On the front cover of MySQL Administrator’s Bible is a sentence that reads:

“The book you need to succeed!”

I must say, I do agree. Authored by two very experienced DBAs, Sheeri Cabral and Keith Murphy,
they’ve combined their talents to cover what you really need to know to
succeed. This book is very versatile. If you’re new to MySQL, or
experienced in another database and have to start administrating MySQL,
you need this book. I can honestly say, even if you have years of MySQL
experience, you will learn something new. I did. Divided into four
parts, MySQL Administrator’s Bible covers your First Steps with MySQL,
Developing with MySQL, Core MySQL Administration and Extending Your
Skills.

First Steps with MySQL starts with a gentle introduction
to MySQL with company information, which seems to be changing annually,
and most importantly, the MySQL community itself. What makes MySQL so
fantastic is the community. After that, you’ll be lead into installing
and configuring MySQL on various platforms including Linux, Windows and
Solaris while touching on post installation configuration too. Basic
security is covered as well as some tips on troubleshooting and
accessing your new MySQL installation using tools included with MySQL
or using third party software.

Developing with MySQL covers the
MySQL Language Structure and if you’re coming from another RDBMS, it
covers how MySQL deviates from the SQL standard by extending that
standard to make MySQL the number one open source database used on the
Internet. After that, this section covers the same type of topics
covering just about any other mainstream databases such as using stored
procedures, cursors, events, views and transactions.

The Core
MySQL Administration is the heart of this book. It covers MySQL server
tuning, covering all major storage engines including MyISAM, InnoDB,
Falcon, PBXT, and NDB engines including the first time I’ve seen in
print, the Maria storage engine. An entire chapter is devoted to
implementing cache tables and using the query cache. Memcached is also
mentioned, and mentioned again in the final section. Continuing on with
what I consider the most important job of a DBA, backup and recovery.
Databases are very central to running a business, any data loss could
put a company out of business. Be prepared.

This section gives a
solid introduction to the topic of dealing with users, and how they are
managed within MySQL. Count on covering GRANT/REVOKE, using SHOW GRANTS
and mk-show-grants MaatKit tool. Partitioning, logging and replication
and measuring performance rounds out this section.

If you have
experience with another RDBMS, plan on spending a significant amount of
time in this section. Not that the other sections aren’t important,
they are, but this is the bread and butter of what a MySQL DBA does on
a daily basis.

Extending You Skills section can be considered
getting your Masters in Database Administration. Just about every DBA
will have to tackle improving queries and the tuning of indexes. The
second most important job of a DBA is monitoring performance of your
MySQL server. Don’t let your users be your first line of monitoring! Be
proactive, there are plenty of open source monitoring tools available.
The most popular are discussed, as well as MySQL Enterprise and third
party companies too. MySQL Data Dictionary is covered in in detail over
58 pages. This is the most I’ve read in any book about the data
dictionary. 

Last but not least, most high performance MySQL
systems involve scaling up or out. It covers the usual suspects of
replication, MySQL Cluster, and memcached. MySQL Proxy is initially
covered and has an appendix to expand on that information. MySQL Proxy
itself is worthy of its own book. (hint, hint :) ) Two more appendices
cover MySQL Functions and Operators, and additional resources.

Even
though this book targets MySQL 5.1/6.0, there is plenty of information
that will apply to 5.0. If you’re still on 5.0, don’t hesitate to pick
up a copy. This will be a book that can stay with you as your upgrade
to 5.1 and beyond. The companion website –
http://www.wiley.com/go/mysqladminbible contains all the code from the
book too, rounding out this fine tome.

What didn’t I like about
the book? There are only a couple of things, all personal I’m sure.
First, I really don’t care too much for tables of options from the
various tools. Most open source tools are developed rather quickly and
options change. This could render portions of the book out of date
quickly.

The other thing I noticed that wasn’t mentioned in the
book was the community versions of MySQL supported by Open Query and
Percona. The latter has their own storage engine, XtraDB and backup
solution, XtraBackup.

All in all, this is a very solid book on
administering MySQL. This book digs deeper, the experience of the
authors really show. Well done Sheeri and Keith!

What do you do when you're in a situation where you REALLY need your
favorite Maatkit tools, but are not allowed to load software on the
server running MySQL, AND you're not allowed to install software on the
provided workstation, especially a workstation that's running software
from a large corporation in Redmond? Portable Maatkit to the rescue!

