MySQL is a well-known open-source relational database management system
and one of the most popular web server solutions. It stores and structures data
in a meaningful manner, ensuring easy accessibility.
Docker is a set of platform-as-a-service products that support CI/CD
development. It allows users to develop and deploy applications inside virtual
environments, called containers. With a single image, Docker can boot up an
application with all its libraries and dependencies.
In this tutorial, learn how to deploy a MySQL Docker container and start
working with the containerized database.
Running a MySQL Docker Container
If you need to set up a database quickly and without using up too many
resources, deploying MySQL in a container is a fast and efficient solution.
This is only appropriate for small and medium-sized applications. Enterprise-level
applications would not find a MySQL Docker container sufficient for their
workload.
Using the Docker software for setting up your database is becoming increasingly
popular for small-scale apps. Instead of having a separate server for database
hosting, you can deploy a MySQL database container.
Multiple containers can run on your computer. The containers share the same
kernel and libraries of the host while packaging the deployed application or
software into single units. This makes the database extraordinarily lightweight
and fast to spin up.
Installing a MySQL Docker Container
Setting up a database in Docker is simply building a container based on a MySQL
image. Follow the steps outlined below to get your MySQL container up and
running.
Note: This tutorial assumes you already have Docker on your system. If you
don't have the software, take a look at one of our articles on how to install
Docker on CentOS, installing Docker on Ubuntu, or Docker guides for other
operating systems.
Step 1: Pull the MySQL Docker Image
1. Start by pulling the appropriate Docker image for MySQL. You can download a
specific version or opt for the latest release as seen in the following command:
sudo docker pull mysql/mysql-server:latest
If you want a particular version of MySQL, replace latest with the version
number.
2. Verify the image is now stored locally by listing the downloaded Docker
images:
sudo docker images
The output should include mysql/mysql-server among the listed images.
Step 2: Deploy the MySQL Container
1. Once you have the image, move on to deploying a new MySQL container with:
sudo docker run --name=[container_name] -d
[image_tag_name]
Replace [container_name] with the name of your choice. If you do not
provide a name, Docker generates a random one.
The -d option instructs Docker to run the container as a service in the
background.
Replace [image_tag_name] with the name of the image downloaded in
Step 1.
In this example, we create a container named mysql_docker with
the latest version tag:
sudo docker run --name=[container_name] -d
mysql/mysql-server:latest
2. Then, check to see if the MySQL container is running:
docker ps
You should see the newly created container listed in the output. It includes
container details, one being the status of this virtual environment. The status
changes from health: starting to healthy, once the setup is complete.
Step 3: Connect to the MySQL Docker Container
1. Before you can connect the MySQL server container with the host, you need to
make sure the MySQL client package is installed:
apt-get install mysql-client
2. Then, open the logs file for the MySQL container to find the generated root
password:
sudo docker logs [container_name]
For the mysql_docker container, we run:
sudo docker logs mysql_docker
3. Scroll through the output and find the line [Entrypoint] GENERATED ROOT
PASSWORD: , copy and paste the password in a notepad or text editor so you can
use it later.
4. Next, go to the bash shell of the MySQL container by typing:
sudo docker exec -it [container_name] bash
For the container created as an example, we run:
sudo docker -it mysql_docker bash
3. Provide the root password you copied from the logs file, when prompted. With
that, you have connected the MySQL client to the server.
4. Finally, change the server root password to protect your information:
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY
mysql>
'[newpassword]';
Replace [newpassword] with a strong password of your choice.
