The Manage Server Instances dialog enables you to create, delete, and manage server instances. The Connection tab of the wizard enables you to select a predefined connection to use for connecting to a server to be managed. It is also possible to connect to a remote server using an SSH connection.

Figure 9.1. Manage Server Instances Dialog

The System Profile tab of the wizard enables you to specify server-specific information. This is achieved primarily through selecting a Profile Template. A Profile Template contains standard information used in managing the server instance. The following Profile Templates are available:

After you select a profile, a number of default parameters will be set, including commands used to start and stop MySQL, commands to check server status, and the location of the my.ini or my.cnf configuration file.

Figure 9.2. Manage Server Instances Dialog

After an instance has been created, it can be launched by double-clicking its icon in the Server Administration panel of the Home page. This creates an Admin page, which has two main panels, Server Status and Configuration. The Configuration panel features multiple tabs: Startup, Configuration, Accounts, Connections, Variables, Data Dump, and Logs.