How to Install and Securing MySQL Database Server on CentOS 6.3

This post will covers the steps to install and securing MySQL Database Server. MySQL server is a database server that can stores and retrieves data for the blog, websites and applications. It is one of the most popular most used in the internet especially for content management and blogging site. MySQL is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. For more information on MySQL, you can visit their website at www.mysql.com.

Prerequisites :
How to Setup and Configure Yum Repository from CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image on CentOS 6.3

1. Install MySQL Database Server using yum command :

[root@centos63 ~]# yum install mysql mysql-server -y

Examples :

[root@centos63 ~]# yum install mysql mysql-server -y
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, presto
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: mirrors.hostemo.com
 * extras: mirrors.hostemo.com
 * updates: mirrors.hostemo.com
CentOS6.3-Repository                                                         | 4.0 kB     00:00 ...
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package mysql.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: mysql-libs = 5.1.61-4.el6 for package: mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libmysqlclient_r.so.16(libmysqlclient_16) for package: mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libmysqlclient_r.so.16 for package: mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libmysqlclient.so.16(libmysqlclient_16) for package: mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libmysqlclient.so.16 for package: mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
---> Package mysql-server.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: perl-DBI for package: mysql-server-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: perl-DBD-MySQL for package: mysql-server-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: perl(DBI) for package: mysql-server-5.1.61-4.el6.i686
--> Running transaction check
---> Package mysql-libs.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6 will be installed
---> Package perl-DBD-MySQL.i686 0:4.013-3.el6 will be installed
---> Package perl-DBI.i686 0:1.609-4.el6 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

====================================================================================================
 Package                 Arch          Version                  Repository                     Size
====================================================================================================
Installing:
 mysql                   i686          5.1.61-4.el6             CentOS6.3-Repository          892 k
 mysql-server            i686          5.1.61-4.el6             CentOS6.3-Repository          8.8 M
Installing for dependencies:
 mysql-libs              i686          5.1.61-4.el6             CentOS6.3-Repository          1.2 M
 perl-DBD-MySQL          i686          4.013-3.el6              CentOS6.3-Repository          134 k
 perl-DBI                i686          1.609-4.el6              CentOS6.3-Repository          705 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================
Install       5 Package(s)

Total download size: 12 M
Installed size: 33 M
Downloading Packages:
Setting up and reading Presto delta metadata
Processing delta metadata
Package(s) data still to download: 12 M
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                                22 MB/s |  12 MB     00:00
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing : mysql-libs-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                     1/5
  Installing : perl-DBI-1.609-4.el6.i686                                                        2/5
  Installing : perl-DBD-MySQL-4.013-3.el6.i686                                                  3/5
  Installing : mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                          4/5
  Installing : mysql-server-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                   5/5
  Verifying  : mysql-server-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                   1/5
  Verifying  : perl-DBD-MySQL-4.013-3.el6.i686                                                  2/5
  Verifying  : perl-DBI-1.609-4.el6.i686                                                        3/5
  Verifying  : mysql-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                          4/5
  Verifying  : mysql-libs-5.1.61-4.el6.i686                                                     5/5

Installed:
  mysql.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6                     mysql-server.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6

Dependency Installed:
  mysql-libs.i686 0:5.1.61-4.el6   perl-DBD-MySQL.i686 0:4.013-3.el6   perl-DBI.i686 0:1.609-4.el6

Complete!

2. Start MySQL Database Server :

[root@centos63 ~]# /etc/init.d/mysqld start

or

[root@centos63 ~]# service mysqld start

Examples :

See also  How to Remove the Postfix Mail Queue

Starting MySQL for first time will returned like this :

[root@centos63 ~]# /etc/init.d/mysqld start
Initializing MySQL database:  WARNING: The host 'centos63.ehowstuff.local' could not be looked up with resolveip.
This probably means that your libc libraries are not 100 % compatible
with this binary MySQL version. The MySQL daemon, mysqld, should work
normally with the exception that host name resolving will not work.
This means that you should use IP addresses instead of hostnames
when specifying MySQL privileges !
Installing MySQL system tables...
OK
Filling help tables...
OK

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:

/usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'new-password'
/usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root -h centos63.ehowstuff.local password 'new-password'

Alternatively you can run:
/usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation

which will also give you the option of removing the test
databases and anonymous user created by default.  This is
strongly recommended for production servers.

See the manual for more instructions.

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

You can test the MySQL daemon with mysql-test-run.pl
cd /usr/mysql-test ; perl mysql-test-run.pl

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

                                                           [  OK  ]
Starting mysqld:                                           [  OK  ]

3. Make MySQL Database Server auto start at boot :

[root@centos63 ~]# chkconfig mysqld on

4. Securing MySQL Database Server :

[root@centos63 ~]# /usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation

Examples :

[root@centos63 ~]# /usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation




NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MySQL
      SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE!  PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!


In order to log into MySQL to secure it, we'll need the current
password for the root user.  If you've just installed MySQL, and
you haven't set the root password yet, the password will be blank,
so you should just press enter here.

Enter current password for root (enter for none):
OK, successfully used password, moving on...

Setting the root password ensures that nobody can log into the MySQL
root user without the proper authorisation.

Set root password? [Y/n] y
New password:
Re-enter new password:
Password updated successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
 ... Success!


By default, a MySQL installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone
to log into MySQL without having to have a user account created for
them.  This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation
go a bit smoother.  You should remove them before moving into a
production environment.

Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'.  This
ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network.

Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

By default, MySQL comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can
access.  This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed
before moving into a production environment.

Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] y
 - Dropping test database...
 ... Success!
 - Removing privileges on test database...
 ... Success!

Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far
will take effect immediately.

Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

Cleaning up...



All done!  If you've completed all of the above steps, your MySQL
installation should now be secure.

Thanks for using MySQL!


5. Login to MySQL Server :

[root@centos63 ~]# mysql -u root -p
Enter password:
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 10
Server version: 5.1.61 Source distribution

Copyright (c) 2000, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql>

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *