MySQL - Getting Started Guide

Step 1 - Verify MySQL Works

Your server's IP address and root password are shown on the Server Details page in your client panel. phpMyAdmin is available immediately after your server is created. Open http://your.server.ip/phpmyadmin in a browser to verify it works.

phpMyAdmin login:

• Username: root
• Password: the MySQL Root Password you entered during the order

With phpMyAdmin you can create databases, run SQL queries, import/export data and manage users without using the command line.

Database servers don't need public internet access. For secure access, place the server on a private network behind a VyOS router and connect over a VPN to reach MySQL and phpMyAdmin on the server's private IP.

Step 2 - Connect to MySQL Remotely

MySQL is configured to accept remote connections. You can connect from any application or tool:

mysql -h your.server.ip -u root -p

Connection details for database GUI tools (MySQL Workbench, DBeaver, HeidiSQL, etc.):

Parameter	Value
Host	your.server.ip
Port	3306
Username	root
Password	MySQL Root Password from order

Note: Port 3306 is MySQL protocol, not HTTP - it cannot be opened in a browser. Use a database client or the command above.

Step 3 - Enable SSL for phpMyAdmin (Optional)

If you have a domain pointing to this server, you can enable HTTPS for phpMyAdmin with a free Let's Encrypt certificate. Connect via SSH and run:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh db.yourdomain.com

The script will verify DNS, obtain a certificate and configure Apache for HTTPS automatically. After completion, phpMyAdmin is available at https://db.yourdomain.com/phpmyadmin.

Note: Make sure your domain's A record points to the server IP before running the script. SSL is optional - phpMyAdmin works fine over HTTP with IP address access.

Creating Additional Databases

You can create additional databases via phpMyAdmin or SSH:

mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE newdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'newuser'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON newdb.* TO 'newuser'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Import and Export

Via phpMyAdmin: Use the Import/Export tabs - supports SQL, CSV, and other formats. Max upload size is 64 MB.

Via command line:

# Export
mysqldump -u root -p your_database > backup.sql

# Import
mysql -u root -p your_database < backup.sql

For large databases (over 64 MB), use the command line instead of phpMyAdmin.

Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect both SSH and phpMyAdmin from brute-force attacks.

Rule	Max Attempts	Ban Duration
SSH	5 failed logins	10 minutes
phpMyAdmin	5 failed logins	1 hour

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status phpmyadmin
fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set phpmyadmin unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

Service Management

MySQL and the web stack run via systemd. Common commands:

# Check service status
systemctl status mysql
systemctl status apache2

# Restart MySQL
systemctl restart mysql

# View MySQL logs
journalctl -u mysql -n 100

MySQL Performance Tuning

InnoDB buffer pool is automatically set to 50% of RAM on first boot. To check the current value:

mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'innodb_buffer_pool_size';"

To adjust manually, edit /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/99-tuning.cnf and restart MySQL:

systemctl restart mysql

Server Credentials

MySQL root password is stored in /root/.mysql_credentials.

What's Pre-Configured

• Remote access: MySQL accepts connections from any IP on port 3306
• InnoDB buffer pool: Automatically tuned to 50% of available RAM on first boot
• Performance schema: Disabled on servers with less than 2 GB RAM to save resources
• PHP uploads: 64 MB max file size (for phpMyAdmin imports)

Software Included

Component	Version
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS
MySQL	8.4 LTS (Oracle APT)
Apache	2.4
PHP	8.3
phpMyAdmin	5.2
Certbot	Latest
Fail2Ban	1.0

• MySQL Documentation: dev.mysql.com/doc
• phpMyAdmin Documentation: phpmyadmin.net/docs