DISCLAIMER:
I've only tested a few maatkit tools, namely mk-find and
mk-query-digest, but not completely. Some features and some tools may
not function, such as mk-audit. Use your best judgment. I'm not
responsible if your workstation or server looses all your data, your
USB key bursts into flames, or your significant other leaves you. YMMV,
use at YOUR OWN RISK!

Strawberry Perl
has been out for some time now, and recently, a portable version of
Strawberry Perl has been available. Download the the latest 5.10
version of Portable Strawberry Perl and unzip it onto your USB key. Also download and unzip to your USB key the latest copy of Maatkit. After unzipping everything, your USB key should look something like:

E:\>dir
 Volume in drive E has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is BEEF-FEED

 Directory of E:\

01/29/2009  11:13 PM               116 Strawberry Perl Website.url
01/29/2009  11:13 PM                50 Win32 Perl Wiki.url
01/29/2009  11:14 PM    <DIR>          cpan
01/29/2009  10:29 PM    <DIR>          licenses
01/29/2009  11:14 PM    <DIR>          perl
01/29/2009  11:09 PM    <DIR>          ppm
07/23/2009  01:20 PM    <DIR>          maatkit-4047
01/29/2009  11:13 PM                51 CPAN Search.url
01/29/2009  11:13 PM                52 Perl 5.10.0 Documentation.url
10/16/2008  09:01 PM             1,861 portable.perl
12/24/2007  03:44 PM             1,406 Strawberry Perl Website.ico
01/29/2009  11:14 PM    <DIR>          c
               8 File(s)         55,836 bytes
               6 Dir(s)   1,848,025,088 bytes free

The
portable version ships with DBI installed, but not DBD::mysql. To
install DBD::mysql, use the Perl Package Manager (PPM) that comes with
Strawberry Perl.

E:\> cd perl\bin
E:\perl\bin> ppm
PPM interactive shell (0.01_01) - type 'help' for available commands.
PPM> help
Commands:
    exit              - leave the program.
    help [command]    - prints this screen, or help on 'command'.
    install PACKAGES  - installs specified PACKAGES.
    quit              - leave the program.
    query [options]   - query information about installed packages.
    remove PACKAGES   - removes the specified PACKAGES from the system.
    search [options]  - search information about available packages.
    set [options]     - set/display current options.
    verify [options]  - verifies current install is up to date.
    version           - displays PPM version number


PPM> search mysql
Packages available from http://cpan.uwinnipeg.ca/PPMPackages/10xx:
DBD-mysql [4.005] A MySQL driver for the Perl5 Database Interface (DBI)
Packages available from http://ppm.activestate.com/PPMPackages/5.10-windows:
ApacheMysql                  [0.3 ] Initiate a persistent database connection
                                    to Mysql
DBIx-Mysql-InformationSchema [0.04] Perl module to access the mysql
                                    INFORMATION_SCHEMA view, which contains
                                    database metadata.

Install it:

PPM> install DBD-mysql
Install package 'DBD-mysql?' (y/N): y
Installing package 'DBD-mysql'...
Bytes transferred: 1018351
Files found in blib\arch: installing files in blib\lib into architecture depende
nt library tree
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\auto\DBD\mysql\mysql.bs
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\auto\DBD\mysql\mysql.dll
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\auto\DBD\mysql\mysql.exp
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\auto\DBD\mysql\mysql.lib
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\auto\DBD\mysql\mysql.pdb
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\Bundle\DBD\mysql.pm
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\DBD\mysql.pm
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\DBD\mysql\GetInfo.pm
Installing E:\perl\site\lib\DBD\mysql\INSTALL.pod
PPM>

Change to the maatkit directory on your USB key, and prepare it for installation:

E:\maatkit-4047> e:\perl\bin\perl Makefile.PL
Checking if your kit is complete...
Looks good
Writing Makefile for maatkit
E:\maatkit-4047>

I
know this really didn't do much, but it's a good check to make sure all
dependancies have been met. Don't install maatkit at this point! You
don't need to.

Now, take your USB key to the workstation and
plug it in. Once it has been recognized, open a command prompt by going
to the start button, click run, then enter cmd into the dropdown box.
Navigate to the your maatkit\bin directory.

