to set up a table maintenance schedule.

Even though table repair with myisamchk is quite secure, it is always a good idea to make a backup before doing a repair or any maintenance operation that could make a lot of changes to a table.

myisamchk operations that affect indexes can cause FULLTEXT indexes to be rebuilt with full-text parameters that are incompatible with the values used by the MySQL server. To avoid this problem, follow the guidelines in Section 7.5.1, “myisamchk General Options”.

In many cases, you may find it simpler to do MyISAM table maintenance using the SQL statements that perform operations that myisamchk can do:

To check or repair MyISAM tables, use CHECK TABLE or REPAIR TABLE.
To optimize MyISAM tables, use OPTIMIZE TABLE.
To analyze MyISAM tables, use ANALYZE TABLE.

These statements can be used directly or by means of the mysqlcheck client program. One advantage of these statements over myisamchk is that the server does all the work. With myisamchk, you must make sure that the server does not use the tables at the same time so that there is no unwanted interaction between myisamchk and the server. See Section 12.5.2.1, “ANALYZE TABLE Syntax”, Section 12.5.2.3, “CHECK TABLE Syntax”, Section 12.5.2.5, “OPTIMIZE TABLE Syntax”, and Section 12.5.2.6, “REPAIR TABLE Syntax”.

5.9.4.1. Using myisamchk for Crash Recovery

This section describes how to check for and deal with data corruption in MySQL databases. If your tables become corrupted frequently, you should try to find the reason why. See Section B.1.4.2, “What to Do If MySQL Keeps Crashing”.

For an explanation of how MyISAM tables can become corrupted, see Section 13.1.4, “MyISAM Table Problems”.

If you run mysqld with external locking disabled (which is the default as of MySQL 4.0), you cannot reliably use myisamchk to check a table when mysqld is using the same table. If you can be certain that no one will access the tables through mysqld while you run myisamchk, you only have to execute mysqladmin flush-tables before you start checking the tables. If you cannot guarantee this, you must stop mysqld while you check the tables. If you run myisamchk to check tables that mysqld is updating at the same time, you may get a warning that a table is corrupt even when it is not.

If the server is run with external locking enabled, you can use myisamchk to check tables at any time. In this case, if the server tries to update a table that myisamchk is using, the server will wait for myisamchk to finish before it continues.

If you use myisamchk to repair or optimize tables, you must always ensure that the mysqld server is not using the table (this also applies if external locking is disabled). If you don't stop mysqld, you should at least do a mysqladmin flush-tables before you run myisamchk. Your tables may become corrupted if the server and myisamchk access the tables simultaneously.

When performing crash recovery, it is important to understand that each MyISAM table tbl_name in a database corresponds to three files in the database directory:

File	Purpose
`tbl_name.frm`	Definition (format) file
`tbl_name.MYD`	Data file
`tbl_name.MYI`	Index file

Each of these three file types is subject to corruption in various ways, but problems occur most often in data files and index files.

myisamchk works by creating a copy of the .MYD data file row by row. It ends the repair stage by removing the old .MYD file and renaming the new file to the original file name. If you use --quick, myisamchk does not create a temporary .MYD file, but instead assumes that the .MYD file is correct and generates only a new index file without touching the .MYD file. This is safe, because myisamchk automatically detects whether the .MYD file is corrupt and aborts the repair if it is. You can also specify the --quick option twice to myisamchk. In this case, myisamchk does not abort on some errors (such as duplicate-key errors) but instead tries to resolve them by modifying the .MYD file. Normally the use of two --quick options is useful only if you have too little free disk space to perform a normal repair. In this case, you should at least make a backup of the table before running myisamchk.

5.9.4.2. How to Check `MyISAM` Tables for Errors

To check a MyISAM table, use the following commands:

myisamchk tbl_name
This finds 99.99% of all errors. What it cannot find is corruption that involves only the data file (which is very unusual). If you want to check a table, you should normally run myisamchk without options or with the -s (silent) option.
myisamchk -m tbl_name
This finds 99.999% of all errors. It first checks all index entries for errors and then reads through all rows. It calculates a checksum for all key values in the rows and verifies that the checksum matches the checksum for the keys in the index tree.
myisamchk -e tbl_name
This does a complete and thorough check of all data (-e means “extended check”). It does a check-read of every key for each row to verify that they indeed point to the correct row. This may take a long time for a large table that has many indexes. Normally, myisamchk stops after the first error it finds. If you want to obtain more information, you can add the -v (verbose) option. This causes myisamchk to keep going, up through a maximum of 20 errors.
myisamchk -e -i tbl_name
This is like the previous command, but the -i option tells myisamchk to print additional statistical information.

In most cases, a simple myisamchk command with no arguments other than the table name is sufficient to check a table.

5.9.4.3. How to Repair Tables

The discussion in this section describes how to use myisamchk on MyISAM tables (extensions .MYI and .MYD).

You can also (and should, if possible) use the CHECK TABLE and REPAIR TABLE statements to check and repair MyISAM tables. See Section 12.5.2.3, “CHECK TABLE Syntax”, and Section 12.5.2.6, “REPAIR TABLE Syntax”.

Symptoms of corrupted tables include queries that abort unexpectedly and observable errors such as these:

tbl_name.frm is locked against change
Can't find file tbl_name.MYI (Errcode: nnn)
Unexpected end of file
Record file is crashed
Got error nnn from table handler

To get more information about the error, run perror nnn, where nnn is the error number. The following example shows how to use perror to find the meanings for the most common error numbers that indicate a problem with a table:

shell> perror 126 127 132 134 135 136 141 144 145
MySQL error code 126 = Index file is crashed
MySQL error code 127 = Record-file is crashed
MySQL error code 132 = Old database file
MySQL error code 134 = Record was already deleted (or record file crashed)
MySQL error code 135 = No more room in record file
MySQL error code 136 = No more room in index file
MySQL error code 141 = Duplicate unique key or constraint on write or update
MySQL error code 144 = Table is crashed and last repair failed
MySQL error code 145 = Table was marked as crashed and should be repaired

Note that error 135 (no more room in record file) and error 136 (no more room in index file) are not errors that can be fixed by a simple repair. In this case, you must use ALTER TABLE to increase the MAX_ROWS and AVG_ROW_LENGTH table option values:

ALTER TABLE tbl_name MAX_ROWS=xxx AVG_ROW_LENGTH=yyy;

If you do not know the current table option values, use SHOW CREATE TABLE.

For the other errors, you must repair your tables. myisamchk can usually detect and fix most problems that occur.

The repair process involves up to four stages, described here. Before you begin, you should change location to the database directory and check the permissions of the table files. On Unix, make sure that they are readable by the user that mysqld runs as (and to you, because you need to access the files you are checking). If it turns out you need to modify files, they must also be writable by you.

This section is for the cases where a table check fails (such as those described in Section 5.9.4.2, “How to Check MyISAM Tables for Errors”), or you want to use the extended features that myisamchk provides.

The options that you can use for table maintenance with myisamchk are described in Section 7.5, “myisamchk — MyISAM Table-Maintenance Utility”.

If you are going to repair a table from the command line, you must first stop the mysqld server. Note that when you do mysqladmin shutdown on a remote server, the mysqld server is still alive for a while after mysqladmin returns, until all statement-processing has stopped and all index changes have been flushed to disk.

Stage 1: Checking your tables

Run myisamchk *.MYI or myisamchk -e *.MYI if you have more time. Use the -s (silent) option to suppress unnecessary information.

If the mysqld server is stopped, you should use the --update-state option to tell myisamchk to mark the table as “checked.”

You have to repair only those tables for which myisamchk announces an error. For such tables, proceed to Stage 2.

If you get unexpected errors when checking (such as out of memory errors), or if myisamchk crashes, go to Stage 3.

Stage 2: Easy safe repair

First, try myisamchk -r -q tbl_name (-r -q means “quick recovery mode”). This attempts to repair the index file without touching the data file. If the data file contains everything that it should and the delete links point at the correct locations within the data file, this should work, and the table is fixed. Start repairing the next table. Otherwise, use the following procedure:

Make a backup of the data file before continuing.
Use myisamchk -r tbl_name (-r means “recovery mode”). This removes incorrect rows and deleted rows from the data file and reconstructs the index file.
If the preceding step fails, use myisamchk --safe-recover tbl_name. Safe recovery mode uses an old recovery method that handles a few cases that regular recovery mode does not (but is slower).

Note: If you want a repair operation to go much faster, you should set the values of the sort_buffer_size and key_buffer_size variables each to about 25% of your available memory when running myisamchk.

If you get unexpected errors when repairing (such as out of memory errors), or if myisamchk crashes, go to Stage 3.

Stage 3: Difficult repair

You should reach this stage only if the first 16KB block in the index file is destroyed or contains incorrect information, or if the index file is missing. In this case, it is necessary to create a new index file. Do so as follows:

Move the data file to a safe place.

Use the table description file to create new (empty) data and index files:

shell> mysql db_name
mysql> SET AUTOCOMMIT=1;
mysql> TRUNCATE TABLE tbl_name;
mysql> quit

Copy the old data file back onto the newly created data file. (Do not just move the old file back onto the new file. You want to retain a copy in case something goes wrong.)

Go back to Stage 2. myisamchk -r -q should work. (This should not be an endless loop.)

You can also use the REPAIR TABLE tbl_name USE_FRM SQL statement, which performs the whole procedure automatically. There is also no possibility of unwanted interaction between a utility and the server, because the server does all the work when you use REPAIR TABLE. See Section 12.5.2.6, “REPAIR TABLE Syntax”.

Stage 4: Very difficult repair

You should reach this stage only if the .frm description file has also crashed. That should never happen, because the description file is not changed after the table is created:

Restore the description file from a backup and go back to Stage 3. You can also restore the index file and go back to Stage 2. In the latter case, you should start with myisamchk -r.
If you do not have a backup but know exactly how the table was created, create a copy of the table in another database. Remove the new data file, and then move the .frm description and .MYI index files from the other database to your crashed database. This gives you new description and index files, but leaves the .MYD data file alone. Go back to Stage 2 and attempt to reconstruct the index file.

