MariaDB MySQL

Last updated on Dec 18, 2024

Prerequisites
Set up MySQL Binary Logs for Replication
- 1. Check if BinLog replication is already enabled
- 2. Enable BinLog replication
Whitelist Hevo’s IP Addresses
Create a Database User and Grant Privileges
- 1. Create a database user (Optional)
- 2. Grant privileges to the user
Specify MariaDB Connection Settings
Object and Query Mode Settings
Data Replication
Source Considerations
Limitations
Revision History

MariaDB is is a community-developed, commercially supported fork of the MySQL RDBMS, with the same database structure and indexes as MySQL.

You can ingest data from your MariaDB database using Hevo Pipelines and replicate it to a warehouse of your choice.

Getting Started

Setup

Data Sync

Prerequisites

The MariaDB server (not localhost) is running. To check this, enter the following command in your MariaDB instance:
```
sudo systemctl status mariadb
```
The status must show as Active: active (running).
The MySQL version is 5.5 or higher. To check this, enter the following command in your MariaDB instance:
```
mysql -- version
```
Binary Log (BinLog) replication is enabled, if Pipeline mode is BinLog.
Hevo’s IP addresses are whitelisted.
SELECT privileges are granted to the database user.

Note: We recommend that you create a database user for configuring your MariaDB MySQL Source in Hevo. However, if you already have one, refer to section Grant privileges to the user.
You are assigned the Team Administrator, Team Collaborator, or Pipeline Administrator role in Hevo, to create the Pipeline.

Perform the following steps to configure your MariaDB MySQL Source:

Set up MySQL Binary Logs for Replication

A binary log is a collection of log files that records information about data modifications and data object modifications made on a MySQL server instance. Typically binary logs are used for data replication and data recovery.

Hevo supports data ingestion for replication from MySQL servers via binary logs (BinLog). For this, binary logging must be enabled on your MySQL server. You can do this via the MySQL server configuration file or via server startup options to mysqld.

Follow these steps to set up BinLog replication:

1. Check if BinLog replication is already enabled

Open a secure MariaDB shell:
```
mysql -u username -p
```
Enter the password for the user:
Enter the command:
```
select @@log_bin;
```
If this statement returns a value of 1, BinLog is active. If value returned is 0, this means that BinLog is disabled. To enable it, follow the steps below.

2. Enable BinLog replication

Log in to your MariaDB server.
View your MariaDB server configuration:
```
sudo nano etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf
```
(This may be sudo nano /etc/my.cnf in some cases)

In the configuration file, ensure the following configurations are specified. If not specified, add them now.

 [mysqld]

 binlog_format=ROW
      
 binlog_row_image=FULL
      
 server-id=1
      
 expire_logs_days=3  -- The retention period (`expire_log_days`) can also be set in seconds by using the command: `binlog_expire_logs_seconds=259200`

 log_bin=/var/log/mysql/mysql-bin.log)
      
 log_slave_updates=1

 max_allowed_packet=16777216 -- The SQL statement that the server can accept from a client. It is specified in bytes.

Note: The log_slave_updates setting is required only if you are connecting a read replica. When it is set to 1, updates received by a replica server from a source server are logged to the replica’s own binary log.

Restart the MariaDB SQL server instance by entering the following command:
```
 sudo service mysql restart
```
After restart, log in to the MariaDB server to check BinLog again:
```
 SELECT @@log_bin;
```

The value returned is now 1, indicating that BinLog is active.

Note: The retention period should ideally be at least 72 hours (3 days). This helps Hevo ensure that no log-file is missed from being read, specially when Historical Data loading is enabled.

Read BinLog to understand how database replication works in MySQL.

The replication reference guide on MySQL’s documentation portal provides a complete reference of the options available for replication and binary logging.

Whitelist Hevo’s IP Addresses

Follow these steps to whitelist the Hevo IP address for your region and enable Hevo to connect to your MariaDB database:

Edit the MariaDB server configuration:

sudo vim etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf

Scroll to [mysqld] and add:
```
 bind-address = 0.0.0.0
```
Or
```
 bind-address = 10.2.7.152
```
(Check the Hevo IP address for your region)
Save the file.

Create a Database User and Grant Privileges

1. Create a database user (Optional)

Perform the following steps to create a database user in your MariaDB MySQL database:

Connect to your MariaDB MySQL database as an admin user with an SQL client tool, such as MySQL workbench.
Create a database user:
```
CREATE USER <username>@'%' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY '<password>';
```
Note: Replace the placeholder values in the command above with your own. For example, <username> with hevo.

