We manage a lot of different servers, mostly web application servers running PHP and MySQL.

The physical layout of these systems, due the hardware involved, often is quite different from server to server. As a result the placement of the data repository and binary logs and other log files is not the the same.

I got tired of having to track down where each of these items were located, so I started using the following structure where possible. If not possible, these same items existed, but were merely symlinks to the actual locations.

/var/mysql

• mysql.sock - just a symlink to /tmp/mysql.sock. This was due to a minor config issue Apple had in OS X Server 10.4, that they finally corrected.
• binlogs - the binary logs generated if this system is intended to be a replication master
• data - link to the actual location of the datadir

/var/log/mysql

• error.log - the error log for the machine. I never liked how mysql named the error log after the hostname. Now, I’m telling it, use this name
• slowq.log - slow query log

Now all the items that I normally need to get to, have easy to remember, standardized “locations”.

I’m sure this is old hat for some. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out the simple stuff.

Posted by Brian Blood in Database, Servers