5.9.4.4. Table Optimization

To coalesce fragmented rows and eliminate wasted space that results from deleting or updating rows, run myisamchk in recovery mode:

shell> myisamchk -r tbl_name

You can optimize a table in the same way by using the OPTIMIZE TABLE SQL statement. OPTIMIZE TABLE does a table repair and a key analysis, and also sorts the index tree so that key lookups are faster. There is also no possibility of unwanted interaction between a utility and the server, because the server does all the work when you use OPTIMIZE TABLE. See Section 12.5.2.5, “OPTIMIZE TABLE Syntax”.

myisamchk has a number of other options that you can use to improve the performance of a table:

--analyze, -a
--sort-index, -S
--sort-records=index_num, -R index_num

For a full description of all available options, see Section 7.5, “myisamchk — MyISAM Table-Maintenance Utility”.

5.9.4.5. Getting Information About a Table

To obtain a description of a table or statistics about it, use the commands shown here. We explain some of the information in more detail later.

myisamchk -d tbl_name
Runs myisamchk in “describe mode” to produce a description of your table. If you start the MySQL server with external locking disabled, myisamchk may report an error for a table that is updated while it runs. However, because myisamchk does not change the table in describe mode, there is no risk of destroying data.
myisamchk -d -v tbl_name
Adding -v runs myisamchk in verbose mode so that it produces more information about what it is doing.
myisamchk -eis tbl_name
Shows only the most important information from a table. This operation is slow because it must read the entire table.
myisamchk -eiv tbl_name
This is like -eis, but tells you what is being done.

The tbl_name argument can be either the name of a MyISAM table or the name of its index file, as described in Section 7.5, “myisamchk — MyISAM Table-Maintenance Utility”. Multiple tbl_name arguments can be given.

Sample output for some of these commands follows. They are based on a table with these data and index file sizes:

-rw-rw-r--   1 monty    tcx     317235748 Jan 12 17:30 company.MYD
-rw-rw-r--   1 davida   tcx      96482304 Jan 12 18:35 company.MYI

Example of myisamchk -d output:

MyISAM file:     company.MYI
Record format:   Fixed length
Data records:    1403698  Deleted blocks:         0
Recordlength:    226

table description:
Key Start Len Index   Type
1   2     8   unique  double
2   15    10  multip. text packed stripped
3   219   8   multip. double
4   63    10  multip. text packed stripped
5   167   2   multip. unsigned short
6   177   4   multip. unsigned long
7   155   4   multip. text
8   138   4   multip. unsigned long
9   177   4   multip. unsigned long
    193   1           text

Example of myisamchk -d -v output:

MyISAM file:         company
Record format:       Fixed length
File-version:        1
Creation time:       1999-10-30 12:12:51
Recover time:        1999-10-31 19:13:01
Status:              checked
Data records:            1403698  Deleted blocks:              0
Datafile parts:          1403698  Deleted data:                0
Datafile pointer (bytes):      3  Keyfile pointer (bytes):     3
Max datafile length:  3791650815  Max keyfile length: 4294967294
Recordlength:                226

table description:
Key Start Len Index   Type                  Rec/key     Root Blocksize
1   2     8   unique  double                      1 15845376      1024
2   15    10  multip. text packed stripped        2 25062400      1024
3   219   8   multip. double                     73 40907776      1024
4   63    10  multip. text packed stripped        5 48097280      1024
5   167   2   multip. unsigned short           4840 55200768      1024
6   177   4   multip. unsigned long            1346 65145856      1024
7   155   4   multip. text                     4995 75090944      1024
8   138   4   multip. unsigned long              87 85036032      1024
9   177   4   multip. unsigned long             178 96481280      1024
    193   1           text

Example of myisamchk -eis output:

Checking MyISAM file: company
Key:  1:  Keyblocks used:  97%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
Key:  2:  Keyblocks used:  98%  Packed:   50%  Max levels:  4
Key:  3:  Keyblocks used:  97%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
Key:  4:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:   60%  Max levels:  3
Key:  5:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
Key:  6:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
Key:  7:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
Key:  8:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
Key:  9:  Keyblocks used:  98%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
Total:    Keyblocks used:  98%  Packed:   17%

Records:          1403698    M.recordlength:     226
Packed:             0%
Recordspace used:     100%   Empty space:          0%
Blocks/Record:   1.00
Record blocks:    1403698    Delete blocks:        0
Recorddata:     317235748    Deleted data:         0
Lost space:             0    Linkdata:             0

User time 1626.51, System time 232.36
Maximum resident set size 0, Integral resident set size 0
Non physical pagefaults 0, Physical pagefaults 627, Swaps 0
Blocks in 0 out 0, Messages in 0 out 0, Signals 0
Voluntary context switches 639, Involuntary context switches 28966

Example of myisamchk -eiv output:

Checking MyISAM file: company
Data records: 1403698   Deleted blocks:       0
- check file-size
- check delete-chain
block_size 1024:
index  1:
index  2:
index  3:
index  4:
index  5:
index  6:
index  7:
index  8:
index  9:
No recordlinks
- check index reference
- check data record references index: 1
Key:  1:  Keyblocks used:  97%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
- check data record references index: 2
Key:  2:  Keyblocks used:  98%  Packed:   50%  Max levels:  4
- check data record references index: 3
Key:  3:  Keyblocks used:  97%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
- check data record references index: 4
Key:  4:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:   60%  Max levels:  3
- check data record references index: 5
Key:  5:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
- check data record references index: 6
Key:  6:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
- check data record references index: 7
Key:  7:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
- check data record references index: 8
Key:  8:  Keyblocks used:  99%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  3
- check data record references index: 9
Key:  9:  Keyblocks used:  98%  Packed:    0%  Max levels:  4
Total:    Keyblocks used:   9%  Packed:   17%

- check records and index references
*** LOTS OF ROW NUMBERS DELETED ***

Records:         1403698   M.recordlength:   226   Packed:           0%
Recordspace used:    100%  Empty space:        0%  Blocks/Record: 1.00
Record blocks:   1403698   Delete blocks:      0
Recorddata:    317235748   Deleted data:       0
Lost space:            0   Linkdata:           0

User time 1639.63, System time 251.61
Maximum resident set size 0, Integral resident set size 0
Non physical pagefaults 0, Physical pagefaults 10580, Swaps 0
Blocks in 4 out 0, Messages in 0 out 0, Signals 0
Voluntary context switches 10604, Involuntary context switches 122798

Explanations for the types of information myisamchk produces are given here. “Keyfile” refers to the index file. “Record” and “row” are synonymous.

MyISAM file
Name of the MyISAM (index) file.
File-version
Version of MyISAM format. Currently always 2.
Creation time
When the data file was created.
Recover time
When the index/data file was last reconstructed.
Data records
How many rows are in the table.
Deleted blocks
How many deleted blocks still have reserved space. You can optimize your table to minimize this space. See Section 5.9.4.4, “Table Optimization”.
Datafile parts
For dynamic-row format, this indicates how many data blocks there are. For an optimized table without fragmented rows, this is the same as Data records.
Deleted data
How many bytes of unreclaimed deleted data there are. You can optimize your table to minimize this space. See Section 5.9.4.4, “Table Optimization”.
Datafile pointer
The size of the data file pointer, in bytes. It is usually 2, 3, 4, or 5 bytes. Most tables manage with 2 bytes, but this cannot be controlled from MySQL yet. For fixed tables, this is a row address. For dynamic tables, this is a byte address.
Keyfile pointer
The size of the index file pointer, in bytes. It is usually 1, 2, or 3 bytes. Most tables manage with 2 bytes, but this is calculated automatically by MySQL. It is always a block address.
Max datafile length
How long the table data file can become, in bytes.
Max keyfile length
How long the table index file can become, in bytes.
Recordlength
How much space each row takes, in bytes.
Record format
The format used to store table rows. The preceding examples use Fixed length. Other possible values are Compressed and Packed.
table description
A list of all keys in the table. For each key, myisamchk displays some low-level information:
- Key
  This key's number.
- Start
  Where in the row this portion of the index starts.
- Len
  How long this portion of the index is. For packed numbers, this should always be the full length of the column. For strings, it may be shorter than the full length of the indexed column, because you can index a prefix of a string column.
- Index
  Whether a key value can exist multiple times in the index. Possible values are unique or multip. (multiple).
- Type
  What data type this portion of the index has. This is a MyISAM data type with the possible values packed, stripped, or empty.
- Root
  Address of the root index block.
- Blocksize
  The size of each index block. By default this is 1024, but the value may be changed at compile time when MySQL is built from source.
- Rec/key
  This is a statistical value used by the optimizer. It tells how many rows there are per value for this index. A unique index always has a value of 1. This may be updated after a table is loaded (or greatly changed) with myisamchk -a. If this is not updated at all, a default value of 30 is given.
For the table shown in the examples, there are two table description lines for the ninth index. This indicates that it is a multiple-part index with two parts.
Keyblocks used
What percentage of the keyblocks are used. When a table has just been reorganized with myisamchk, as for the table in the examples, the values are very high (very near the theoretical maximum).
Packed
MySQL tries to pack key values that have a common suffix. This can only be used for indexes on CHAR and VARCHAR columns. For long indexed strings that have similar leftmost parts, this can significantly reduce the space used. In the third of the preceding examples, the fourth key is 10 characters long and a 60% reduction in space is achieved.
Max levels
How deep the B-tree for this key is. Large tables with long key values get high values.
Records
How many rows are in the table.
M.recordlength
The average row length. This is the exact row length for tables with fixed-length rows, because all rows have the same length.
Packed
MySQL strips spaces from the end of strings. The Packed value indicates the percentage of savings achieved by doing this.
Recordspace used
What percentage of the data file is used.
Empty space
What percentage of the data file is unused.
Blocks/Record
Average number of blocks per row (that is, how many links a fragmented row is composed of). This is always 1.0 for fixed-format tables. This value should stay as close to 1.0 as possible. If it gets too large, you can reorganize the table. See Section 5.9.4.4, “Table Optimization”.
Recordblocks
How many blocks (links) are used. For fixed-format tables, this is the same as the number of rows.
Deleteblocks
How many blocks (links) are deleted.
Recorddata
How many bytes in the data file are used.
Deleted data
How many bytes in the data file are deleted (unused).
Lost space
If a row is updated to a shorter length, some space is lost. This is the sum of all such losses, in bytes.
Linkdata
When the dynamic table format is used, row fragments are linked with pointers (4 to 7 bytes each). Linkdata is the sum of the amount of storage used by all such pointers.