2. Grant privileges to the user

The database user specified in the Hevo Pipeline must have the following global privileges:

SELECT
SUPER or (REPLICATION CLIENT and REPLICATION SLAVE)

Perform the following steps to set up these privileges:

Connect to your MariaDB MySQL database as an admin user with an SQL client tool, such as MySQL workbench.

Grant SELECT and REPLICATION privileges to the user:

GRANT SELECT, REPLICATION CLIENT, REPLICATION SLAVE ON *.* TO <username>@'%';

(Optional) View the grants for the user:
```
show grants for <username>@localhost;
```

Note: Replace the placeholder values in the commands above with your own. For example, <username> with hevo.

Specify MariaDB Connection Settings

Perform the following steps to configure MariaDB as a Source in Hevo:

Click PIPELINES in the Navigation Bar.
Click + CREATE PIPELINE in the Pipelines List View.
On the Select Source Type page, select MariaDB.

On the Configure your MariaDB Source page, specify the following:

MariaDB settings

Pipeline Name: A unique name for your Pipeline, not exceeding 255 characters.

Database Host: The MySQL host’s IP address or DNS.

The following table lists a few examples of MySQL hosts:

Variant	Host
Amazon RDS MySQL	mysql-rds-1.xxxxx.rds.amazonaws.com
Azure MySQL	mysql.database.windows.net
Generic MySQL	10.123.10.001 or mysql-replica.westeros.inc
Google Cloud MySQL	35.220.150.0

Note: For URL-based hostnames, exclude the http:// or https:// part. For example, if the hostname URL is http://mysql-replica.westeros.inc, enter mysql-replica.westeros.inc.

Database Port: The port on which your MariaDB MySQL server listens for connections. Default value: 3306.
Database User: The authenticated user who has the permissions to read tables in your database.
Database Password: The password for the database user.
Select an Ingestion Mode: The desired mode by which you want to ingest data from the Source. You can expand this section by clicking SEE MORE to view the list of ingestion modes to choose from. Default value: BinLog. The available ingestion modes are BinLog, Table, and Custom SQL.

Depending on the ingestion mode you select, you must configure the objects to be replicated. Refer to section, Object and Query Mode Settings for the steps to do this.

Note: For Custom SQL ingestion mode, all Events loaded to the Destination are billable.
Database Name: The database you want to load data from if the Pipeline mode is Table or Custom SQL.
Connection Settings
- Connect through SSH: Enable this option to connect to Hevo using an SSH tunnel, instead of directly connecting your MySQL database host to Hevo. This provides an additional level of security to your database by not exposing your MySQL setup to the public. Read Connecting Through SSH.
  
  If this option is disabled, you must whitelist Hevo’s IP addresses. Refer to the content for your MySQL variant for steps to do this.
Advanced Settings
- Load All Databases: Applicable for Pipelines with BinLog mode. If this option is enabled, Hevo loads the data from all databases on the selected host. If disabled, Hevo fetches the list of all the databases you have access to on the specified database host. From this list, you must select the databases you want to load data from.
- Load Historical Data: Applicable for Pipelines with BinLog mode. If this option is enabled, the entire table data is fetched during the first run of the Pipeline. If disabled, Hevo loads only the data that was written in your database after the time of creation of the Pipeline.
- Merge Tables: Applicable for Pipelines with BinLog mode. If this option is enabled, Hevo merges tables with the same name from different databases while loading the data to the warehouse. Hevo loads the Database Name field with each record. If disabled, the database name is prefixed to each table name. Read How does the Merge Tables feature work?.
- Include New Tables in the Pipeline: Applicable for all ingestion modes except Custom SQL.
  
  If enabled, Hevo automatically ingests data from tables created in the Source after the Pipeline has been built. These may include completely new tables or previously deleted tables that have been re-created in the Source.
  
  If disabled, new and re-created tables are not ingested automatically. They are added in SKIPPED state in the objects list, on the Pipeline Overview page. You can update their status to INCLUDED to ingest data. You can include these objects post-Pipeline creation to ingest data.
  
  You can change this setting later.

Click TEST CONNECTION. This button is enabled once you specify all the mandatory fields. Hevo’s underlying connectivity checker validates the connection settings you provide.
Click TEST & CONTINUE to proceed for setting up the Destination. This button is enabled once you specify all the mandatory fields.

