2.3.3.4 MySQL Installer Product Catalog and Dashboard

This section describes the MySQL Installer product catalog and the dashboard.

Product Catalog

The product catalog stores the complete list of released MySQL products for Microsoft Windows that are available to download from MySQL Downloads . By default, and when an Internet connection is present, MySQL Installer updates the catalog daily. You can also update the catalog manually from the dashboard (described later).

An up-to-date catalog performs the following actions:

  • Populates the Available Products pane of the Select Products and Features step. This step appears when you select:

    • The Custom setup type during the initial setup.

    • The Add operation from the dashboard.

  • Identifies when product updates are available for the installed products listed in the dashboard.

The catalog includes all development releases (Pre-Release), general releases (Current GA), and minor releases (Other Releases). Products in the catalog will vary somewhat, depending on the MySQL Installer release that you download.

MySQL Installer Dashboard

The MySQL Installer dashboard is the default view that you see when you start MySQL Installer after the initial setup finishes. If you closed MySQL Installer before the setup was finished, MySQL Installer resumes the initial setup before it displays the dashboard.

Figure 2.11 MySQL Installer Dashboard Elements

Content is described in the surrounding text.

Description of MySQL Installer Dashboard Elements
  1. MySQL Installer dashboard operations provide a variety of actions that apply to installed products or products listed in the catalog. To initiate the following operations, first click the operation link and then select the product or products to manage:

    • Add: This operation opens the Select Products and Features page. From there, you can filter the product in the product catalog, select one or more products to download (as needed), and begin the installation. For hints about using the filter, see Locating Products to Install.

      Use the directional arrows to move each product from the Available Products column to the Products/Features To Be Installed column. Click + to show the feature tree. Some features are enabled by default, as the following figure shows.

      Figure 2.12 Select Products and Features

      Content is described in the surrounding text.

      Note

      For MySQL Server versions 8.0.20 (and earlier), 5.7, and 5.6, the account you use to run MySQL Installer may not have adequate permission to install the server data files and this can interrupt the installation because the ExecSecureObjects MSI action cannot be executed. To proceed, deselect the Server Data Files feature before attempting to install the server again.

    • Modify: Use this operation to add or remove the features associated with installed products. Features that you can modify vary in complexity by product. When the Program Shortcut check box is selected, the product appears in the Start menu under the MySQL group.

    • Upgrade: This operation loads the Select Products to Upgrade page and populates it with all the upgrade candidates. An installed product can have more than one upgrade version and requires a current product catalog.

      Important server upgrade conditions:

      • MySQL Installer does not permit server upgrades between major release versions or minor release versions, but does permit upgrades within a release series, such as an upgrade from 5.7.18 to 5.7.19.

      • Upgrades between milestone releases (or from a milestone release to a GA release) are not supported. Significant development changes take place in milestone releases and you may encounter compatibility issues or problems starting the server.

      • For upgrades to MySQL 8.0.16 server and higher, a check box enables you to skip the upgrade check and process for system tables, while checking and processing data dictionary tables normally. MySQL Installer does not prompt you with the check box when the previous server upgrade was skipped or when the server was configured as a sandbox InnoDB cluster. This behavior represents a change in how MySQL Server performs an upgrade (see What the MySQL Upgrade Process Upgrades ) and it alters the sequence of steps that MySQL Installer applies to the configuration process.

        If you select Skip system tables upgrade check and process. (Not recommended), MySQL Installer starts the upgraded server with the --upgrade=MINIMAL server option, which upgrades the data dictionary only. If you stop and then restart the server without the --upgrade=MINIMAL option, the server upgrades the system tables automatically, if needed.

        The following information appears in the Log tab and log file after the upgrade configuration (with system tables skipped) is complete:

        WARNING: The system tables upgrade was skipped after upgrading MySQL Server. The
        server will be started now with the --upgrade=MINIMAL option, but then each
        time the server is started it will attempt to upgrade the system tables, unless
        you modify the Windows service (command line) to add --upgrade=MINIMAL to bypass
        the upgrade.
        
