2.2.6.2 Setting Up Replication with Existing Data

When setting up replication with existing data, transfer the snapshot from the master to the slave before starting replication. The process for importing data to the slave depends on how you created the snapshot of data on the master.

Choose one of the following:

If you used mysqldump:

1. Start the slave, using the --skip-slave-start option so that replication does not start.

2. Import the dump file:

   shell> mysql < fulldb.dump

If you created a snapshot using the raw data files:

1. Extract the data files into your slave data directory. For example:

   shell> tar xvf dbdump.tar

   You may need to set permissions and ownership on the files so that the slave server can access and modify them.

2. Start the slave, using the --skip-slave-start option so that replication does not start.

3. Configure the slave with the replication coordinates from the master. This tells the slave the binary log file and position within the file where replication needs to start. Also, configure the slave with the login credentials and host name of the master. For more information on the CHANGE MASTER TO statement required, see Section 2.2.7, “Setting the Master Configuration on the Slave”.

4. Start the slave threads:

   mysql> START SLAVE;

After you have performed this procedure, the slave connects to the master and replicates any updates that have occurred on the master since the snapshot was taken. Error messages are issued to the slave's error log if it is not able to replicate for any reason.

The slave uses information logged in its master info log and relay log info log to keep track of how much of the master's binary log it has processed. From MySQL 8.0, by default, the repositories for these slave status logs are tables named slave_master_info and slave_relay_log_info in the mysql database. The alternative settings --master-info-repository=FILE and --relay-log-info-repository=FILE, where the repositories are files named master.info and relay-log.info in the data directory, are now deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Do not remove or edit these tables (or files, if used) unless you know exactly what you are doing and fully understand the implications. Even in that case, it is preferred that you use the CHANGE MASTER TO statement to change replication parameters. The slave uses the values specified in the statement to update the slave status logs automatically. See Section 5.4, “Replication Relay and Status Logs”, for more information.

Note

The contents of the master info log override some of the server options specified on the command line or in my.cnf. See Section 2.6, “Replication and Binary Logging Options and Variables”, for more details.

A single snapshot of the master suffices for multiple slaves. To set up additional slaves, use the same master snapshot and follow the slave portion of the procedure just described.