If a table has been compressed with myisampack, myisamchk -d prints additional information about each table column. See Section 7.7, “myisampack — Generate Compressed, Read-Only MyISAM Tables”, for an example of this information and a description of what it means.

5.9.4.6. Setting Up a Table Maintenance Schedule

It is a good idea to perform table checks on a regular basis rather than waiting for problems to occur. One way to check and repair MyISAM tables is with the CHECK TABLE and REPAIR TABLE statements. See Section 12.5.2.3, “CHECK TABLE Syntax”, and Section 12.5.2.6, “REPAIR TABLE Syntax”.

Another way to check tables is to use myisamchk. For maintenance purposes, you can use myisamchk -s. The -s option (short for --silent) causes myisamchk to run in silent mode, printing messages only when errors occur.

It is also a good idea to enable automatic MyISAM table checking. For example, whenever the machine has done a restart in the middle of an update, you usually need to check each table that could have been affected before it is used further. (These are “expected crashed tables.”) To check MyISAM tables automatically, start the server with the --myisam-recover option. See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.

You should also check your tables regularly during normal system operation. At MySQL AB, we run a cron job to check all our important tables once a week, using a line like this in a crontab file:

35 0 * * 0 /path/to/myisamchk --fast --silent /path/to/datadir/*/*.MYI

This prints out information about crashed tables so that we can examine and repair them when needed.

Because we have not had any unexpectedly crashed tables (tables that become corrupted for reasons other than hardware trouble) for several years, once a week is more than sufficient for us.

We recommend that to start with, you execute myisamchk -s each night on all tables that have been updated during the last 24 hours, until you come to trust MySQL as much as we do.

Normally, MySQL tables need little maintenance. If you are performing many updates to MyISAM tables with dynamic-sized rows (tables with VARCHAR, BLOB, or TEXT columns) or have tables with many deleted rows you may want to defragment/reclaim space from the tables from time to time. You can do this by using OPTIMIZE TABLE on the tables in question. Alternatively, if you can stop the mysqld server for a while, change location into the data directory and use this command while the server is stopped:

shell> myisamchk -r -s --sort-index --sort_buffer_size=16M */*.MYI

5.10. MySQL Localization and International Usage

5.10.1. The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting
5.10.2. Setting the Error Message Language
5.10.3. Adding a New Character Set
5.10.4. The Character Definition Arrays
5.10.5. String Collating Support
5.10.6. Multi-Byte Character Support
5.10.7. Problems With Character Sets
5.10.8. MySQL Server Time Zone Support
5.10.9. MySQL Server Locale Support

This section describes how to configure the server to use different character sets. It also discusses how to set the server's time zone and enable per-connection time zone support.

5.10.1. The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting

5.10.1.1. Using the German Character Set

By default, MySQL uses the latin1 (cp1252 West European) character set and the latin1_swedish_ci collation that sorts according to Swedish/Finnish rules. These defaults are suitable for the United States and most of Western Europe.

All MySQL binary distributions are compiled with --with-extra-charsets=complex. This adds code to all standard programs that enables them to handle latin1 and all multi-byte character sets within the binary. Other character sets are loaded from a character-set definition file when needed.

The character set determines what characters are allowed in identifiers. The collation determines how strings are sorted by the ORDER BY and GROUP BY clauses of the SELECT statement.

You can change the default server character set and collation with the --character-set-server and --collation-server options when you start the server. The collation must be a legal collation for the default character set. (Use the SHOW COLLATION statement to determine which collations are available for each character set.) See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.

The character sets available depend on the --with-charset=charset_name and --with-extra-charsets=list-of-charsets | complex | all | none options to configure, and the character set configuration files listed in SHAREDIR/charsets/Index. See Section 2.4.15.2, “Typical configure Options”.

If you change the character set when running MySQL, that may also change the sort order. Consequently, you must run myisamchk -r -q --set-collation=collation_name on all MyISAM tables, or your indexes may not be ordered correctly.

When a client connects to a MySQL server, the server indicates to the client what the server's default character set is. The client switches to this character set for this connection.

You should use mysql_real_escape_string() when escaping strings for an SQL query. mysql_real_escape_string() is identical to the old mysql_escape_string() function, except that it takes the MYSQL connection handle as the first parameter so that the appropriate character set can be taken into account when escaping characters.

If the client is compiled with paths that differ from where the server is installed and the user who configured MySQL didn't include all character sets in the MySQL binary, you must tell the client where it can find the additional character sets it needs if the server runs with a different character set from the client. You can do this by specifying a --character-sets-dir option to indicate the path to the directory in which the dynamic MySQL character sets are stored. For example, you can put the following in an option file:

[client]
character-sets-dir=/usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/charsets

You can force the client to use specific character set as follows:

[client]
default-character-set=charset_name

This is normally unnecessary, however.

5.10.1.1. Using the German Character Set

In MySQL 5.0, character set and collation are specified separately. This means that if you want German sort order, you should select the latin1 character set and either the latin1_german1_ci or latin1_german2_ci collation. For example, to start the server with the latin1_german1_ci collation, use the --character-set-server=latin1 and --collation-server=latin1_german1_ci options.

For information on the differences between these two collations, see Section 9.11.2, “West European Character Sets”.

5.10.2. Setting the Error Message Language

By default, mysqld produces error messages in English, but they can also be displayed in any of these other languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Norwegian-ny, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, or Swedish.

To start mysqld with a particular language for error messages, use the --language or -L option. The option value can be a language name or the full path to the error message file. For example:

shell> mysqld --language=swedish

Or:

shell> mysqld --language=/usr/local/share/swedish

The language name should be specified in lowercase.

By default, the language files are located in the share/LANGUAGE directory under the MySQL base directory.

You can also change the content of the error messages produced by the server. Details can be found in the MySQL Internals manual, available at http://forge.mysql.com/wiki/MySQL_Internals_Error_Messages. If you upgrade to a newer version of MySQL after changing the error messages, remember to repeat your changes after the upgrade.

5.10.3. Adding a New Character Set

This section discusses the procedure for adding a new character set to MySQL. You must have a MySQL source distribution to use these instructions. To choose the proper procedure, determine whether the character set is simple or complex:

If the character set does not need to use special string collating routines for sorting and does not need multi-byte character support, it is simple.
If it needs either of those features, it is complex.

For example, latin1 and danish are simple character sets, whereas big5 and czech are complex character sets.

In the following instructions, the name of the character set is represented by MYSET.

For a simple character set, do the following:

Add MYSET to the end of the sql/share/charsets/Index file. Assign a unique number to it.
Create the file sql/share/charsets/MYSET.conf. (You can use a copy of sql/share/charsets/latin1.conf as the basis for this file.)
The syntax for the file is very simple:
- Comments start with a “#” character and continue to the end of the line.
- Words are separated by arbitrary amounts of whitespace.
- When defining the character set, every word must be a number in hexadecimal format.
- The ctype array takes up the first 257 words. The to_lower[], to_upper[] and sort_order[] arrays take up 256 words each after that.
See Section 5.10.4, “The Character Definition Arrays”.
Add the character set name to the CHARSETS_AVAILABLE and COMPILED_CHARSETS lists in configure.in.
Reconfigure, recompile, and test.

For a complex character set, do the following:

Create the file strings/ctype-MYSET.c in the MySQL source distribution.
Add MYSET to the end of the sql/share/charsets/Index file. Assign a unique number to it.
Look at one of the existing ctype-*.c files (such as strings/ctype-big5.c) to see what needs to be defined. Note that the arrays in your file must have names like ctype_MYSET, to_lower_MYSET, and so on. These correspond to the arrays for a simple character set. See Section 5.10.4, “The Character Definition Arrays”.
Near the top of the file, place a special comment like this:
```
/*
 * This comment is parsed by configure to create ctype.c,
 * so don't change it unless you know what you are doing.
 *
 * .configure. number_MYSET=MYNUMBER
 * .configure. strxfrm_multiply_MYSET=N
 * .configure. mbmaxlen_MYSET=N
 */
```
The configure program uses this comment to include the character set into the MySQL library automatically.
The strxfrm_multiply and mbmaxlen lines are explained in the following sections. You need include them only if you need the string collating functions or the multi-byte character set functions, respectively.
You should then create some of the following functions:
- my_strncoll_MYSET()
- my_strcoll_MYSET()
- my_strxfrm_MYSET()
- my_like_range_MYSET()
See Section 5.10.5, “String Collating Support”.
Add the character set name to the CHARSETS_AVAILABLE and COMPILED_CHARSETS lists in configure.in.
Reconfigure, recompile, and test.

The sql/share/charsets/README file includes additional instructions.

If you want to have the character set included in the MySQL distribution, mail a patch to the MySQL internals mailing list. See Section 1.7.1, “MySQL Mailing Lists”.

5.10.4. The Character Definition Arrays

to_lower[] and to_upper[] are simple arrays that hold the lowercase and uppercase characters corresponding to each member of the character set. For example:

to_lower['A'] should contain 'a'
to_upper['a'] should contain 'A'

sort_order[] is a map indicating how characters should be ordered for comparison and sorting purposes. Quite often (but not for all character sets) this is the same as to_upper[], which means that sorting is case-insensitive. MySQL sorts characters based on the values of sort_order[] elements. For more complicated sorting rules, see the discussion of string collating in Section 5.10.5, “String Collating Support”.

ctype[] is an array of bit values, with one element for one character. (Note that to_lower[], to_upper[], and sort_order[] are indexed by character value, but ctype[] is indexed by character value + 1. This is an old legacy convention for handling EOF.)