I really needed mk-find for my task. Here's how to run mk-find with portable Strawberry Perl:

F:\maatkit-4047\bin> f:\perl\bin\perl mk-find --help
mk-find searches for MySQL tables and executes actions, like GNU find.  The
default action is to print the database and table name.  For more details,
please use the --help option, or try 'perldoc mk-find' for complete
documentation.

Usage: mk-find [option]... [database...]

Options:

  --ask-pass          Prompt for a password when connecting to MySQL
  --case-insensitive  Specifies that all regular expression searches are
                      case-insensitive
  --charset       -A  Default character set
  --config            Read this comma-separated list of config files; if
                      specified, this must be the first option on the command
                      line
  --day-start         Measure times (for --mmin, etc) from the beginning of
                      today rather than from the current time
  --defaults-file -F  Only read mysql options from the given file
  --help              Show help and exit
  --host          -h  Connect to host
  --or                Combine tests with OR, not AND
  --password      -p  Password to use when connecting
  --port          -P  Port number to use for connection
  --[no]quote         Quotes MySQL identifier names with MySQL's standard
                      backtick character (default yes)
  --set-vars          Set these MySQL variables (default wait_timeout=10000)
  --socket        -S  Socket file to use for connection
  --user          -u  User for login if not current user
  --version           Show version and exit

F:\maatkit-4047\bin>

Nice, no errors! Since Maatkit isn't installed.

Lets try an example:

F:\maatkit-4047\bin> f:\perl\bin\perl mk-find -hmysqlserver -u user --ask-pass --print
Enter password:
`mysql`.`columns_priv`
`mysql`.`db`
`mysql`.`func`
`mysql`.`help_category`
`mysql`.`help_keyword`
`mysql`.`help_relation`
`mysql`.`help_topic`
`mysql`.`host`
`mysql`.`proc`
`mysql`.`procs_priv`
`mysql`.`tables_priv`
`mysql`.`time_zone`
`mysql`.`time_zone_leap_second`
`mysql`.`time_zone_name`
`mysql`.`time_zone_transition`
`mysql`.`time_zone_transition_type`
`mysql`.`user`

Another example:

F:\maatkit-4047\bin>f:\perl\bin\perl mk-find -hmysqlserver \ 
-u user --ask-pass --ctime +1 --engine MyISAM
Enter password:

`mysql`.`columns_priv`
`mysql`.`db`
`mysql`.`func`
`mysql`.`help_category`
`mysql`.`help_keyword`
`mysql`.`help_relation`
`mysql`.`help_topic`
`mysql`.`host`
`mysql`.`proc`
`mysql`.`procs_priv`
`mysql`.`tables_priv`
`mysql`.`time_zone`
`mysql`.`time_zone_leap_second`
`mysql`.`time_zone_name`
`mysql`.`time_zone_transition`
`mysql`.`time_zone_transition_type`
`mysql`.`user`

F:\maatkit-4047\bin>

Yet another example:

F:\maatkit-4047\bin> f:\perl\bin\perl mk-find -hmysqlserver \ 
-u user --ask-pass --printf "%T\t%D.%N\n"
Enter password:

1024    `mysql`.`columns_priv`
4972    `mysql`.`db`
1024    `mysql`.`func`
23988   `mysql`.`help_category`
90417   `mysql`.`help_keyword`
19909   `mysql`.`help_relation`
281940  `mysql`.`help_topic`
1024    `mysql`.`host`
4628    `mysql`.`proc`
1024    `mysql`.`procs_priv`
1024    `mysql`.`tables_priv`
1024    `mysql`.`time_zone`
1024    `mysql`.`time_zone_leap_second`
1024    `mysql`.`time_zone_name`
1024    `mysql`.`time_zone_transition`
1024    `mysql`.`time_zone_transition_type`
2472    `mysql`.`user`

I
can also report that mk-query-digest also worked without an error. I
can't show you the output to demonstrate, I just analyzed using
mk-query-digest using default settings to process the slow log of a
server. I'm sure most options will work, with the exception of daemon
mode since this is a windows workstation.

It's incredible the
flexibility Open Source tools gives a person. Portable Strawberry Perl
and now Portable Maatkit will be in my toolbox. Much thanks to the
Strawberry Perl and Maatkit teams!