Chapter 11. General MySQL Administration
If you're acting as your site's MySQL administrator, this chapter discusses what you'll need to do to keep MySQL running smoothly. These responsibilities include making sure the server is up and running as much of the time as possible, setting up user accounts so that clients can access the server, and maintaining log files. You may also want to modify the server's operating parameters for better performance, run multiple servers, or set up replication between servers. Finally, because MySQL is under active development, an administrator must be able to determine when to upgrade MySQL by installing new releases. Other significant administrative concerns are covered in Chapter 12, "Security," and Chapter 13, "Database Backups, Maintenance, and Repair."
Several programs are covered in these chapters that are essential for MySQL administrators to know about:
mysqld, the MySQL server.
Scripts for starting up the server. These include mysqld_safe, mysql.server, and mysqld_multi. (Prior to MySQL 4, mysqld_safe is named safe_mysqld.)
mysqladmin performs miscellaneous administrative operations.
mysqldump and mysqlhotcopy are used for database backup and copying operations.
mysqlcheck, myisamchk, and isamchk are utilities that perform table integrity checking and repair operations.
Much of the information in this chapter can be better appreciated if you have an understanding of MySQL's data directory, which is where the server stores databases, log files, and other information. For more information, see Chapter 10, "The MySQL Data Directory." Additional information specific to the SQL statements and programs discussed here is provided in Appendix D, "SQL Syntax Reference," and Appendix E, "MySQL Program Reference."
