Installing MariaDB on the latest CentOS is one of those tasks that seems straightforward until you hit a snag with package repositories or configuration issues. Whether you’re setting up a development environment or deploying a production database server, understanding the proper installation process can save you hours of troubleshooting. This guide walks you through the complete installation process, covers common gotchas, and provides configuration examples to get your MariaDB instance running smoothly on CentOS Stream or CentOS 8/9.

Why MariaDB Over MySQL

Before diving into the installation, it’s worth understanding why MariaDB has become the go-to choice for many developers. Created by the original MySQL developers, MariaDB offers better performance, more storage engines, and enhanced security features. It’s also the default MySQL replacement in most Linux distributions, including RHEL and CentOS.

Feature	MariaDB	MySQL
Performance	Generally faster, optimized queries	Good performance, Oracle optimizations
Storage Engines	12+ engines including Aria, TokuDB	Limited to InnoDB, MyISAM
Licensing	GPL v2, fully open source	Dual license (GPL/Commercial)
Thread Pool	Available in all versions	Enterprise edition only

Installation Methods Overview

You’ve got three main approaches for installing MariaDB on CentOS:

• AppStream Repository – Default CentOS repos (usually older versions)
• MariaDB Official Repository – Latest stable releases with regular updates
• Source Compilation – Maximum customization but time-consuming

For most use cases, the official MariaDB repository is your best bet. It provides the latest stable versions with security patches and performance improvements.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Method 1: Using MariaDB Official Repository (Recommended)

First, let’s set up the official MariaDB repository. This ensures you get the latest stable version with ongoing updates.

# Create the MariaDB repository file
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mariadb.repo << EOF
[mariadb]
name = MariaDB
baseurl = https://rpm.mariadb.org/10.11/centos/\$releasever/\$basearch
gpgkey = https://rpm.mariadb.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-MariaDB
gpgcheck = 1
enabled = 1
EOF

# Import the GPG key
sudo rpm --import https://rpm.mariadb.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-MariaDB

# Update package cache
sudo dnf clean all
sudo dnf makecache

Now install MariaDB server and client:

# Install MariaDB server and client
sudo dnf install -y mariadb-server mariadb

# Start and enable MariaDB service
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status mariadb

Method 2: Using CentOS AppStream Repository

If you prefer using the default CentOS repositories (note: usually older versions):

# Install from default repos
sudo dnf install -y mariadb-server mariadb

# Start and enable the service
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Initial Security Configuration

The default MariaDB installation is pretty insecure. Running the security script is crucial, especially for production environments:

# Run the security installation script
sudo mysql_secure_installation

You'll be prompted to:

• Set a root password (choose a strong one)
• Remove anonymous users (recommended: yes)
• Disallow root login remotely (recommended: yes for production)
• Remove test database (recommended: yes)
• Reload privilege tables (recommended: yes)

Basic Configuration and Testing

Let's verify the installation and perform basic configuration:

# Connect to MariaDB as root
mysql -u root -p

# Check MariaDB version and status
MariaDB [(none)]> SELECT VERSION();
MariaDB [(none)]> SHOW STATUS;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Creating Your First Database and User

# Connect as root
mysql -u root -p

# Create a new database
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE myapp_db;

# Create a new user with permissions
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'myapp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password123';
MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON myapp_db.* TO 'myapp_user'@'localhost';
MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

# Verify the user was created
MariaDB [(none)]> SELECT User, Host FROM mysql.user WHERE User = 'myapp_user';
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Configuration File Customization

The main configuration file is located at /etc/my.cnf.d/mariadb-server.cnf. Here's a sample configuration for a development environment:

# Backup the original configuration
sudo cp /etc/my.cnf.d/mariadb-server.cnf /etc/my.cnf.d/mariadb-server.cnf.backup

# Edit the configuration file
sudo nano /etc/my.cnf.d/mariadb-server.cnf

Add these optimizations under the [mysqld] section:

[mysqld]
# Basic settings
bind-address = 127.0.0.1
port = 3306

# Performance tuning
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 256M
innodb_log_file_size = 64M
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 2
query_cache_size = 32M
query_cache_type = 1

# Connection settings
max_connections = 100
connect_timeout = 5
wait_timeout = 600
max_allowed_packet = 16M

# Logging
log_error = /var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log
slow_query_log = 1
slow_query_log_file = /var/log/mariadb/mariadb-slow.log
long_query_time = 2

Restart MariaDB to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart mariadb