You can find the following bitmask definitions in m_ctype.h:

#define _U      01      /* Uppercase */
#define _L      02      /* Lowercase */
#define _N      04      /* Numeral (digit) */
#define _S      010     /* Spacing character */
#define _P      020     /* Punctuation */
#define _C      040     /* Control character */
#define _B      0100    /* Blank */
#define _X      0200    /* heXadecimal digit */

The ctype[] entry for each character should be the union of the applicable bitmask values that describe the character. For example, 'A' is an uppercase character (_U) as well as a hexadecimal digit (_X), so ctype['A'+1] should contain the value:

_U + _X = 01 + 0200 = 0201

5.10.5. String Collating Support

If the sorting rules for your language are too complex to be handled with the simple sort_order[] table, you need to use the string collating functions.

The best documentation for this is the existing character sets. Look at the big5, czech, gbk, sjis, and tis160 character sets for examples.

You must specify the strxfrm_multiply_MYSET=N value in the special comment at the top of the file. N should be set to the maximum ratio the strings may grow during my_strxfrm_MYSET (it must be a positive integer).

5.10.6. Multi-Byte Character Support

If you want to add support for a new character set that includes multi-byte characters, you need to use the multi-byte character functions.

The best documentation for this is the existing character sets. Look at the euc_kr, gb2312, gbk, sjis, and ujis character sets for examples. These are implemented in the ctype-charset_name.c files in the strings directory.

You must specify the mbmaxlen_MYSET=N value in the special comment at the top of the source file. N should be set to the size in bytes of the largest character in the set.

5.10.7. Problems With Character Sets

If you try to use a character set that is not compiled into your binary, you might run into the following problems:

Your program uses an incorrect path to determine where the character sets are stored. (Default /usr/local/mysql/share/mysql/charsets). This can be fixed by using the --character-sets-dir option when you run the program in question.
The character set is a multi-byte character set that cannot be loaded dynamically. In this case, you must recompile the program with support for the character set.
The character set is a dynamic character set, but you do not have a configure file for it. In this case, you should install the configure file for the character set from a new MySQL distribution.
If your Index file does not contain the name for the character set, your program displays the following error message:
```
ERROR 1105: File '/usr/local/share/mysql/charsets/?.conf'
not found (Errcode: 2)
```
In this case, you should either get a new Index file or manually add the name of any missing character sets to the current file.

For MyISAM tables, you can check the character set name and number for a table with myisamchk -dvv tbl_name.

5.10.8. MySQL Server Time Zone Support

The MySQL server maintains several time zone settings:

The system time zone. When the server starts, it attempts to determine the time zone of the host machine and uses it to set the system_time_zone system variable. The value does not change thereafter.
You can set the system time zone for MySQL Server at startup with the --timezone=timezone_name option to mysqld_safe. You can also set it by setting the TZ environment variable before you start mysqld. The allowable values for --timezone or TZ are system-dependent. Consult your operating system documentation to see what values are acceptable.
The server's current time zone. The global time_zone system variable indicates the time zone the server currently is operating in. The initial value for time_zone is 'SYSTEM', which indicates that the server time zone is the same as the system time zone.
The initial global server time zone value can be specified explicitly at startup with the --default-time-zone=timezone option on the command line, or you can use the following line in an option file:
```
default-time-zone='timezone'
```
If you have the SUPER privilege, you can set the global server time zone value at runtime with this statement:
```
mysql> SET GLOBAL time_zone = timezone;
```
Per-connection time zones. Each client that connects has its own time zone setting, given by the session time_zone variable. Initially, the session variable takes its value from the global time_zone variable, but the client can change its own time zone with this statement:
```
mysql> SET time_zone = timezone;
```

The current session time zone setting affects display and storage of time values that are zone-sensitive. This includes the values displayed by functions such as NOW() or CURTIME(), and values stored in and retrieved from TIMESTAMP columns. Values for TIMESTAMP columns are converted from the current time zone to UTC for storage, and from UTC to the current time zone for retrieval. The current time zone setting does not affect values displayed by functions such as UTC_TIMESTAMP() or values in DATE, TIME, or DATETIME columns.

The current values of the global and client-specific time zones can be retrieved like this:

mysql> SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone;

timezone values can be given in several formats, none of which are case sensitive:

The value 'SYSTEM' indicates that the time zone should be the same as the system time zone.
The value can be given as a string indicating an offset from UTC, such as '+10:00' or '-6:00'.
The value can be given as a named time zone, such as 'Europe/Helsinki', 'US/Eastern', or 'MET'. Named time zones can be used only if the time zone information tables in the mysql database have been created and populated.

The MySQL installation procedure creates the time zone tables in the mysql database, but does not load them. You must do so manually using the following instructions. (If you are upgrading to MySQL 4.1.3 or later from an earlier version, you can create the tables by upgrading your mysql database. Use the instructions in Section 5.5.8, “mysql_upgrade — Check Tables for MySQL Upgrade”. After creating the tables, you can load them.)

Note

Loading the time zone information is not necessarily a one-time operation because the information changes occasionally. For example, the rules for Daylight Saving Time in the United States, Mexico, and parts of Canada changed in 2007. When such changes occur, applications that use the old rules become out of date and you may find it necessary to reload the time zone tables to keep the information used by your MySQL server current. See the notes at the end of this section.

If your system has its own zoneinfo database (the set of files describing time zones), you should use the mysql_tzinfo_to_sql program for filling the time zone tables. Examples of such systems are Linux, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris, and Mac OS X. One likely location for these files is the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory. If your system does not have a zoneinfo database, you can use the downloadable package described later in this section.

The mysql_tzinfo_to_sql program is used to load the time zone tables. On the command line, pass the zoneinfo directory pathname to mysql_tzinfo_to_sql and send the output into the mysql program. For example:

shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql /usr/share/zoneinfo | mysql -u root mysql

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql reads your system's time zone files and generates SQL statements from them. mysql processes those statements to load the time zone tables.

mysql_tzinfo_to_sql also can be used to load a single time zone file or to generate leap second information:

To load a single time zone file tz_file that corresponds to a time zone name tz_name, invoke mysql_tzinfo_to_sql like this:
```
shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql tz_file tz_name | mysql -u root mysql
```
With this approach, you must execute a separate command to load the time zone file for each named zone that the server needs to know about.
If your time zone needs to account for leap seconds, initialize the leap second information like this, where tz_file is the name of your time zone file:
```
shell> mysql_tzinfo_to_sql --leap tz_file | mysql -u root mysql
```

If your system is one that has no zoneinfo database (for example, Windows or HP-UX), you can use the package of pre-built time zone tables that is available for download at the MySQL Developer Zone:

http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/timezones.html

This time zone package contains .frm, .MYD, and .MYI files for the MyISAM time zone tables. These tables should be part of the mysql database, so you should place the files in the mysql subdirectory of your MySQL server's data directory. The server should be stopped while you do this and restarted afterward.

Warning

Do not use the downloadable package if your system has a zoneinfo database. Use the mysql_tzinfo_to_sql utility instead. Otherwise, you may cause a difference in datetime handling between MySQL and other applications on your system.

For information about time zone settings in replication setup, please see Section 15.3.1, “Replication Features and Issues”.

Staying Current with Time Zone Changes

As mentioned earlier, when the time zone rules change, applications that use the old rules become out of date. To stay current, it is necessary to make sure that your system uses current time zone information is used. For MySQL, there are two factors to consider in staying current:

The operating system time affects the value that the MySQL server uses for times if its time zone is set to SYSTEM. Make sure that your operating system is using the latest time zone information. For most operating systems, the latest update or service pack prepares your system for the time changes. Check the Web site for your operating system vendor for an update that addresses the time changes.
If you replace the system's /etc/localtime timezone file with a verion that uses rules differing from those in effect at mysqld startup, you should restart mysqld so that it uses the updated rules. Otherwise, mysqld might not notice when the system changes its time.
If you use named time zones with MySQL, make sure that the time zone tables in the mysql database are up to date. If your system has its own zoneinfo database, you should reload the MySQL time zone tables whenever the zoneinfo database is updated, using the instructions given earlier in this section. For systems that do not have their own zoneinfo database, check the MySQL Developer Zone for updates. When a new update is available, download it and use it to replace your current time zone tables. mysqld caches time zone information that it looks up, so after replacing the time zone tables, you should restart mysqld to make sure that it does not continue to serve outdated time zone data.

If you are uncertain whether named time zones are available, for use either as the server's time zone setting or by clients that set their own time zone, check whether your time zone tables are empty. The following query determines whether the table that contains time zone names has any rows:

mysql> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mysql.time_zone_name;
+----------+
| COUNT(*) |
+----------+
|        0 | 
+----------+

A count of zero indicates that the table is empty. In this case, no one can be using named time zones, and you don't need to update the tables. A count greater than zero indicates that the table is not empty and that its contents are available to be used for named time zone support. In this case, you should be sure to reload your time zone tables so that anyone who uses named time zones will get correct query results.

To check whether your MySQL installation is updated properly for a change in Daylight Saving Time rules, use a test like the one following. The example uses values that are appropriate for the 2007 DST 1-hour change that occurs in the United States on March 11 at 2 a.m.

The test uses these two queries:

SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 2:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');
SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 3:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');

The two time values indicate the times at which the DST change occurs, and the use of named time zones requires that the time zone tables be used. The desired result is that both queries return the same result (the input time, converted to the equivalent value in the 'US/Central' time zone).

Before updating the time zone tables, you would see an incorrect result like this:

mysql> SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 2:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 2:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central') |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2007-03-11 01:00:00                                        | 
+------------------------------------------------------------+

mysql> SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 3:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 3:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central') |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2007-03-11 02:00:00                                        |
+------------------------------------------------------------+

After updating the tables, you should see the correct result:

mysql> SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 2:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 2:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central') |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2007-03-11 01:00:00                                        | 
+------------------------------------------------------------+

mysql> SELECT CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 3:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central');
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONVERT_TZ('2007-03-11 3:00:00','US/Eastern','US/Central') |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2007-03-11 01:00:00                                        | 
+------------------------------------------------------------+

5.10.9. MySQL Server Locale Support

Beginning with MySQL 5.0.25, the locale indicated by the lc_time_names system variable controls the language used to display day and month names and abbreviations. This variable affects the output from the DATE_FORMAT(), DAYNAME() and MONTHNAME() functions.