        FOR THE BEST RESULTS: Run mysqld.exe --upgrade=FORCE on the command line to upgrade
        the system tables manually.

      To choose a new product version:

      1. Click Upgrade. Confirm that the check box next to product name in the Upgradeable Products pane has a check mark. Deselect the products that you do not intend to upgrade at this time.

        Note

        For server milestone releases in the same release series, MySQL Installer deselects the server upgrade and displays a warning to indicate that the upgrade is not supported, identifies the risks of continuing, and provides a summary of the steps to perform a logical upgrade manually. You can reselect server upgrade at your own risk. For instructions on how to perform a logical upgrade with a milestone release, see Logical Upgrade.

      2. Click a product in the list to highlight it. This action populates the Upgradeable Versions pane with the details of each available version for the selected product: version number, published date, and a Changes link to open the release notes for that version.

      MySQL Installer upgrades all of the selected products in one action. Click Show Details to view the actions performed by MySQL Installer.

    • Remove: This operation opens the Remove Products page and populates it with the MySQL products installed on the host. Select the MySQL products you want to remove (uninstall) and then click Execute to begin the removal process. During the operation, an indicator shows the number of steps that are executed as a percentage of all steps.

      To select products to remove, do one of the following:

      • Select the check box for one or more products.

      • Select the Product check box to select all products.

      To remove a local MySQL server:

      1. Determine whether the local data directory should be removed. If you retain the data directory, another server installation can reuse the data. This option is enabled by default (removes the data directory).

      2. If the local server is a member of an InnoDB cluster, reconfigure the cluster as follows:

        1. Type the administrator password for the cluster affected when the local server is removed and then click Test Connection to verify the credentials. MySQL Installer can perform the following actions, depending on the configuration of the existing cluster:

          • If the local server is a seed instance and the number of instances in the cluster is one, dissolve the cluster when you remove the local server.

          • If the local server is a seed instance and the number of instances in the cluster is greater than one, remove the instance from the cluster or dissolve the cluster when you remove the local server.

          • If the local server is a slave instance within the cluster and the number of instances in the cluster is greater than two, remove the local instance from the cluster. (A single slave instance within a cluster reverts to a seed instance automatically.)

          • If the local server is configured as a sandbox InnoDB cluster, remove all instances created for the sandbox server installation.

        2. When prompted, do one of the following:

          • Select an action to apply to the cluster and click Next.

          • Click Next without selecting an action. In most cases, MySQL Group Replication can manage the cluster when the local server becomes unavailable. A warning message reminds you that skipping the step may result in an inconsistent InnoDB cluster configuration.

      3. Click Execute to begin uninstalling the local server. Note that all products that you selected to remove are also uninstalled at this time.

      4. (Optional) Click the Log tab to display the current actions performed by MySQL Installer.

  2. The Reconfigure link in the Quick Action column next to each installed server loads the current configuration values for the server and then cycles through all configuration steps enabling you to change the options and values. You must provide credentials with root privileges to reconfigure these items. Click the Log tab to show the output of each configuration step performed by MySQL Installer.

    On completion, MySQL Installer stops the server, applies the configuration changes, and restarts the server for you. For a description of each configuration option, see Section 2.3.3.3.1, “MySQL Server Configuration with MySQL Installer”. Installed Samples and Examples associated with a specific MySQL server version can be also be reconfigured to apply new feature settings, if any.

  3. The Catalog link enables you to download the latest catalog of MySQL products manually and then to integrate those product changes with MySQL Installer. The catalog-download action does not perform an upgrade of the products already installed on the host. Instead, it returns to the dashboard and displays an arrow icon in the Version column for each installed product that has a newer version. Use the Upgrade operation to install the newer product version.

    You can also use the Catalog link to display the current change history of each product without downloading the new catalog. Select the Do not update at this time check box to view the change history only.

