How to install Mariadb/MySQL server on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux

The default relational SQL database on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux has been chnaged from MySQL to MariaDB. MariaDB is a community-developed fork of the MySQL relational database and in-place substitute for MySQL.

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to install MariaDB/MySQL server
• How to start and enable MariaDB to start automatically after reboot
• How to secure MariaDB database and set root password
• How to create database for a remote access
• How to open MySQL/MariaDB firewall ports for incoming traffic
• How to login to MySQL/MariaDB from a remote host

MariaDB on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 database creation example

Software Requirements and Conventions Used

How to install Mariadb/MySQL server on RHEL 8 Linux step by step instructions

1. Perform MariaDB server installation:

   # dnf install mariadb-server
   

2. Start MariaDB server and enable the database to start after reboot:

   # systemctl start mariadb
   # systemctl enable mariadb
   

3. Secure MariaDB database with mysql_secure_installation script. This step is optional but highly recommended:

   # mysql_secure_installation 
   
   NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB
         SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE!  PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!
   
   In order to log into MariaDB to secure it, we'll need the current
   password for the root user.  If you've just installed MariaDB, 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 MariaDB
   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 MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone
   to log into MariaDB 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, MariaDB 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 MariaDB
   installation should now be secure.
   
   Thanks for using MariaDB!
   

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4. Create a sample database. In the following example we will use the following parameters:

   DDATABE NAME = linuxconfig
   USER NAME = lubos
   REMOTE IP ADDRESS = 192.168.1.2
   PASSWORD = linuxconfig.org
   PERMISSIONS = GRANT ALL
   

   Start by login into the MariaDB database as root user using the previously created root password.

   In case you did not secure your MariaDB database with password simply omit the -p option with the mysql command:

   # mysql -u root -p
   Enter password: 
   Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
   Your MariaDB connection id is 17
   Server version: 10.3.10-MariaDB MariaDB Server
   
   Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.
   
   Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE linuxconfig;
   Query OK, 1 row affected (0.001 sec)
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'lubos'@'192.168.1.2' IDENTIFIED BY 'linuxconfig.org';
   Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.001 sec)
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL ON linuxconfig.* TO 'lubos'@'192.168.1.2';
   Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.001 sec)
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.001 sec)
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> quit
   Bye

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5. Open up the firewall port for incoming MySQL/MariaDB connections:

   # firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=mysql
   success
   # firewall-cmd --reload
   success
   

6. Login to MariaDB database from the remote host eg. 192.168.1.2 to RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 MariadDB server using preset hostname like for example in this case rhel8-mariadb or by specifying the server’s IP address:

   $ mysql -h rhel8-mariadb -u lubos -p
   Enter password: 
   Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
   Your MariaDB connection id is 18
   Server version: 10.3.10-MariaDB MariaDB Server
   
   Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.
   
   Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.
   
   MariaDB [(none)]> Bye