Change MySQL Data Directory

Change MySQL Data Directory

In Redhat/CentOS/Fedora MySQL default data directory remains in /var/lib/mysql. Sometimes you need to change MySQL data directory to a new location for many reasons. To change MySQL data directory is an easy task. Here I am showing step by step procedure to change MySQL data directory from its default location /var/lib/mysql to /data/mysql-data

Change data directory from existing installation

1. Stop the MySQL

   # /etc/init.d/mysqld stop

2. Change the data directory

   # cp –rap /var/lib/mysql /data/mysql-data
   #  chown mysql.mysql /data/mysql-data
   

3. Edit MySQL configuration file ( /etc/my.cnf)

   datadir=/data/mysql-data

4. Start the MySQL

   # /etc/init.d/mysqld start

 

Create fresh data directory for new installation

When you have no existing data or it is a fresh MySQL, you can change MySQL data directory as follows

1. Stop the MySQL

   # /etc/init.d/mysqld stop

2. Create the data directory

   # mysql_install_db --datadir=/data/mysql-data --user=mysql

3. Edit MySQL configuration file ( /etc/my.cnf)

   datadir=/data/mysql-data

4. Start the MySQL

   # /etc/init.d/mysqld start

Here, all the commands showed are based on Redhat/CentOS/Fedora. However, the procedure is more or less same for all Linux distributions.