Object and Query Mode Settings

Once you have specified the Source connection settings in Step 4 above, do one of the following:

For Pipelines with Table or BinLog mode:
1. On the Select Objects page, select the objects you want to replicate and click CONTINUE.
  
  Note: Each object represents a table in your database.
2. On the Configure Objects page, specify the query mode you want to use for each selected object.
For Pipelines with Custom SQL mode:
1. On the Provide Query Settings page, enter the custom SQL query to fetch data from the Source.
2. In the Query Mode drop-down, select the query mode, and click CONTINUE.

Data Replication

For Teams Created	Ingestion Mode	Default Ingestion Frequency	Minimum Ingestion Frequency	Maximum Ingestion Frequency	Custom Frequency Range (in Hrs)
Before Release 2.21	Table	15 Mins	15 Mins	24 Hrs	1-24
	Log-based	5 Mins	5 Mins	1 Hr	NA
After Release 2.21	Table	6 Hrs	30 Mins	24 Hrs	1-24
	Log-based	30 Mins	30 Mins	12 Hrs	1-24

Note: The custom frequency must be set in hours as an integer value. For example, 1, 2, or 3 but not 1.5 or 1.75.

Historical Data: In the first run of the Pipeline, Hevo ingests all available data for the selected objects from your Source database.
Incremental Data: Once the historical load is complete, data is ingested as per the ingestion frequency.

Additional Information

Read the detailed Hevo documentation for the following related topics:

Source Considerations

MySQL does not generate log entries for cascading deletes. So, Hevo cannot capture these deletes for log-based Pipelines.

Limitations

Hevo only fetches tables from the MySQL database. It does not fetch other entities such as functions, stored procedures, views, and triggers.

To fetch views, you can create individual Pipelines in Custom SQL mode. However, some limitations may arise based on the type of data synchronization, the query mode, or the number of Events. Contact Hevo Support for more details.
During the historical load, Hevo reads table definitions directly from the MySQL database schema, whereas for incremental updates, Hevo reads from the BinLog. As a result, certain fields, such as nested JSON, are parsed differently during historical and incremental loads. In the Destination tables, nested JSON fields are parsed as a struct or JSON during historical loads, but as a string during incremental loads. This leads to a data type mismatch between the Source and Destination data, causing Events to be sidelined.

To ensure JSON fields are parsed correctly during the historical load, you can apply transformations to every table containing nested JSON fields. Contact Hevo Support for more details.
Hevo Pipelines may fail to process transactions in the BinLog if the size of the transaction exceeds 4GB. This problem is due to a MySQL bug that affects the library used by Hevo to stream Events, resulting in ingestion failures. In such cases, Hevo attempts to restart the ingestion process from the beginning of the transaction, skipping already processed Events. If the problem of transaction processing persists and the BinLog remains stuck, contact Hevo Support for assistance.

Revision History

Refer to the following table for the list of key updates made to this page:

Date	Release	Description of Change
Dec-18-2024	NA	Updated the section, Limitations to add information about Hevo handling transaction failures in the BinLog due to a MySQL bug affecting transactions exceeding 4GB.
Jul-31-2024	NA	Updated section, Limitations to add information about Hevo reading table definitions differently during historical and incremental loads.
Apr-29-2024	NA	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to include more detailed steps.
Mar-05-2024	2.21	Added the Data Replication section.
Nov-03-2023	NA	Added section, Object and Query Mode Settings.
Oct-27-2023	NA	- Added subsection, Create a database user. - Updated subsection, Grant privileges to the user with the latest steps.
Jul-25-2023	NA	Updated section, Enable BinLog replication for more clarity.
Jun-26-2023	NA	Added section, Source Considerations.
Apr-21-2023	NA	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to add a note to inform users that all loaded Events are billable for Custom SQL mode-based Pipelines.
Mar-09-2023	2.09	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to mention about SEE MORE in the Select an Ingestion Mode section.
Dec-19-2022	2.04	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to add information that you must specify all fields to create a Pipeline.
Dec-07-2022	2.03	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to mention about including skipped objects post-Pipeline creation.
Dec-07-2022	2.03	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to mention about the connectivity checker.
Oct-13-2022	1.99	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to reflect the latest UI changes.
Jun-15-2022	NA	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings to remove information about connecting using SSL.
Apr-21-2022	1.86	Updated section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings.
Aug-09-2021	NA	Added a note in Step 3 of section, Enable BinLog replication.
Jul-26-2021	1.68	Added a note for the Database Host field.
Jul-12-2021	NA	Added section, Specify MariaDB Connection Settings.