1.2 Choosing an Installation Package

For MySQL 5.7, there are multiple installation package formats to choose from when installing MySQL on Windows.

Note

Program Database (PDB) files (with file name extension pdb) provide information for debugging your MySQL installation in the event of a problem. These files are included in ZIP Archive distributions (but not MSI distributions) of MySQL.

• MySQL Installer: This package has a file name similar to mysql-installer-community-5.7.24.0.msi or mysql-installer-commercial-5.7.24.0.msi, and utilizes MSIs to automatically install MySQL server and other products. It will download and apply updates to itself, and for each of the installed products. It also configures the installed MySQL server (including InnoDB Cluster Sandbox test setups) and MySQL Router.

  MySQL Installer can install and manage (add, modify, upgrade, and remove) many other MySQL products, including:

  • Applications – MySQL Workbench, MySQL for Visual Studio, MySQL Notifier, MySQL for Excel, MySQL Utilities, MySQL Shell, MySQL Router

  • Connectors – MySQL Connector/C, MySQL Connector/C++, MySQL Connector/NET, Connector/ODBC, MySQL Connector/Python, MySQL Connector/J, MySQL Connector/Node.js

  • Documentation – MySQL Manual (PDF format), samples and examples

  Note

  As of MySQL 5.7.8, MySQL Installer no longer includes debugging binaries/information components (including PDB files). These are available in a separate ZIP archive named mysql-VERSION-winx64-debug-test.zip for 64-bit and mysql-VERSION-win32-debug-test.zip for 32-bit.

  MySQL Installer operates on all MySQL supported versions of Windows (see http://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/database.html).

  Note

  Because MySQL Installer is not a native component of Microsoft Windows and depends on .NET, it will not work on minimal installation options like the "Server Core" version of Windows Server 2008.

  For instructions on installing MySQL using MySQL Installer, see Section 1.3, “MySQL Installer for Windows”.

• The noinstall ZIP Archives: These packages contain the files found in the complete installation package, with the exception of the GUI. This format does not include an automated installer, and must be manually installed and configured.

  Note

  As of MySQL 5.7.6, noinstall ZIP archives are split into two separate compressed files. The main package is named mysql-VERSION-winx64.zip for 64-bit and mysql-VERSION-win32.zip for 32-bit. This contains the components needed to use MySQL on your system. The optional MySQL test suite, MySQL benchmark suite, and debugging binaries/information components (including PDB files) are in a separate compressed file named mysql-VERSION-winx64-debug-test.zip for 64-bit and mysql-VERSION-win32-debug-test.zip for 32-bit.

  Before MySQL 5.7.6, a single noinstall ZIP archive contained both the main and debugging files.

MySQL Installer is recommended for most users.

Your choice of install package affects the installation process you must follow. If you choose to use MySQL Installer, see Section 1.3, “MySQL Installer for Windows”. If you choose to install a noinstall ZIP archive, see Section 1.5, “Installing MySQL on Microsoft Windows Using a noinstall ZIP Archive”.