From the MySQL download site, you can download the MySQL Server 5.1.38 and up, containing an additional, upgraded version of InnoDB with additional features beyond the built-in InnoDB provided by MySQL. You can configure your server to use the InnnoDB Plugin rather than the built-in InnoDB, to take advantage of the extra features and performance enhancements in the Plugin. The InnoDB Plugin for MySQL is licensed under the same license that MySQL uses (GPLv2). It is available at no charge for use and can be freely redistributed, subject to the same requirements of the GPL as is MySQL itself (see the GNU General Public License, version 2). Limited support is available for the InnoDB Plugin for MySQL at http://forums.innodb.com. You may also report bugs in the InnoDB Plugin using the MySQL bug database.

In many environments, the InnoDB plugin can dynamically be added to a MySQL instance without relinking the MySQL server. The plugin version of InnoDB then “takes over” from the statically linked InnoDB that is part of the mysqld binary. In other environments, it is currently necessary to build the entire MySQL server, including the InnoDB plugin, from source code.

On Linux, Unix and Windows, it is a simple matter of installing the InnoDB Plugin for MySQL using the MySQL command INSTALL PLUGIN. When the InnoDB Plugin for MySQL is installed, it replaces the statically-linked version of InnoDB that is incorporated in the MySQL binary as distributed by MySQL AB.

On platforms where the dynamic plugin is not available, users must download the source code for the InnoDB Plugin for MySQL and build MySQL from source. Building from source also facilitates the distribution of a MySQL server where the InnoDB Plugin is already “installed”, so all users of an organization can use the new capabilities without the INSTALL step. The procedure for building from source code is documented in Section 9.4, “Building the InnoDB Plugin from Source Code”.

Full instructions are provided in Chapter 9, Installing the InnoDB Plugin.