Starting Multiple MariaDB Instances as Windows Services
On Windows, a MariaDB server can run as a Windows service. The procedures for installing, controlling, and removing a single MariaDB service are described in , "Starting MariaDB as a Windows Service".
To set up multiple MariaDB services, you must make sure that each instance uses a different service name in addition to the other parameters that must be unique per instance.
For the following instructions, suppose that you want to run the mysqld server from two different versions of MariaDB that are installed at C:\mysql-5.5.9
and C:\mysql-5.6.6
, respectively. (This might be the case if you are running 5.5.9 as your production server, but also want to conduct tests using 5.6.6.)
To install MariaDB as a Windows service, use the --install
or --install-manual
option. For information about these options, see , "Starting MariaDB as a Windows Service".
Based on the preceding information, you have several ways to set up multiple services. The following instructions describe some examples. Before trying any of them, shut down and remove any existing MariaDB services.
- Approach 1: Specify the options for all services in one of the standard option files. To do this, use a different service name for each server. Suppose that you want to run the 5.5.9 mysqld using the service name of
mysqld1
and the 5.6.6 mysqld using the service namemysqld2
. In this case, you can use the[mysqld1]
group for 5.5.9 and the[mysqld2]
group for 5.6.6. For example, you can set upC:\my.cnf
like this:# options for mysqld1 service [mysqld1] basedir = C:/mysql-5.5.9 port = 3307 enable-named-pipe socket = mypipe1 # options for mysqld2 service [mysqld2] basedir = C:/mysql-5.6.6 port = 3308 enable-named-pipe socket = mypipe2
Install the services as follows, using the full server path names to ensure that Windows registers the correct executable program for each service:
C:\>
C:\mysql-5.5.9\bin\mysqld --install mysqld1
C:\>C:\mysql-5.6.6\bin\mysqld --install mysqld2
To start the services, use the services manager, or use NET START with the appropriate service names:
C:\>
NET START mysqld1
C:\>NET START mysqld2
To stop the services, use the services manager, or use NET STOP with the appropriate service names:
C:\>
NET STOP mysqld1
C:\>NET STOP mysqld2
- Approach 2: Specify options for each server in separate files and use
--defaults-file
when you install the services to tell each server what file to use. In this case, each file should list options using a[mysqld]
group.With this approach, to specify options for the 5.5.9 mysqld, create a file
C:\my-opts1.cnf
that looks like this:[mysqld] basedir = C:/mysql-5.5.9 port = 3307 enable-named-pipe socket = mypipe1
For the 5.6.6 mysqld, create a file
C:\my-opts2.cnf
that looks like this:[mysqld] basedir = C:/mysql-5.6.6 port = 3308 enable-named-pipe socket = mypipe2
Install the services as follows (enter each command on a single line):
C:\>
C:\mysql-5.5.9\bin\mysqld --install mysqld1
--defaults-file=C:\my-opts1.cnf
C:\>C:\mysql-5.6.6\bin\mysqld --install mysqld2
--defaults-file=C:\my-opts2.cnf
When you install a MariaDB server as a service and use a
--defaults-file
option, the service name must precede the option.After installing the services, start and stop them the same way as in the preceding example.
To remove multiple services, use mysqld --remove for each one, specifying a service name following the --remove
option. If the service name is the default (MariaDB
), you can omit it.