3.3.2.1 Installing the MySQL Cluster Manager Agent as a Windows Service

Important

Installation of the MySQL Cluster Manager agent as a service is recommended. However, you should not install MySQL NDB Cluster processes (ndb_mgmd.exe, ndbd.exe, ndbmtd.exe, mysqld.exe) as services on Windows hosts to be used as MySQL NDB Cluster nodes under management by MySQL Cluster Manager, since the MySQL Cluster Manager agent itself controls MySQL NDB Cluster nodes independently of the Windows Services application.

After installing the MySQL Cluster Manager Agent as a Windows service, you can start and stop the agent using the Windows Services application. The installation also configures the agent to start automatically whenever Windows starts, and to shut down safely whenever Windows shuts down.

Note

The Windows service can be used to control the running of MySQL Cluster Manager agents on a single host only. To shut down agents on multiple hosts, you can use the stop agents command in the MySQL Cluster Manager client.

The installation is performed using the command prompt (cmd.exe); as with installing or removing any Windows service, it must also be done as a user having sufficient permissions, such the system Administrator account. Follow these steps:

  • If the account you are currently using has Administrator privileges, you can simply start cmd.exe. Otherwise, you must run the command prompt program as the Administrator. To do this, first locate a shortcut to the command prompt. You can do this by typing cmd into the search box in the Windows Taskbar, and then select from the search results Command Prompt > Run as Administrator.

    If a Windows UAC dialog referring to cmd.exe appears, click Yes to allow the command prompt to run as Administrator and thus to continue. You should now have a command prompt window open on your desktop, running a session with Administrator privileges.

  • To install the MySQL Cluster Manager agent as a service, we use the SC CREATE command. This command allows us to specify a name for the service (for use with SC START and SC STOP or NET START and NET STOP commands), a display name (to be shown in the Services application), a startup mode (automatic or manual start), and a path to the executable to be run as a service. The path must also include any arguments needed by the program; in the case of MySQL Cluster Manager, mcmd.exe must be told where to find its configuration file by the --config option. Both of these paths must be absolute. Assume that you have installed MySQL Cluster Manager to the default location (C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Cluster Manager\mcm9.0.1), and that its configuration file is located in C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Cluster Manager\mcm9.0.1\; then, the following command installs MySQL Cluster Manager as a service named MCM, with the display name MySQL Cluster Manager 9.0.1:

    SC CREATE "MCM" DisplayName= "MySQL Cluster Manager 9.0.1" Start= "auto"
      BinPath= "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Cluster Manager\mcm9.0.1\bin\mcmd.exe 
      --config=\"C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Cluster Manager\mcm9.0.1\mcmd.conf\""

    This command can be quite long. For enhanced legibility, we have broken it across several lines, but you should always enter it on a single line, allowing it to wrap naturally. In addition, you should keep in mind that the spaces after the equal signs following the DisplayName, Start, and BinPath arguments are required.

Starting and stopping the MySQL Cluster Manager agent Windows service.  After installing the service successfully, you can start and stop the service manually, if the need arises, with the SC START and SC STOP commands.

C:\>SC START MCM
C:\>SC STOP MCM

Alternatively, use the NET START and NET STOP commands:

C:\Windows\system32>NET START MCM
C:\Windows\system32>NET STOP MCM

Once the service is installed, the MySQL Cluster Manager agent starts automatically whenever Windows is started. You can verify that the service is running with the Windows Task Manager (which can be searched and then run using the search box in the Windows Taskbar). Open the Task Manager, and switch to the Services tab if it is not already displayed. If the MySQL Cluster Manager agent is running, you can find it in the list of services under MCM in the Name, column and MySQL Cluster Manager 9.0.1 in the Description column.

You can also verify if the service is running using the Windows Services application(which can be searched and then run using the search box in the Windows Taskbar). The application also allows you to start, stop, or pause the MySQL Cluster Manager agent service manually using a GUI.

Note

When first installing the MySQL Cluster Manager agent as a service, the service is not started automatically until Windows is restarted. If you do not wish to restart Windows, then you must start the service manually using either SC START or NET START on the command line or the graphical control provided in the Windows Services application.

You can remove the service using the SC DELETE command and the name of the service—in this case MCM—that was used in the SC CREATE command. If the service is running at the time that SC DELETE is executed, the removal of the service takes effect the next time the service is stopped. In such a case, you must stop the previous instance of the service manually, and allow it to be removed, before you can reinstall the service.

Once you have installed the MySQL Cluster Manager agent and the service is running correctly, you are ready to connect to it using the MySQL Cluster Manager client. See Section 4.3, “Starting the MySQL Cluster Manager Client”, for information about how to do this.