How to Replace MySQL with MariaDB

Overview

Replace MySQL with MariaDB

To replace the cPanel-provided MySQL installation with MariaDB, perform the following steps:

1. Run the following commands to back up your existing MySQL data:

   cp -Rf /var/lib/mysql /var/lib/mysql-old
   mv /etc/my.cnf /etc/my.cnf-old

2. Run the following commands to disable the MySQL RPM targets. cPanel & WHM will no longer handle MySQL updates, and the rpm.versions system will mark the associated MySQL RPMs as uninstalled.

   /scripts/update_local_rpm_versions --edit target_settings.MySQL50 uninstalled
   /scripts/update_local_rpm_versions --edit target_settings.MySQL51 uninstalled
   /scripts/update_local_rpm_versions --edit target_settings.MySQL55 uninstalled 
   /scripts/update_local_rpm_versions --edit target_settings.MySQL56 uninstalled

3. Run the following command to remove the existing MySQL RPMs from your server. This will leave a clean slate for the MariaDB installation.

   /scripts/check_cpanel_rpms --fix --targets=MySQL50,MySQL51,MySQL55,MySQL56

   You will see a message that is similar to the following output:

   [20130218.235953]    
   [20130218.235953]   The following RPMs are unneeded on your system and should be uninstalled:
   [20130218.235953]   MySQL51-devel.5.1.68-1.cp1136
   [20130218.235953]   MySQL51-test.5.1.68-1.cp1136
   [20130218.235953]   MySQL51-shared.5.1.68-1.cp1136
   [20130218.235953]   MySQL51-client.5.1.68-1.cp1136
   [20130218.235953]   MySQL51-server.5.1.68-1.cp1136
   [20130218.235953]   Removing 0 broken rpms: 
   [20130218.235953]   rpm: no packages given for erase
   [20130218.235953]   No new RPMS needed for install
   [20130218.235953]   Uninstalling unneeded rpms: MySQL51-devel MySQL51-test MySQL51-shared MySQL51-client MySQL51-server
   [20130219.000004]   Shutting down MySQL........ SUCCESS!

4. Run the following command to create a yum repository for MariaDB:

   vi /etc/yum.repos.d/MariaDB.repo

5. Enter the following contents for the /etc/yum.repos.d/MariaDB.repo file:

   [mariadb]
   name = MariaDB
   baseurl = http://yum.mariadb.org/VERSION/centos6-amd64/
   gpgkey=https://yum.mariadb.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-MariaDB
   gpgcheck=1

   Where VERSION represents the currently-available version of MariaDB. For example, if the current version is 5.5.40, then the MariaDB.repo file would contain:

   [mariadb]
   name = MariaDB
   baseurl = http://yum.mariadb.org/5.5.40/centos6-amd64/
   gpgkey=https://yum.mariadb.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-MariaDB
   gpgcheck=1

6. Use your preferred text editor to open the /etc/yum.conf file and remove php* and mysql* from the exclude line. The exclude line in your /etc/yum.conf file may appear similar to the following example:

   exclude=bind-chroot courier* dovecot* exim* filesystem httpd* mod_ssl* mydns* mysql* nsd* php* proftpd* pure-ftpd* ruby* spamassassin* squirrelmail*

7. Run the following commands to install MariaDB and restart the appropriate services: 

   yum install MariaDB-server MariaDB-client MariaDB-devel php-mysql
   /etc/init.d/mysql start
   mysql_upgrade
   /etc/init.d/mysql restart

8. Run the following command to rebuild EasyApache’s PHP to ensure that all PHP modules remain intact:

   /scripts/easyapache --build