Starting the MySQL Server Automatically

Background

Starting the MySQL automatically when the system starts up would be very convinient. Automating this process with a script will insure consistency in the process.

If the Downloading and Installing MySQL exercise was successfully completed, then the script named mysql.server has been installed.

Objectives

• Find the start up script;
• Copy it to the proper location;
• Enable the script;
• Reboot the system so MySQL will start automatically.

Steps

1. Find mysql.server
• As root find the mysql.server script.

#find / -name mysql.server -print

2. Copy mysql.server
• Change into the directory where mysql.server was found.
• Copy mysql.server into the init.d directory.

#cp mysql.server /etc/init.d/mysql


• Make the file executable.

#chmod +x /etc/init.d/mysql


3. Activate the script
• Use chkconfig to activate it to run at system startup.

#chkconfig --level 345 mysql on

• Verify that the script has been properly enabled.

#chkconfig --list mysql

4. Stop the server
• Stop MySQL.

#/etc/init.d/mysql stop

• Reboot the server.

#reboot

5. Test
• When the system comes up, log in.
• Connect to the MySQL server as root.

$mysql -u root mysql

• Enter the correct password.
• Run some commands.

mysql>SHOW VARIABLES

mysql>SHOW CHARACTER SET LIKE 'latin%'

mysql>SHOW ENGINES

• Quit out of MySQL.

mysql>QUIT

Congratulations! You have successfully automated the start up of the MySQL server.