A MySQL server that is part of a MySQL Cluster differs in only one respect from a normal (non-clustered) MySQL server, in that it employs the NDBCLUSTER storage engine. This engine is also referred to simply as NDB, and the two forms of the name are synonymous.

To avoid unnecessary allocation of resources, the server is configured by default with the NDB storage engine disabled. To enable NDB, you must modify the server's my.cnf configuration file, or start the server with the --ndbcluster option.

For more information about --ndbcluster and other MySQL server options specific to MySQL Cluster, see Section 20.4.2, “MySQL Cluster-Related Command Options for mysqld”.

The MySQL server is a part of the cluster, so it also must know how to access an MGM node to obtain the cluster configuration data. The default behavior is to look for the MGM node on localhost. However, should you need to specify that its location is elsewhere, this can be done in my.cnf or on the MySQL server command line. Before the NDB storage engine can be used, at least one MGM node must be operational, as well as any desired data nodes.