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    Installing MySQL on Fedora: 9.7 or 8.4, and why it listens on every interface

    Fedora offers two MySQL versions but only one at a time, and its default behaviour differs from the two databases covered earlier.

    MySQL listening everywhere versus PostgreSQL and Valkey bound to loopback

    Two versions, and no 8.0

    Section titled “Two versions, and no 8.0”
    Terminal window
    dnf list --available "mysql*server*.x86_64" 2>/dev/null | grep -E "server"
    mysql-server.x86_64     9.7.2-1.fc45    fedora
    mysql8.4-server.x86_64  8.4.11-1.fc45   fedora
    You wantInstallVersionDownload / installed
    MySQL 9.x (default)mysql-server9.7.221.7 MiB / 125.5 MiB
    MySQL 8.4 LTSmysql8.4-server8.4.1119.3 MiB / 114.4 MiB

    There is no 8.0. For 8.0 you need MySQL’s own repository or a container.

    Installing 9.7

    Section titled “Installing 9.7”
    Terminal window
    sudo dnf install mysql-server
    mysqld --version
    /usr/libexec/mysqld  Ver 9.7.2 for Linux on x86_64 (Source distribution)

    Note the path: /usr/libexec/mysqld, not /usr/sbin/mysqld — the mysqld on your PATH is a wrapper.

    No initdb — just start it

    Section titled “No initdb — just start it”

    This is the opposite of PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL requires postgresql-setup --initdb; MySQL initializes its data directory on first start:

    Terminal window
    sudo systemctl enable --now mysqld
    systemctl is-active mysqld
    active

    Two units exist:

    Terminal window
    systemctl list-unit-files | grep mysqld
    mysqld.service     disabled   disabled
    [email protected]    disabled   disabled

    [email protected] is the multi-instance template.

    Verify — and there is no password

    Section titled “Verify — and there is no password”
    Terminal window
    sudo mysql -u root -e "select version();"
    version()
    9.7.2

    Inspect the accounts:

    Terminal window
    sudo mysql -u root -e "select user,host,plugin from mysql.user;"
    mysql.infoschema   localhost   caching_sha2_password
    mysql.session      localhost   caching_sha2_password
    mysql.sys          localhost   caching_sha2_password
    root               localhost   caching_sha2_password

    All local accounts, using caching_sha2_password (the MySQL 8 default, stronger than the old mysql_native_password).

    The difference that matters: 3306 on every interface

    Section titled “The difference that matters: 3306 on every interface”

    This is the biggest default-vs-default difference from PostgreSQL and Valkey:

    Terminal window
    ss -lntp | grep 3306
    LISTEN 0  4096   *:3306    *:*
    LISTEN 0  70     *:33060   *:*

    *:3306 is all interfaces, not loopback. Port 33060 is the X Protocol (another protocol since MySQL 8).

    Compare the three:

    ServiceDefault bindDefault auth
    PostgreSQL 18127.0.0.1:5432peer / ident, only the postgres user
    Valkey 9.1127.0.0.1:6379no password, but loopback only
    MySQL 9.7*:3306passwordless root, reachable from the network

    This lab box has a second layer — the firewall only opens:

    Terminal window
    sudo firewall-cmd --list-services
    dhcpv6-client mdns ssh

    3306 is not there, so nothing reaches it from outside. But do not rely on that: the moment someone runs firewall-cmd --add-port=3306/tcp “for convenience”, the service is exposed.

    Where the socket lives

    Section titled “Where the socket lives”
    Terminal window
    ss -lx | grep mysql
    /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock
    /var/lib/mysql/mysqlx.sock

    The location changed. Old scripts hardcoding /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock will not connect — it is now under the data directory.

    Running multiple versions

    Section titled “Running multiple versions”
    ApproachHowNote
    multi-instance[email protected] with distinct datadir / port / socketsame version, several instances
    vendor repositoryMySQL’s own yum repo ships 8.0 / 8.4 / 9.xcan coexist, switch manually
    containerspodman run -d -p 3307:3306 docker.io/library/mysql:8.0easiest, version on demand

    Containers are the most direct route for multiple versions:

    Terminal window
    podman run -d --name mysql80 -p 3307:3306 \
      -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret \
      docker.io/library/mysql:8.0

    Now 9.7 sits on 3306 locally and 8.0 on 3307. See Podman in practice.

    Everyday commands

    Section titled “Everyday commands”
    Terminal window
    sudo mysql -u root                      # interactive shell
    sudo mysql -u root -e "show databases;"
    sudo mysql -u root -e "create database app;"
    mysqladmin -u root status               # runtime status
    sudo systemctl restart mysqld

    Common traps

    Section titled “Common traps”
    SymptomCause
    cannot connect after installservice not started; systemctl start mysqld
    Access denied for user 'root'a password was set; add -p
    remote 3306 unreachablefirewall does not allow it (the service itself listens everywhere)
    old script fails on the socket pathsocket is /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock, not /run/mysqld/
    installing 8.4 alongside errorsthey conflict; use a container or the vendor repo
    mojibake with non-ASCII datacheck client charset; MySQL 8 defaults to utf8mb4
    Section titled “Related pages”