Locale names are POSIX-style values such as 'ja_JP' or 'pt_BR'. The default value is 'en_US' regardless of your system's locale setting, but any client can examine or set its lc_time_names value as shown in the following example:

mysql> SET NAMES 'utf8';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.09 sec)

mysql> SELECT @@lc_time_names;
+-----------------+
| @@lc_time_names |
+-----------------+
| en_US           | 
+-----------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT DAYNAME('2010-01-01'), MONTHNAME('2010-01-01');
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
| DAYNAME('2010-01-01') | MONTHNAME('2010-01-01') |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
| Friday                | January                 | 
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT DATE_FORMAT('2010-01-01','%W %a %M %b');
+-----------------------------------------+
| DATE_FORMAT('2010-01-01','%W %a %M %b') |
+-----------------------------------------+
| Friday Fri January Jan                  | 
+-----------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SET lc_time_names = 'es_MX';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT @@lc_time_names;
+-----------------+
| @@lc_time_names |
+-----------------+
| es_MX           | 
+-----------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT DAYNAME('2010-01-01'), MONTHNAME('2010-01-01');
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
| DAYNAME('2010-01-01') | MONTHNAME('2010-01-01') |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
| viernes               | enero                   | 
+-----------------------+-------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT DATE_FORMAT('2010-01-01','%W %a %M %b');
+-----------------------------------------+
| DATE_FORMAT('2010-01-01','%W %a %M %b') |
+-----------------------------------------+
| viernes vie enero ene                   | 
+-----------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

The day or month name for each of the affected functions is converted from utf8 to the character set indicated by the character_set_connection system variable.

lc_time_names may be set to any of the following locale values:

`ar_AE`: Arabic - United Arab Emirates	`ar_BH`: Arabic - Bahrain
`ar_DZ`: Arabic - Algeria	`ar_EG`: Arabic - Egypt
`ar_IN`: Arabic - Iran	`ar_IQ`: Arabic - Iraq
`ar_JO`: Arabic - Jordan	`ar_KW`: Arabic - Kuwait
`ar_LB`: Arabic - Lebanon	`ar_LY`: Arabic - Libya
`ar_MA`: Arabic - Morocco	`ar_OM`: Arabic - Oman
`ar_QA`: Arabic - Qatar	`ar_SA`: Arabic - Saudi Arabia
`ar_SD`: Arabic - Sudan	`ar_SY`: Arabic - Syria
`ar_TN`: Arabic - Tunisia	`ar_YE`: Arabic - Yemen
`be_BY`: Belarusian - Belarus	`bg_BG`: Bulgarian - Bulgaria
`ca_ES`: Catalan - Catalan	`cs_CZ`: Czech - Czech Republic
`da_DK`: Danish - Denmark	`de_AT`: German - Austria
`de_BE`: German - Belgium	`de_CH`: German - Switzerland
`de_DE`: German - Germany	`de_LU`: German - Luxembourg
`EE`: Estonian - Estonia	`en_AU`: English - Australia
`en_CA`: English - Canada	`en_GB`: English - United Kingdom
`en_IN`: English - India	`en_NZ`: English - New Zealand
`en_PH`: English - Philippines	`en_US`: English - United States
`en_ZA`: English - South Africa	`en_ZW`: English - Zimbabwe
`es_AR`: Spanish - Argentina	`es_BO`: Spanish - Bolivia
`es_CL`: Spanish - Chile	`es_CO`: Spanish - Columbia
`es_CR`: Spanish - Costa Rica	`es_DO`: Spanish - Dominican Republic
`es_EC`: Spanish - Ecuador	`es_ES`: Spanish - Spain
`es_GT`: Spanish - Guatemala	`es_HN`: Spanish - Honduras
`es_MX`: Spanish - Mexico	`es_NI`: Spanish - Nicaragua
`es_PA`: Spanish - Panama	`es_PE`: Spanish - Peru
`es_PR`: Spanish - Puerto Rico	`es_PY`: Spanish - Paraguay
`es_SV`: Spanish - El Salvador	`es_US`: Spanish - United States
`es_UY`: Spanish - Uruguay	`es_VE`: Spanish - Venezuela
`eu_ES`: Basque - Basque	`fi_FI`: Finnish - Finland
`fo_FO`: Faroese - Faroe Islands	`fr_BE`: French - Belgium
`fr_CA`: French - Canada	`fr_CH`: French - Switzerland
`fr_FR`: French - France	`fr_LU`: French - Luxembourg
`gl_ES`: Galician - Galician	`gu_IN`: Gujarati - India
`he_IL`: Hebrew - Israel	`hi_IN`: Hindi - India
`hr_HR`: Croatian - Croatia	`hu_HU`: Hungarian - Hungary
`id_ID`: Indonesian - Indonesia	`is_IS`: Icelandic - Iceland
`it_CH`: Italian - Switzerland	`it_IT`: Italian - Italy
`ja_JP`: Japanese - Japan	`ko_KR`: Korean - Korea
`lt_LT`: Lithuanian - Lithuania	`lv_LV`: Latvian - Latvia
`mk_MK`: Macedonian - FYROM	`mn_MN`: Mongolia - Mongolian
`ms_MY`: Malay - Malaysia	`nb_NO`: Norwegian(Bokml) - Norway
`nl_BE`: Dutch - Belgium	`nl_NL`: Dutch - The Netherlands
`no_NO`: Norwegian - Norway	`pl_PL`: Polish - Poland
`pt_BR`: Portugese - Brazil	`pt_PT`: Portugese - Portugal
`ro_RO`: Romanian - Romania	`ru_RU`: Russian - Russia
`ru_UA`: Russian - Ukraine	`sk_SK`: Slovak - Slovakia
`sl_SI`: Slovenian - Slovenia	`sq_AL`: Albanian - Albania
`sr_YU`: Serbian - Yugoslavia	`sv_FI`: Swedish - Finland
`sv_SE`: Swedish - Sweden	`ta_IN`: Tamil - India
`te_IN`: Telugu - India	`th_TH`: Thai - Thailand
`tr_TR`: Turkish - Turkey	`uk_UA`: Ukrainian - Ukraine
`ur_PK`: Urdu - Pakistan	`vi_VN`: Vietnamese - Vietnam
`zh_CN`: Chinese - Peoples Republic of China	`zh_HK`: Chinese - Hong Kong SAR
`zh_TW`: Chinese - Taiwan

lc_time_names currently does not affect the STR_TO_DATE() or GET_FORMAT() function.

5.11. MySQL Server Logs

5.11.1. The Error Log
5.11.2. The General Query Log
5.11.3. The Binary Log
5.11.4. The Slow Query Log
5.11.5. Server Log Maintenance

MySQL has several different logs that can help you find out what is going on inside mysqld:

Log Type	Information Written to Log
The error log	Problems encountered starting, running, or stopping mysqld
The general query log	Established client connections and statements received from clients
The binary log	All statements that change data (also used for replication)
The slow query log	All queries that took more than `long_query_time` seconds to execute or didn't use indexes

By default, all log files are created in the mysqld data directory. You can force mysqld to close and reopen the log files (or in some cases switch to a new log) by flushing the logs. Log flushing occurs when you issue a FLUSH LOGS statement or execute mysqladmin flush-logs or mysqladmin refresh. See Section 12.5.5.2, “FLUSH Syntax”, and Section 7.10, “mysqladmin — Client for Administering a MySQL Server”.

If you are using MySQL replication capabilities, slave replication servers maintain additional log files called relay logs. Chapter 15, Replication, discusses relay log contents and configuration.

MySQL Enterprise The MySQL Enterprise Monitor provides a number of advisors specifically related to the various log files. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

5.11.1. The Error Log

The error log contains information indicating when mysqld was started and stopped and also any critical errors that occur while the server is running. If mysqld notices a table that needs to be automatically checked or repaired, it writes a message to the error log.

On some operating systems, the error log contains a stack trace if mysqld dies. The trace can be used to determine where mysqld died. See MySQL Internals: Porting.

You can specify where mysqld writes the error log with the --log-error[=file_name] option. If no file_name value is given, mysqld uses the name host_name.err by default and writes the file in the data directory. If you execute FLUSH LOGS, the error log is renamed with the suffix -old and mysqld creates a new empty log file. (No renaming occurs if the --log-error option was not given.)

If you do not specify --log-error, or (on Windows) if you use the --console option, errors are written to stderr, the standard error output. Usually this is your terminal.

On Windows, error output is always written to the .err file if --console is not given.

The --log-warnings option or log_warnings system variable can be used to control warning logging to the error log. The default value is enabled (1). Warning logging can be disabled using a value of 0. Aborted connections are not logged to the error log unless the value is greater than 1. See Section B.1.2.10, “Communication Errors and Aborted Connections”.

If you use mysqld_safe to start mysqld, mysqld_safe arranges for mysqld to write error messages to a log file. If you specify a filename via --log-error to mysqld_safe or mysqld, that filename is used. Otherwise, mysqld_safe uses the default error log file.

If mysqld_safe is used to start mysqld and mysqld dies unexpectedly, mysqld_safe notices that it needs to restart mysqld and writes a restarted mysqld message to the error log.

5.11.2. The General Query Log

The general query log is a general record of what mysqld is doing. The server writes information to this log when clients connect or disconnect, and it logs each SQL statement received from clients. The general query log can be very useful when you suspect an error in a client and want to know exactly what the client sent to mysqld.

mysqld writes statements to the query log in the order that it receives them, which might differ from the order in which they are executed. This logging order contrasts to the binary log, for which statements are written after they are executed but before any locks are released. (Also, the query log contains all statements, whereas the binary log does not contain statements that only select data.)

To enable the general query log, start mysqld with the --log[=file_name] or -l [file_name] option.

If no file_name value is given for --log or -l, the default name is host_name.log in the data directory.

