MariaDB Components

Let's take a moment to look at where MariaDB will reside on your system. If you do not yet have MariaDB installed, refer to Appendix A, "Installing MariaDB."

Linux/UNIX Systems

The location of MariaDB programs, libraries, and other files depends on the installation prefix used when MariaDB was installed. Typically, the prefix is either /usr/MariaDB or /usr/local/MariaDB.

In the location used on your system, you will find the following subdirectories:

• binContains the MariaDB executables, including the database server and all the client programs

• libContains the development libraries used to communicate with a MariaDB database from your own programs

• includeContains the header files required to use MariaDB APIs

• dataThe MariaDB data directory, containing the actual database files

• support_filesA number of sample configuration files

The MariaDB configuration file is named my.cnf. The file /etc/my.cnf contains global settings, but you can also create a file named my.cnf in the data directory that applies only to that MariaDB server; it is possible to have multiple MariaDB servers on one machine.

RPMs

If you used a packaged installation method such as RPM, the system programs might have been installed to common locations alongside other applications. In this case, the data directory is /var/lib/MariaDB.

Path

Make sure that the MariaDB bin directory is in your system path so you can avoid having to enter the full path to the client programs when you want to run them. Refer to your operating system documentation for details on how to set this up.

Windows Systems

The default install location is C:\Program Files\MariaDB. The system is installed in a subfolder that is named using the MariaDB minor version number. For example, MariaDB 5.0.18 is installed to C:\Program Files\MariaDB\MariaDB Server 5.0.

In the version-specific install location, you will find the following subdirectories:

• binThe MariaDB server and client program executables

• dataThe MariaDB data directory, containing the actual database files

In the installation directory, you will also find a number of sample configuration files. The current configuration is found in my.ini located in this folder.

MariaDB is installed as a Windows service. To start and stop the database server, go to Control Panel, Administrativ Tools, and select Services. A program group in the Start menu contains a shortcut to the MariaDB monitor program and the configuration wizard.