  4. The MySQL Installer About icon () shows the current version of MySQL Installer and general information about MySQL. The version number is located above the Back button.

    Tip

    Always include this version number when reporting a problem with MySQL Installer.

    In addition to the About MySQL information (), you can also select the following icons from the side panel:

    • License icon () for MySQL Installer.

      This product may include third-party software, used under license. If you are using a Commercial release of MySQL Installer, the icon opens the MySQL Installer Commercial License Information User Manual for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this Commercial release. If you are using a Community release of MySQL Installer, the icon opens the MySQL Installer Community License Information User Manual for licensing information, including licensing information relating to third-party software that may be included in this Community release.

    • Resource links icon () to the latest MySQL product documentation, blogs, webinars, and more.

  5. The MySQL Installer Options icon () includes the following tabs:

    • Product Catalog: Manages the daily automatic catalog updates. By default, catalog updates are scheduled at a fixed hour. When new products or product versions are available, MySQL Installer adds them to the catalog and then displays an arrow icon () next to the version number of installed products listed in the dashboard.

      Use this option to enable or disable automatic catalog updates and to reset the time of day when the MySQL Installer updates the catalog automatically. For specific settings, see the task named ManifestUpdate in the Windows Task Scheduler.

    • Connectivity Settings: Several operations performed by MySQL Installer require internet access. This option enables you to use a default value to validate the connection or to use a different URL, one selected from a list or added by you manually. With the Manual option selected, new URLs can be added and all URLs in the list can be moved or deleted. When the Automatic option is selected, MySQL Installer attempts to connect to each default URL in the list (in order) until a connection is made. If no connection can be made, it raises an error.

Locating Products to Install

MySQL products in the catalog are listed by category: MySQL Servers, Applications, MySQL Connectors, and Documentation. Only the latest GA versions appear in the Available Products pane by default. If you are looking for a pre-release or older version of a product, it may not be visible in the default list.

To change the default product list, click Add on the dashboard to open the Select Products and Features page, and then click Edit to open the filter dialog box (see the figure that follows). Modify the product values and then click Filter.

Figure 2.13 Filter Available Products

Filter by Text, Category, Age, Already Downloaded, and Architecture.

Reset one or more of the following values to filter the list of available products:

  • Text: Filter by text.

  • Category: All Software (default), MySQL Servers, Applications, MySQL Connectors, or Documentation (for samples and documentation).

  • Maturity: Current Bundle (appears initially with the full package only), Pre-Release, Current GA, or Other Releases.

    Note

    The Commercial release of MySQL Installer does not display any MySQL products when you select the Pre-Release age filter. Products in development are available from the Community release of MySQL Installer only.

  • Already Downloaded (the check box is deselected by default).

  • Architecture: Any (default), 32-bit, or 64-bit.

Upgrading MySQL Installer

MySQL Installer remains installed on your computer, and like other software, MySQL Installer can be upgraded from the previous version. In some cases, other MySQL software may require that you upgrade MySQL Installer for compatibility. This section describes how to identify the current version of MySQL Installer and how to upgrade MySQL Installer manually.

To locate the installed version of MySQL Installer:

  1. Start MySQL Installer from the search menu. The MySQL Installer dashboard opens.

  2. Click the MySQL Installer About icon (). The version number is located above the Back button.

To initiate an on-demand upgrade of MySQL Installer:

  1. Connect the computer with MySQL Installer installed to the internet.

  2. Start MySQL Installer from the search menu. The MySQL Installer dashboard opens.

  3. Click Catalog on the bottom of the dashboard to open the Update Catalog window.

  4. Click Execute to begin the process. If the installed version of MySQL Installer can be upgraded, you will be prompted to start the upgrade.

  5. Click Next to review all changes to the catalog and then click Finish to return to the dashboard.

  6. Verify the (new) installed version of MySQL Installer (see the previous procedure).