Server restarts and log flushing do not cause a new general query log file to be generated (although flushing closes and reopens it). On Unix, you can rename the file and create a new one by using the following commands:

shell> mv host_name.log host_name-old.log
shell> mysqladmin flush-logs
shell> cp host_name-old.log backup-directory
shell> rm host_name-old.log

On Windows, you cannot rename the log file while the server has it open. You must stop the server and rename the file, and then restart the server to create a new log file.

5.11.3. The Binary Log

The binary log contains all statements that update data or potentially could have updated it (for example, a DELETE which matched no rows). Statements are stored in the form of “events” that describe the modifications. The binary log also contains information about how long each statement took that updated data.

Note

The binary log has replaced the old update log, which is no longer available as of MySQL 5.0. The binary log contains all information that is available in the update log in a more efficient format and in a manner that is transaction-safe. If you are using transactions, you must use the MySQL binary log for backups instead of the old update log.

The binary log is not used for statements such as SELECT or SHOW that do not modify data. If you want to log all statements (for example, to identify a problem query), use the general query log. See Section 5.11.2, “The General Query Log”.

The primary purpose of the binary log is to be able to update databases during a restore operation as fully as possible, because the binary log contains all updates done after a backup was made. The binary log is also used on master replication servers as a record of the statements to be sent to slave servers. See Chapter 15, Replication.

MySQL Enterprise The binary log can also be used to track significant DDL events. Analyzing the binary log in this way is an integral part of the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

Running the server with the binary log enabled makes performance about 1% slower. However, the benefits of the binary log for restore operations and in allowing you to set up replication generally outweigh this minor performance decrement.

When started with the --log-bin[=base_name] option, mysqld writes a log file containing all SQL commands that update data (both DDL and DML statements). If no base_name value is given, the default name is the value of the pid-file option (which by default is the name of host machine) followed by -bin. If the basename is given, but not as an absolute pathname, the server writes the file in the data directory. It is recommended that you specify a basename; see Section B.1.8.1, “Open Issues in MySQL”, for the reason.

If you supply an extension in the log name (for example, --log-bin=base_name.extension), the extension is silently removed and ignored.

mysqld appends a numeric extension to the binary log basename. The number increases each time the server creates a new log file, thus creating an ordered series of files. The server creates a new binary log file each time it starts or flushes the logs. The server also creates a new binary log file automatically when the current log's size reaches max_binlog_size. A binary log file may become larger than max_binlog_size if you are using large transactions because a transaction is written to the file in one piece, never split between files.

To keep track of which binary log files have been used, mysqld also creates a binary log index file that contains the names of all used binary log files. By default this has the same basename as the binary log file, with the extension '.index'. You can change the name of the binary log index file with the --log-bin-index[=file_name] option. You should not manually edit this file while mysqld is running; doing so would confuse mysqld.

Replication slave servers by default do not write to their own binary log any statements that are received from the replication master. To cause these statements to be logged, start the slave with the --log-slave-updates option.

Writes to the binary log file and binary log index file are handled in the same way as writes to MyISAM tables. See Section B.1.4.3, “How MySQL Handles a Full Disk”.

You can delete all binary log files with the RESET MASTER statement, or a subset of them with PURGE MASTER LOGS. See Section 12.5.5.5, “RESET Syntax”, and Section 12.6.1.1, “PURGE MASTER LOGS Syntax”.

The binary log format has some known limitations that can affect recovery from backups. See Section 15.3.1, “Replication Features and Issues”.

Binary logging for stored routines and triggers is done as described in Section 18.4, “Binary Logging of Stored Routines and Triggers”.

You can use the following options to mysqld to affect what is logged to the binary log. See also the discussion that follows this option list.

If you are using replication, the options described here affect which statements are sent by a master server to its slaves. There are also options for slave servers that control which statements received from the master to execute or ignore. For details, see Section 15.1.2, “Replication Startup Options and Variables”.

--binlog-do-db=db_name
Tell the server to restrict binary logging to updates for which the default database is db_name (that is, the database selected by USE). All other databases that are not explicitly mentioned are ignored. If you use this option, you should ensure that you do updates only in the default database.
There is an exception to this for CREATE DATABASE, ALTER DATABASE, and DROP DATABASE statements. The server uses the database named in the statement (not the default database) to decide whether it should log the statement.
An example of what does not work as you might expect: If the server is started with binlog-do-db=sales, and you run USE prices; UPDATE sales.january SET amount=amount+1000;, this statement is not written into the binary log.
To log multiple databases, use multiple options, specifying the option once for each database.
--binlog-ignore-db=db_name
Tell the server to suppress binary logging of updates for which the default database is db_name (that is, the database selected by USE). If you use this option, you should ensure that you do updates only in the default database.
As with the --binlog-do-db option, there is an exception for the CREATE DATABASE, ALTER DATABASE, and DROP DATABASE statements. The server uses the database named in the statement (not the default database) to decide whether it should log the statement.
An example of what does not work as you might expect: If the server is started with binlog-ignore-db=sales, and you run USE prices; UPDATE sales.january SET amount=amount+1000;, this statement is written into the binary log.
To ignore multiple databases, use multiple options, specifying the option once for each database.

The server evaluates the options for logging or ignoring updates to the binary log according to the following rules. As described previously, there is an exception for the CREATE DATABASE, ALTER DATABASE, and DROP DATABASE statements. In those cases, the database being created, altered, or dropped replaces the default database in the following rules:

Are there --binlog-do-db or --binlog-ignore-db rules?
- No: Write the statement to the binary log and exit.
- Yes: Go to the next step.
There are some rules (--binlog-do-db, --binlog-ignore-db, or both). Is there a default database (has any database been selected by USE?)?
- No: Do not write the statement, and exit.
- Yes: Go to the next step.
There is a default database. Are there some --binlog-do-db rules?
- Yes: Does the default database match any of the --binlog-do-db rules?
  - Yes: Write the statement and exit.
  - No: Do not write the statement, and exit.
- No: Go to the next step.
There are some --binlog-ignore-db rules. Does the default database match any of the --binlog-ignore-db rules?
- Yes: Do not write the statement, and exit.
- No: Write the query and exit.

For example, a slave running with only --binlog-do-db=sales does not write to the binary log any statement for which the default database is different from sales (in other words, --binlog-do-db can sometimes mean “ignore other databases”).

If you are using replication, you should not delete old binary log files until you are sure that no slave still needs to use them. For example, if your slaves never run more than three days behind, once a day you can execute mysqladmin flush-logs on the master and then remove any logs that are more than three days old. You can remove the files manually, but it is preferable to use PURGE MASTER LOGS, which also safely updates the binary log index file for you (and which can take a date argument). See Section 12.6.1.1, “PURGE MASTER LOGS Syntax”.

A client that has the SUPER privilege can disable binary logging of its own statements by using a SET SQL_LOG_BIN=0 statement. See Section 12.5.3, “SET Syntax”.

You can display the contents of binary log files with the mysqlbinlog utility. This can be useful when you want to reprocess statements in the log. For example, you can update a MySQL server from the binary log as follows:

shell> mysqlbinlog log_file | mysql -h server_name

See Section 7.11, “mysqlbinlog — Utility for Processing Binary Log Files”, for more information on the mysqlbinlog utility and how to use it. mysqlbinlog also can be used with relay log files because they are written using the same format as binary log files.

Binary logging is done immediately after a statement completes but before any locks are released or any commit is done. This ensures that the log is logged in execution order.

Updates to non-transactional tables are stored in the binary log immediately after execution. Within an uncommitted transaction, all updates (UPDATE, DELETE, or INSERT) that change transactional tables such as BDB or InnoDB tables are cached until a COMMIT statement is received by the server. At that point, mysqld writes the entire transaction to the binary log before the COMMIT is executed. When the thread that handles the transaction starts, it allocates a buffer of binlog_cache_size to buffer statements. If a statement is bigger than this, the thread opens a temporary file to store the transaction. The temporary file is deleted when the thread ends.

Modifications to non-transactional tables cannot be rolled back. If a transaction that is rolled back includes modifications to non-transactional tables, the entire transaction is logged with a ROLLBACK statement at the end to ensure that the modifications to those tables are replicated.

The Binlog_cache_use status variable shows the number of transactions that used this buffer (and possibly a temporary file) for storing statements. The Binlog_cache_disk_use status variable shows how many of those transactions actually had to use a temporary file. These two variables can be used for tuning binlog_cache_size to a large enough value that avoids the use of temporary files.

The max_binlog_cache_size system variable (default 4GB, which is also the maximum) can be used to restrict the total size used to cache a multiple-statement transaction. If a transaction is larger than this many bytes, it fails and rolls back. The minimum value is 4096.

Note that the binary log format is different in MySQL 5.0 from previous versions of MySQL, due to enhancements in replication. See Section 15.3.2, “Replication Compatibility Between MySQL Versions”.

By default, the binary log is not synchronized to disk at each write. So if the operating system or machine (not only the MySQL server) crashes, there is a chance that the last statements of the binary log are lost. To prevent this, you can make the binary log be synchronized to disk after every N writes to the binary log, with the sync_binlog system variable. See Section 5.2.3, “System Variables”. 1 is the safest value for sync_binlog, but also the slowest. Even with sync_binlog set to 1, there is still the chance of an inconsistency between the table content and binary log content in case of a crash. For example, if you are using InnoDB tables and the MySQL server processes a COMMIT statement, it writes the whole transaction to the binary log and then commits this transaction into InnoDB. If the server crashes between those two operations, the transaction is rolled back by InnoDB at restart but still exists in the binary log. This problem can be solved with the --innodb-safe-binlog option, which adds consistency between the content of InnoDB tables and the binary log. (Note: --innodb-safe-binlog is unneeded as of MySQL 5.0; it was made obsolete by the introduction of XA transaction support.)

For this option to provide a greater degree of safety, the MySQL server should also be configured to synchronize the binary log and the InnoDB logs to disk at every transaction. The InnoDB logs are synchronized by default, and sync_binlog=1 can be used to synchronize the binary log. The effect of this option is that at restart after a crash, after doing a rollback of transactions, the MySQL server cuts rolled back InnoDB transactions from the binary log. This ensures that the binary log reflects the exact data of InnoDB tables, and so, that the slave remains in synchrony with the master (not receiving a statement which has been rolled back).