Firewall Configuration

If you need remote access to your MariaDB instance, configure the firewall:

# Allow MariaDB through firewall (only if needed for remote access)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=mysql
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Or allow specific port
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=3306/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Check firewall status
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Service Won't Start

If MariaDB fails to start, check the logs:

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status mariadb -l

# Check MariaDB logs
sudo journalctl -u mariadb -f

# Check error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log

Can't Connect to Database

Common connection issues and solutions:

# Check if MariaDB is listening on the correct port
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :3306

# Test local connection
mysql -u root -p -h localhost

# Check user permissions
mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT User, Host, authentication_string FROM mysql.user;"

Performance Issues

Use these commands to diagnose performance problems:

# Check current configuration
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'innodb_buffer_pool_size';"

# Monitor active processes
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW PROCESSLIST;"

# Check slow queries
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Slow_queries';"

Real-World Use Cases and Examples

Web Application Stack

For a typical LAMP/LEMP stack setup, you might want to configure MariaDB for web applications:

# Create a WordPress database setup
mysql -u root -p << EOF
CREATE DATABASE wordpress_db CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'wp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'wp_secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress_db.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EOF

Development Environment

For development work, you might want less restrictive settings:

# Allow root remote access (development only!)
mysql -u root -p << EOF
CREATE USER 'root'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'dev_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'root'@'%' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EOF

Performance Benchmarking

Here's how to run basic performance tests using MariaDB's built-in tools:

# Install MySQL benchmark tools
sudo dnf install -y mariadb-test

# Run basic benchmark
mysqlslap --user=root --password --host=localhost --concurrency=20 --iterations=10 --create-schema=benchmark --query="SELECT BENCHMARK(1000000, ENCODE('hello','goodbye'));"

# More comprehensive test
mysqlslap --user=root --password --host=localhost --concurrency=50 --iterations=20 --number-of-queries=1000 --create="CREATE TABLE t1 (id INT, name VARCHAR(50));" --query="INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (1, 'test');" --delimiter=";" --create-schema=benchmark

Best Practices and Security Considerations

• Regular Updates - Keep MariaDB updated with security patches
• User Privileges - Follow the principle of least privilege for database users
• Network Security - Restrict network access when possible
• Backup Strategy - Implement regular automated backups
• Monitoring - Set up monitoring for performance and security events

Setting Up Automated Backups

# Create backup script
sudo tee /usr/local/bin/mariadb-backup.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/mariadb"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

mysqldump --all-databases --routines --triggers --single-transaction \
  --master-data=2 -u root -p > $BACKUP_DIR/full_backup_$DATE.sql

# Keep only last 7 days of backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "full_backup_*.sql" -mtime +7 -delete
EOF

# Make executable
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mariadb-backup.sh

# Add to crontab for daily backups at 2 AM
echo "0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/mariadb-backup.sh" | sudo crontab -

Integration with Development Tools

MariaDB works seamlessly with popular development frameworks. Here are connection examples:

PHP Connection Example

<?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "myapp_user";
$password = "secure_password123";
$dbname = "myapp_db";

try {
    $pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=$servername;dbname=$dbname;charset=utf8mb4", 
                   $username, $password, [
        PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
        PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
    ]);
    echo "Connected successfully";
} catch(PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}
?>

Python Connection Example

# pip install mysql-connector-python
import mysql.connector

config = {
    'user': 'myapp_user',
    'password': 'secure_password123',
    'host': 'localhost',
    'database': 'myapp_db',
    'charset': 'utf8mb4'
}

try:
    connection = mysql.connector.connect(**config)
    print("Connected to MariaDB successfully")
except mysql.connector.Error as err:
    print(f"Error: {err}")

Scaling and High Availability

For production environments requiring high availability, consider these options:

• Master-Slave Replication - For read scaling and backup
• Galera Cluster - For multi-master active-active clustering
• Load Balancing - Using tools like HAProxy or MaxScale

If you're planning to scale your database infrastructure, consider using dedicated hardware from MangoHost's dedicated servers for optimal performance, or start with their VPS solutions for development and testing environments.

Useful Resources and Next Steps

Once you have MariaDB running, explore these advanced topics:

• Official MariaDB Documentation
• MariaDB Knowledge Base and Tutorials
• MariaDB Server Source Code

Remember to monitor your database performance regularly and adjust configurations based on your specific workload requirements. MariaDB's flexibility and performance make it an excellent choice for everything from small web applications to large-scale enterprise deployments.

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