7.7.1 Basic Steps for MySQL Server Deployment with Docker

Warning

The MySQL Docker images maintained by the MySQL team are built specifically for Linux platforms. Other platforms are not supported, and users using these MySQL Docker images on them are doing so at their own risk. See the discussion here for some known limitations for running these containers on non-Linux operating systems.

• Downloading a MySQL Server Docker Image

• Starting a MySQL Server Instance

• Connecting to MySQL Server from within the Container

• Container Shell Access

• Stopping and Deleting a MySQL Container

• Upgrading a MySQL Server Container

• More Topics on Deploying MySQL Server with Docker

Downloading a MySQL Server Docker Image

Important

For users of MySQL Enterprise Edition: A subscription is required to use the Docker images for MySQL Enterprise Edition. Subscriptions work by a Bring Your Own License model; see How to Buy MySQL Products and Services for details.

Downloading the server image in a separate step is not strictly necessary; however, performing this step before you create your Docker container ensures your local image is up to date. To download the MySQL Community Edition image, run this command:

docker pull mysql/mysql-server:tag

The tag is the label for the image version you want to pull (for example, 5.6, 5.7, 8.0, or latest). If :tag is omitted, the latest label is used, and the image for the latest GA version of MySQL Community Server is downloaded. Refer to the list of tags for available versions on the mysql/mysql-server page in the Docker Hub.

To download the MySQL Community Edition image from the Oracle Container Registry (OCR), run this command:

docker pull container-registry.oracle.com/mysql/mysql-server:tag

To download the MySQL Enterprise Edition image from the OCR, you need to first accept the license agreement on the OCR and log in to the container repository with your Docker client:

• Visit the OCR at https://container-registry.oracle.com/ and choose MySQL.

• Under the list of MySQL repositories, choose enterprise-server.

• If you have not signed in to the OCR yet, click the Sign in button on the right of the page, and then enter your Oracle account credentials when prompted to.

• Follow the instructions on the right of the page to accept the license agreement.

• Log in to the OCR with your Docker client (the docker command) using the docker login command:

  # docker login container-registry.oracle.com 
  Username: Oracle-Account-ID
  Password: password
  Login successful.

Download the Docker image for MySQL Enterprise Edition from the OCR with this command:

docker pull  container-registry.oracle.com/mysql/enterprise-server:tag

There are different choices for tag, corresponding to different versions of MySQL Docker images provided by the OCR:

• 8.0, 8.0.x (x is the latest version number in the 8.0 series), latest: MySQL 8.0, the latest GA

• 5.7, 5.7.y (y is the latest version number in the 5.7 series): MySQL 5.7

To download the MySQL Enterprise Edition image, visit the My Oracle Support website, sign in to your Oracle account, and perform these steps once you are on the landing page:

• Select the Patches and Updates tab.

• Go to the Patch Search region and, on the Search tab, switch to the Product or Family (Advanced) subtab.

• Enter “MySQL Server” for the Product field, and the desired version number in the Release field.

• Use the dropdowns for additional filters to select Description—contains, and enter “Docker” in the text field.

  The following figure shows the search settings for a MySQL Enterprise Edition image:

  

• Click the Search button and, from the result list, select the version you want, and click the Download button.

• In the File Download dialogue box that appears, click and download the .zip file for the Docker image.

Unzip the downloaded .zip archive to obtain the tarball inside (mysql-enterprise-server-version.tar), and then load the image by running this command:

docker load -i mysql-enterprise-server-version.tar

You can list downloaded Docker images with this command:

$> docker images
REPOSITORY           TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED             SIZE
mysql/mysql-server   latest              3157d7f55f8d        4 weeks ago         241MB

Starting a MySQL Server Instance

To start a new Docker container for a MySQL Server, use the following command:

docker run --name=container_name -d image_name:tag

The image name can be obtained using the docker images command, as explained in Downloading a MySQL Server Docker Image. The --name option, for supplying a custom name for your server container, is optional; if no container name is supplied, a random one is generated.

For example, to start a new Docker container for the MySQL Community Server, use this command:

docker run --name=mysql1 -d mysql/mysql-server:5.7

To start a new Docker container for the MySQL Enterprise Server with a Docker image downloaded from the OCR, use this command:

docker run --name=mysql1 -d container-registry.oracle.com/mysql/enterprise-server:5.7

To start a new Docker container for the MySQL Enterprise Server with a Docker image downloaded from My Oracle Support, use this command:

docker run --name=mysql1 -d mysql/enterprise-server:5.7

If the Docker image of the specified name and tag has not been downloaded by an earlier docker pull or docker run command, the image is now downloaded. Initialization for the container begins, and the container appears in the list of running containers when you run the docker ps command. For example:

$> docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                COMMAND                  CREATED             STATUS                              PORTS                NAMES
a24888f0d6f4   mysql/mysql-server   "/entrypoint.sh my..."   14 seconds ago      Up 13 seconds (health: starting)    3306/tcp, 33060/tcp  mysql1

The container initialization might take some time. When the server is ready for use, the STATUS of the container in the output of the docker ps command changes from (health: starting) to (healthy).

