I typically install MySQL in /usr/local/mysql as the UNIX root account. I then create a UNIX mysql account that will have access to manage databases.

Once you've installed MySQL, you will need to initialize the grant tables, start the server, and make sure that the server works okay. You may also elect to arrange for the server to be started and stopped automatically when your system starts up and shuts down.

Installing the grant tables is accomplished by running the mysql_install_db script. This creates the mysql database which will hold all database privileges, the test database which you can use to test MySQL, and also privilege entries for the user that run mysql_install_db and a root user (without any passwords).

The Standard binaries now include the InnoDB storage engine and is sufficient for most users. This will be the set of binaries we will install and configure in this article.

MySQL also includes the Max version set of binaries that includes additional features such as the Berkeley DB storage engine and other features that have not been exhaustively tested or are not required for general usage, such as user-defined functions (UDFs), and BIG_TABLE support. When these features have matured and proven to be stable, they will be incorporated into future releases of the Standard binaries.

The Debug binaries have been compiled with extra debug information, and are not intended for production use, because the included debugging code may cause reduced performance.

Use the following URL to download the Linux Binaries for MySQL release 4.0. Keep in mind that I will be downloading the Linux (x86, libc6) release - not the RPM release.

# rpm -qa | grep -i mysql
libdbi-dbd-mysql-0.6.5-7
MySQL-python-0.9.1-9
perl-DBD-MySQL-2.9002-1
mod_auth_mysql-20030510-3
php-mysql-4.3.3-6
mysql-3.23.58-4
mysql-bench-3.23.58-4
mysql-server-3.23.58-4
freeradius-mysql-0.9.1-1
mysql-devel-3.23.58-4
qt-MySQL-3.1.2-14

You can use RPM to uninstall the above packages as follows:

# rpm -e libdbi-dbd-mysql
# rpm -e MySQL-python
# rpm -e mod_auth_mysql
# rpm -e php-mysql
# rpm -e mysql-bench
# rpm -e mysql-server
# rpm -e freeradius-mysql
# rpm -e mysql-devel
# rpm -e mysql perl-DBD-MySQL MyODBC qt-MySQL

# userdel mysql

# cd /usr/local
# groupadd mysql
# useradd -c "MySQL Software Owner" -g mysql mysql
# passwd mysql
Changing password for user mysql.
New password: **********
BAD PASSWORD: it is too short
Retype new password: **********
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

# su -
# cp mysql-standard-4.0.20-pc-linux-i686.tar.gz /usr/local
# cd /usr/local
# gunzip mysql-standard-4.0.20-pc-linux-i686.tar.gz
# tar xvf mysql-standard-4.0.20-pc-linux-i686.tar
# ln -s mysql-standard-4.0.20-pc-linux-i686 mysql
# cd mysql

# scripts/mysql_install_db --user=mysql
Preparing db table
Preparing host table
Preparing user table
Preparing func table
Preparing tables_priv table
Preparing columns_priv table
Installing all prepared tables
040803 23:21:45  Warning: Asked for 196608 thread stack, but got 126976
040803 23:21:45  ./bin/mysqld: Shutdown Complete


To start mysqld at boot time you have to copy support-files/mysql.server
to the right place for your system

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SET A PASSWORD FOR THE MySQL root USER !
To do so, start the server, then issue the following commands:
./bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'new-password'
./bin/mysqladmin -u root -h linux2 password 'new-password'
See the manual for more instructions.

You can start the MySQL daemon with:
cd . ; ./bin/mysqld_safe &

You can test the MySQL daemon with the benchmarks in the 'sql-bench' directory:
cd sql-bench ; perl run-all-tests

Please report any problems with the ./bin/mysqlbug script!

The latest information about MySQL is available on the web at
http://www.mysql.com
Support MySQL by buying support/licenses at https://order.mysql.com

# chown -R root  .
# chown -R mysql data
# chgrp -R mysql .

# su -
# cd /usr/local/mysql
# bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql &
Starting mysqld daemon with databases from /usr/local/mysql/data

# su -
# cd /usr/local/mysql
# bin/mysqladmin -u root shutdown
040803 23:36:27  mysqld ended

[1]+  Done                    bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql

• Using mysqladmin

  $ mysqladmin ping
  mysqld is alive

  $ mysqladmin version
  mysqladmin  Ver 8.40 Distrib 4.0.20, for pc-linux on i686
  Copyright (C) 2000 MySQL AB & MySQL Finland AB & TCX DataKonsult AB
  This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software,
  and you are welcome to modify and redistribute it under the GPL license
  
  Server version          4.0.20-standard
  Protocol version        10
  Connection              Localhost via UNIX socket
  UNIX socket             /tmp/mysql.sock
  Uptime:                 2 min 50 sec
  
  Threads: 1  Questions: 2  Slow queries: 0  Opens: 6  Flush tables: 1  Open tables: 0  Queries per second avg: 0.012

• Ensure you can shutdown and startup the server

  # su -
  # cd /usr/local/mysql
  # bin/mysqladmin -u root shutdown
  040803 23:36:27  mysqld ended
  
  [1]+  Done                    bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql

  # su -
  # cd /usr/local/mysql
  # bin/mysqld_safe --user=mysql &
  Starting mysqld daemon with databases from /usr/local/mysql/data

• Try several simple tests

  $ mysqlshow
  +-----------+
  | Databases |
  +-----------+
  | mysql     |
  | test      |
  +-----------+

  $ mysqlshow -u root mysql
  Database: mysql
  +--------------+
  |    Tables    |
  +--------------+
  | columns_priv |
  | db           |
  | func         |
  | host         |
  | tables_priv  |
  | user         |
  +--------------+

  $ mysql -u root -e "select host, db, user from db" mysql
  +------+---------+------+
  | host | db      | user |
  +------+---------+------+
  | %    | test    |      |
  | %    | test\_% |      |
  +------+---------+------+

  $ mysql -u root mysql
  Reading table information for completion of table and column names
  You can turn off this feature to get a quicker startup with -A
  
  Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
  Your MySQL connection id is 4 to server version: 4.0.20-standard
  
  Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
  
  
  mysql> select host, db, user from db;
  +------+---------+------+
  | host | db      | user |
  +------+---------+------+
  | %    | test    |      |
  | %    | test\_% |      |
  +------+---------+------+
  2 rows in set (0.00 sec)