Note that --innodb-safe-binlog can be used even if the MySQL server updates other storage engines than InnoDB. Only statements and transactions that affect InnoDB tables are subject to removal from the binary log at InnoDB's crash recovery. If the MySQL server discovers at crash recovery that the binary log is shorter than it should have been, it lacks at least one successfully committed InnoDB transaction. This should not happen if sync_binlog=1 and the disk/filesystem do an actual sync when they are requested to (some don't), so the server prints an error message The binary log <name> is shorter than its expected size. In this case, this binary log is not correct and replication should be restarted from a fresh snapshot of the master's data.

For MySQL 5.0.46, the following session variables are written to the binary log and honoured by the replication slave when parsing the binary log:

5.11.4. The Slow Query Log

The slow query log consists of all SQL statements that took more than long_query_time seconds to execute. The time to acquire the initial table locks is not counted as execution time. mysqld writes a statement to the slow query log after it has been executed and after all locks have been released, so log order might be different from execution order. The minimum and default values of long_query_time are 1 and 10, respectively.

To enable the slow query log, start mysqld with the --log-slow-queries[=file_name] option.

If no file_name value is given for --log-slow-queries, the default name is host_name-slow.log. If a filename is given, but not as an absolute pathname, the server writes the file in the data directory.

The slow query log can be used to find queries that take a long time to execute and are therefore candidates for optimization. However, examining a long slow query log can become a difficult task. To make this easier, you can process the slow query log using the mysqldumpslow command to summarize the queries that appear in the log. Use mysqldumpslow --help to see the options that this command supports.

In MySQL 5.0, queries that do not use indexes are logged in the slow query log if the --log-queries-not-using-indexes option is specified. See Section 5.2.2, “Command Options”.

MySQL Enterprise Excessive table scans are indicative of missing or poorly optimized indexes. Using an advisor specifically designed for the task, the MySQL Enterprise Monitor can identify such problems and offer advice on resolution. For more information see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.

In MySQL 5.0, the --log-slow-admin-statements server option enables you to request logging of slow administrative statements such as OPTIMIZE TABLE, ANALYZE TABLE, and ALTER TABLE to the slow query log.

Queries handled by the query cache are not added to the slow query log, nor are queries that would not benefit from the presence of an index because the table has zero rows or one row.

5.11.5. Server Log Maintenance

MySQL Server can create a number of different log files that make it easy to see what is going on. See Section 5.11, “MySQL Server Logs”. However, you must clean up these files regularly to ensure that the logs do not take up too much disk space.

When using MySQL with logging enabled, you may want to back up and remove old log files from time to time and tell MySQL to start logging to new files. See Section 5.9.1, “Database Backups”.

On a Linux (Red Hat) installation, you can use the mysql-log-rotate script for this. If you installed MySQL from an RPM distribution, this script should have been installed automatically. You should be careful with this script if you are using the binary log for replication. You should not remove binary logs until you are certain that their contents have been processed by all slaves.

On other systems, you must install a short script yourself that you start from cron (or its equivalent) for handling log files.

For the binary log, you can set the expire_logs_days system variable to expire binary log files automatically after a given number of days (see Section 5.2.3, “System Variables”). If you are using replication, you should set the variable no lower than the maximum number of days your slaves might lag behind the master.

You can force MySQL to start using new log files by issuing a FLUSH LOGS statement or executing mysqladmin flush-logs or mysqladmin refresh. See Section 12.5.5.2, “FLUSH Syntax”, and Section 7.10, “mysqladmin — Client for Administering a MySQL Server”.

A log flushing operation does the following:

If general query logging (--log) or slow query logging (--log-slow-queries) to a log file is enabled, the server closes and reopens the general query log file or slow query log file.
If binary logging (--log-bin) is used, the server closes the current log file and opens a new log file with the next sequence number.
If the server was given an error log filename with the --log-error option, it renames the error log with the suffix -old and creates a new empty error log file.

The server creates a new binary log file when you flush the logs. However, it just closes and reopens the general and slow query log files. To cause new files to be created on Unix, rename the current logs before flushing them. At flush time, the server will open new logs with the original names. For example, if the general and slow query logs are named mysql.log and mysql-slow.log, you can use a series of commands like this:

shell> cd mysql-data-directory
shell> mv mysql.log mysql.old
shell> mv mysql-slow.log mysql-slow.old
shell> mysqladmin flush-logs

At this point, you can make a backup of mysql.old and mysql-slow.log and then remove them from disk.

On Windows, you cannot rename log files while the server has them open. You must stop the server and rename them, and then restart the server to create new logs.

The session sql_log_off variable can be set to ON or OFF to disable or enable general query logging for the current connection.

5.12. Running Multiple MySQL Servers on the Same Machine

5.12.1. Running Multiple Servers on Windows
5.12.2. Running Multiple Servers on Unix
5.12.3. Using Client Programs in a Multiple-Server Environment

In some cases, you might want to run multiple mysqld servers on the same machine. You might want to test a new MySQL release while leaving your existing production setup undisturbed. Or you might want to give different users access to different mysqld servers that they manage themselves. (For example, you might be an Internet Service Provider that wants to provide independent MySQL installations for different customers.)

To run multiple servers on a single machine, each server must have unique values for several operating parameters. These can be set on the command line or in option files. See Section 4.3, “Specifying Program Options”.

At least the following options must be different for each server:

--port=port_num
--port controls the port number for TCP/IP connections. (Alternatively, if the host has multiple network addresses, you can use --bind-adress to cause different servers to listen to different interfaces.)
--socket=path
--socket controls the Unix socket file path on Unix and the name of the named pipe on Windows. On Windows, it is necessary to specify distinct pipe names only for those servers that support named-pipe connections.
--shared-memory-base-name=name
This option currently is used only on Windows. It designates the shared-memory name used by a Windows server to allow clients to connect via shared memory. It is necessary to specify distinct shared-memory names only for those servers that support shared-memory connections.
--pid-file=file_name
This option is used only on Unix. It indicates the pathname of the file in which the server writes its process ID.

If you use the following log file options, they must be different for each server:

--log=file_name
--log-bin=file_name
--log-update=file_name
--log-error=file_name
--bdb-logdir=file_name

Section 5.11.5, “Server Log Maintenance”, discusses the log file options further.

For better performance, you can specify the following options differently for each server, to spread the load between several physical disks:

--tmpdir=path
--bdb-tmpdir=path

Having different temporary directories is also recommended to make it easier to determine which MySQL server created any given temporary file.

With very limited exceptions, each server should use a different data directory, which is specified using the --datadir=path option.

Warning

Normally, you should never have two servers that update data in the same databases. This may lead to unpleasant surprises if your operating system does not support fault-free system locking. If (despite this warning) you run multiple servers using the same data directory and they have logging enabled, you must use the appropriate options to specify log filenames that are unique to each server. Otherwise, the servers try to log to the same files. Please note that this kind of setup only works with MyISAM and MERGE tables, and not with any of the other storage engines.

The warning against sharing a data directory among servers also applies in an NFS environment. Allowing multiple MySQL servers to access a common data directory over NFS is a very bad idea.

The primary problem is that NFS is the speed bottleneck. It is not meant for such use.
Another risk with NFS is that you must devise a way to ensure that two or more servers do not interfere with each other. Usually NFS file locking is handled by the lockd daemon, but at the moment there is no platform that performs locking 100% reliably in every situation.

Make it easy for yourself: Forget about sharing a data directory among servers over NFS. A better solution is to have one computer that contains several CPUs and use an operating system that handles threads efficiently.

If you have multiple MySQL installations in different locations, you can specify the base installation directory for each server with the --basedir=path option to cause each server to use a different data directory, log files, and PID file. (The defaults for all these values are determined relative to the base directory). In that case, the only other options you need to specify are the --socket and --port options. For example, suppose that you install different versions of MySQL using tar file binary distributions. These install in different locations, so you can start the server for each installation using the command bin/mysqld_safe under its corresponding base directory. mysqld_safe determines the proper --basedir option to pass to mysqld, and you need specify only the --socket and --port options to mysqld_safe.

As discussed in the following sections, it is possible to start additional servers by setting environment variables or by specifying appropriate command-line options. However, if you need to run multiple servers on a more permanent basis, it is more convenient to use option files to specify for each server those option values that must be unique to it. The --defaults-file option is useful for this purpose.

5.12.1. Running Multiple Servers on Windows

5.12.1.1. Starting Multiple Windows Servers at the Command Line
5.12.1.2. Starting Multiple Windows Servers as Services

You can run multiple servers on Windows by starting them manually from the command line, each with appropriate operating parameters. You also have the option of installing several servers as Windows services and running them that way. General instructions for running MySQL servers from the command line or as services are given in Section 2.4.8, “Installing MySQL on Windows”. This section describes how to make sure that you start each server with different values for those startup options that must be unique per server, such as the data directory. These options are described in Section 5.12, “Running Multiple MySQL Servers on the Same Machine”.

5.12.1.1. Starting Multiple Windows Servers at the Command Line

To start multiple servers manually from the command line, you can specify the appropriate options on the command line or in an option file. It is more convenient to place the options in an option file, but it is necessary to make sure that each server gets its own set of options. To do this, create an option file for each server and tell the server the filename with a --defaults-file option when you run it.

Suppose that you want to run mysqld on port 3307 with a data directory of C:\mydata1, and mysqld-debug on port 3308 with a data directory of C:\mydata2. (To do this, make sure that before you start the servers, each data directory exists and has its own copy of the mysql database that contains the grant tables.) Then create two option files. For example, create one file named C:\my-opts1.cnf that looks like this:

[mysqld]
datadir = C:/mydata1
port = 3307

Create a second file named C:\my-opts2.cnf that looks like this:

[mysqld]
datadir = C:/mydata2
port = 3308

Then start each server with its own option file:

C:\> C:\mysql\bin\mysqld --defaults-file=C:\my-opts1.cnf
C:\> C:\mysql\bin\mysqld-debug --defaults-file=C:\my-opts2.cnf

Each server starts in the foreground (no new prompt appears until the server exits later), so you will need to issue those two commands in separate console windows.

