Installing and Running MySQL in the Cloud

One of the most popular open-source business applications used in the clouds is MySQL relational database (RDBMS). This application can run on either Linux or Microsoft Windows OS’. Many users use on-site implementations of their most business-critical databases but are hesitant to move them to the cloud. Yet, with the proliferation of public clouds, many businesses are looking to move their databases to the cloud as operational flexibility is better than on-premises. The trend to put more core infrastructure in the cloud is clear, and the challenge is getting there simply and quickly to avoid downtime and to operate as they do on-premises.

Cirrus Data Solutions offers customers migration services for their data from on-premises installations to the cloud. In this blog, I will discuss migrating a MySQL open-source database application block data to any cloud. Although the application is open-source, some adjustments are needed to the installation procedure to run successfully in the cloud after the data migration is complete. Cirrus Data’s customers are using a web-based software Cirrus Migrate Cloud to migrate their data to any cloud. A few undocumented changes are needed to successfully configure, install, and run the MySQL application that I will detail in this blog. For this discussion, we will take a MySQL database application running on a Linux server VM. The methodology described here can be used for any Linux OS, either physical or virtual. Similar methods can be used for MySQL containers in Windows server VMs.

A shortlist of hurdles that users need to get around are listed here:

• Download and Install the correct MySQL version package matching the OS

• Matching the server version to the host version for that OS

• Reconfiguring the access control (ACL) and passwords

• Relocating data devices from default /var/lib/mysql to /data/mysql in the cloud

• Using the correct shell scripts for adding and viewing new database records (no GUI)

Cirrus Data Solutions developed a complete set of tools to allow any cloud admin to build its own MySQL database in any server/VM. All these tools are part of Cirrus Migrate Cloud installation on any cloud and any deployment. For a detailed procedure, users can contact Cirrus Data Solution here and request the complete installation procedure document.

CirrusData developed these scripts to allow easy management of MySQL databases on-premises and in any cloud, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft’s Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and others. The tools are packaged in a tarball and allow automatic installation and configuration of MySQL and are included in the Cirrus Data Cloud portfolio of products. The full operation procedure is also detailed in the easy-to-understand README document which is also included in the package and which can be accessed via the Deploy Cirrus Migrate Cloud portal.

There are several steps that require manual user instructions to follow to use Cirrus Migrate Cloud and be successful. These manual steps are well documented in the README text file. After the application is installed and running on-premises CMC web-based GUI is used to manage the migration of the application data to the cloud and restart the MySQL application in the cloud from the last state on-premises before the migration. Here are some additional resources that can help to install and run a MySQL database application:

• https://dev.mysql.com/

• https://repo.mysql.com/

• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-change-a-mysql-data-directory-to-a-new-location-on-centos-7

• https://cloud.cirrusdata.com/