The -d option used in the docker run command above makes the container run in the background. Use this command to monitor the output from the container:

docker logs mysql1

Once initialization is finished, the command's output is going to contain the random password generated for the root user; check the password with, for example, this command:

$> docker logs mysql1 2>&1 | grep GENERATED
GENERATED ROOT PASSWORD: Axegh3kAJyDLaRuBemecis&EShOs

Connecting to MySQL Server from within the Container

Once the server is ready, you can run the mysql client within the MySQL Server container you just started, and connect it to the MySQL Server. Use the docker exec -it command to start a mysql client inside the Docker container you have started, like the following:

docker exec -it mysql1 mysql -uroot -p

When asked, enter the generated root password (see the last step in Starting a MySQL Server Instance above on how to find the password). Because the MYSQL_ONETIME_PASSWORD option is true by default, after you have connected a mysql client to the server, you must reset the server root password by issuing this statement:

mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Substitute password with the password of your choice. Once the password is reset, the server is ready for use.

Container Shell Access

To have shell access to your MySQL Server container, use the docker exec -it command to start a bash shell inside the container:

$> docker exec -it mysql1 bash
bash-4.2#

You can then run Linux commands inside the container. For example, to view contents in the server's data directory inside the container, use this command:

bash-4.2# ls /var/lib/mysql
auto.cnf    ca.pem	     client-key.pem  ib_logfile0  ibdata1  mysql       mysql.sock.lock	   private_key.pem  server-cert.pem  sys
ca-key.pem  client-cert.pem  ib_buffer_pool  ib_logfile1  ibtmp1   mysql.sock  performance_schema  public_key.pem   server-key.pem

Stopping and Deleting a MySQL Container

To stop the MySQL Server container we have created, use this command:

docker stop mysql1

docker stop sends a SIGTERM signal to the mysqld process, so that the server is shut down gracefully.

Also notice that when the main process of a container (mysqld in the case of a MySQL Server container) is stopped, the Docker container stops automatically.

To start the MySQL Server container again:

docker start mysql1

To stop and start again the MySQL Server container with a single command:

docker restart mysql1

To delete the MySQL container, stop it first, and then use the docker rm command:

docker stop mysql1

docker rm mysql1

If you want the Docker volume for the server's data directory to be deleted at the same time, add the -v option to the docker rm command.

Upgrading a MySQL Server Container

Important

• Before performing any upgrade to MySQL, follow carefully the instructions in Chapter 10, Upgrading MySQL. Among other instructions discussed there, it is especially important to back up your database before the upgrade.

• The instructions in this section require that the server's data and configuration have been persisted on the host. See Persisting Data and Configuration Changes for details.

Follow these steps to upgrade a Docker installation of MySQL 5.6 to 5.7:

• Stop the MySQL 5.6 server (container name is mysql56 in this example):

  docker stop mysql56

• Download the MySQL 5.7 Server Docker image. See instructions in Downloading a MySQL Server Docker Image; make sure you use the right tag for MySQL 5.7.

• Start a new MySQL 5.7 Docker container (named mysql57 in this example) with the old server data and configuration (with proper modifications if needed—see Chapter 10, Upgrading MySQL) that have been persisted on the host (by bind-mounting in this example). For the MySQL Community Server, run this command:

  docker run --name=mysql57 \
     --mount type=bind,src=/path-on-host-machine/my.cnf,dst=/etc/my.cnf \
     --mount type=bind,src=/path-on-host-machine/datadir,dst=/var/lib/mysql \
     -d mysql/mysql-server:5.7

  If needed, adjust mysql/mysql-server to the correct image name—for example, replace it with container-registry.oracle.com/mysql/enterprise-server for MySQL Enterprise Edition images downloaded from the OCR, or mysql/enterprise-server for MySQL Enterprise Edition images downloaded from My Oracle Support.

• Wait for the server to finish startup. You can check the status of the server using the docker ps command (see Starting a MySQL Server Instance for how to do that).

• Run the mysql_upgrade utility in the MySQL 5.7 Server container:

  docker exec -it mysql57 mysql_upgrade -uroot -p

  When prompted, enter the root password for your old MySQL 5.6 Server.

• Finish the upgrade by restarting the MySQL 5.7 Server container:

  docker restart mysql57

More Topics on Deploying MySQL Server with Docker

For more topics on deploying MySQL Server with Docker like server configuration, persisting data and configuration, server error log, and container environment variables, see Section 7.7.2, “More Topics on Deploying MySQL Server with Docker”.