To shut down the servers, you must connect to each using the appropriate port number:

C:\> C:\mysql\bin\mysqladmin --port=3307 shutdown
C:\> C:\mysql\bin\mysqladmin --port=3308 shutdown

Servers configured as just described allow clients to connect over TCP/IP. If your version of Windows supports named pipes and you also want to allow named-pipe connections, use the mysqld-nt or mysqld-debug server and specify options that enable the named pipe and specify its name. Each server that supports named-pipe connections must use a unique pipe name. For example, the C:\my-opts1.cnf file might be written like this:

[mysqld]
datadir = C:/mydata1
port = 3307
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe1

Then start the server this way:

C:\> C:\mysql\bin\mysqld-nt --defaults-file=C:\my-opts1.cnf

Modify C:\my-opts2.cnf similarly for use by the second server.

A similar procedure applies for servers that you want to support shared-memory connections. Enable such connections with the --shared-memory option and specify a unique shared-memory name for each server with the --shared-memory-base-name option.

5.12.1.2. Starting Multiple Windows Servers as Services

A MySQL server can run as a Windows service. The procedures for installing, controlling, and removing a single MySQL service are described in Section 2.4.8.11, “Starting MySQL as a Windows Service”.

You can also install multiple MySQL servers as services. In this case, you must make sure that each server uses a different service name in addition to all the other parameters that must be unique for each server.

For the following instructions, assume that you want to run the mysqld-nt server from two different versions of MySQL that are installed at C:\mysql-4.1.8 and C:\mysql-5.0.46, respectively. (This might be the case if you're running 4.1.8 as your production server, but also want to conduct tests using 5.0.46.)

The following principles apply when installing a MySQL service with the --install or --install-manual option:

If you specify no service name, the server uses the default service name of MySQL and the server reads options from the [mysqld] group in the standard option files.
If you specify a service name after the --install option, the server ignores the [mysqld] option group and instead reads options from the group that has the same name as the service. The server reads options from the standard option files.
If you specify a --defaults-file option after the service name, the server ignores the standard option files and reads options only from the [mysqld] group of the named file.

Note

Before MySQL 4.0.17, only a server installed using the default service name (MySQL) or one installed explicitly with a service name of mysqld will read the [mysqld] group in the standard option files. As of 4.0.17, all servers read the [mysqld] group if they read the standard option files, even if they are installed using another service name. This allows you to use the [mysqld] group for options that should be used by all MySQL services, and an option group named after each service for use by the server installed with that service name.

Based on the preceding information, you have several ways to set up multiple services. The following instructions describe some examples. Before trying any of them, be sure that you shut down and remove any existing MySQL services first.

Approach 1: Specify the options for all services in one of the standard option files. To do this, use a different service name for each server. Suppose that you want to run the 4.1.8 mysqld-nt using the service name of mysqld1 and the 5.0.46 mysqld-nt using the service name mysqld2. In this case, you can use the [mysqld1] group for 4.1.8 and the [mysqld2] group for 5.0.46. For example, you can set up C:\my.cnf like this:
```
# options for mysqld1 service
[mysqld1]
basedir = C:/mysql-4.1.8
port = 3307
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe1

# options for mysqld2 service
[mysqld2]
basedir = C:/mysql-5.0.46
port = 3308
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe2
```
Install the services as follows, using the full server pathnames to ensure that Windows registers the correct executable program for each service:
```
C:\> C:\mysql-4.1.8\bin\mysqld-nt --install mysqld1
C:\> C:\mysql-5.0.46\bin\mysqld-nt --install mysqld2
```
To start the services, use the services manager, or use NET START with the appropriate service names:
```
C:\> NET START mysqld1
C:\> NET START mysqld2
```
To stop the services, use the services manager, or use NET STOP with the appropriate service names:
```
C:\> NET STOP mysqld1
C:\> NET STOP mysqld2
```
Approach 2: Specify options for each server in separate files and use --defaults-file when you install the services to tell each server what file to use. In this case, each file should list options using a [mysqld] group.
With this approach, to specify options for the 4.1.8 mysqld-nt, create a file C:\my-opts1.cnf that looks like this:
```
[mysqld]
basedir = C:/mysql-4.1.8
port = 3307
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe1
```
For the 5.0.46 mysqld-nt, create a file C:\my-opts2.cnf that looks like this:
```
[mysqld]
basedir = C:/mysql-5.0.46
port = 3308
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe2
```
Install the services as follows (enter each command on a single line):
```
C:\> C:\mysql-4.1.8\bin\mysqld-nt --install mysqld1
           --defaults-file=C:\my-opts1.cnf
C:\> C:\mysql-5.0.46\bin\mysqld-nt --install mysqld2
           --defaults-file=C:\my-opts2.cnf
```
To use a --defaults-file option when you install a MySQL server as a service, you must precede the option with the service name.
After installing the services, start and stop them the same way as in the preceding example.

To remove multiple services, use mysqld --remove for each one, specifying a service name following the --remove option. If the service name is the default (MySQL), you can omit it.

5.12.2. Running Multiple Servers on Unix

The easiest way is to run multiple servers on Unix is to compile them with different TCP/IP ports and Unix socket files so that each one is listening on different network interfaces. Compiling in different base directories for each installation also results automatically in a separate, compiled-in data directory, log file, and PID file location for each server.

Assume that an existing 4.1.8 server is configured for the default TCP/IP port number (3306) and Unix socket file (/tmp/mysql.sock). To configure a new 5.0.46 server to have different operating parameters, use a configure command something like this:

shell> ./configure --with-tcp-port=port_number \
             --with-unix-socket-path=file_name \
             --prefix=/usr/local/mysql-5.0.46

Here, port_number and file_name must be different from the default TCP/IP port number and Unix socket file pathname, and the --prefix value should specify an installation directory different from the one under which the existing MySQL installation is located.

If you have a MySQL server listening on a given port number, you can use the following command to find out what operating parameters it is using for several important configurable variables, including the base directory and Unix socket filename:

shell> mysqladmin --host=host_name --port=port_number variables

With the information displayed by that command, you can tell what option values not to use when configuring an additional server.

Note that if you specify localhost as a hostname, mysqladmin defaults to using a Unix socket file connection rather than TCP/IP. From MySQL 4.1 onward, you can explicitly specify the connection protocol to use by using the --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY} option.

You don't have to compile a new MySQL server just to start with a different Unix socket file and TCP/IP port number. It is also possible to use the same server binary and start each invocation of it with different parameter values at runtime. One way to do so is by using command-line options:

shell> mysqld_safe --socket=file_name --port=port_number

To start a second server, provide different --socket and --port option values, and pass a --datadir=path option to mysqld_safe so that the server uses a different data directory.

Another way to achieve a similar effect is to use environment variables to set the Unix socket filename and TCP/IP port number:

shell> MYSQL_UNIX_PORT=/tmp/mysqld-new.sock
shell> MYSQL_TCP_PORT=3307
shell> export MYSQL_UNIX_PORT MYSQL_TCP_PORT
shell> mysql_install_db --user=mysql
shell> mysqld_safe --datadir=/path/to/datadir &

This is a quick way of starting a second server to use for testing. The nice thing about this method is that the environment variable settings apply to any client programs that you invoke from the same shell. Thus, connections for those clients are automatically directed to the second server.

Section 2.4.20, “Environment Variables”, includes a list of other environment variables you can use to affect mysqld.

For automatic server execution, the startup script that is executed at boot time should execute the following command once for each server with an appropriate option file path for each command:

shell> mysqld_safe --defaults-file=file_name

Each option file should contain option values specific to a given server.

On Unix, the mysqld_multi script is another way to start multiple servers. See Section 5.3.3, “mysqld_multi — Manage Multiple MySQL Servers”.

5.12.3. Using Client Programs in a Multiple-Server Environment

To connect with a client program to a MySQL server that is listening to different network interfaces from those compiled into your client, you can use one of the following methods:

Start the client with --host=host_name --port=port_number to connect via TCP/IP to a remote server, with --host=127.0.0.1 --port=port_number to connect via TCP/IP to a local server, or with --host=localhost --socket=file_name to connect to a local server via a Unix socket file or a Windows named pipe.
As of MySQL 4.1, start the client with --protocol=tcp to connect via TCP/IP, --protocol=socket to connect via a Unix socket file, --protocol=pipe to connect via a named pipe, or --protocol=memory to connect via shared memory. For TCP/IP connections, you may also need to specify --host and --port options. For the other types of connections, you may need to specify a --socket option to specify a Unix socket file or Windows named-pipe name, or a --shared-memory-base-name option to specify the shared-memory name. Shared-memory connections are supported only on Windows.
On Unix, set the MYSQL_UNIX_PORT and MYSQL_TCP_PORT environment variables to point to the Unix socket file and TCP/IP port number before you start your clients. If you normally use a specific socket file or port number, you can place commands to set these environment variables in your .login file so that they apply each time you log in. See Section 2.4.20, “Environment Variables”.
Specify the default Unix socket file and TCP/IP port number in the [client] group of an option file. For example, you can use C:\my.cnf on Windows, or the .my.cnf file in your home directory on Unix. See Section 4.3.2, “Using Option Files”.
In a C program, you can specify the socket file or port number arguments in the mysql_real_connect() call. You can also have the program read option files by calling mysql_options(). See Section 23.2.3, “C API Function Descriptions”.
If you are using the Perl DBD::mysql module, you can read options from MySQL option files. For example:
```
$dsn = "DBI:mysql:test;mysql_read_default_group=client;"
        . "mysql_read_default_file=/usr/local/mysql/data/my.cnf";
$dbh = DBI->connect($dsn, $user, $password);
```
See Section 23.4, “MySQL Perl API”.
Other programming interfaces may provide similar capabilities for reading option files.

MySQL Enterprise Subscribers to MySQL Enterprise will find additional information on running multiple MySQL servers on one machine in the MySQL Enterprise Knowledge Base article found at https://kb.mysql.com/view.php?id=4926.

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