Using MySQL client applications

This article describes how to use MySQL client applications to access and manage your MySQL databases.

MySQL client applications

MySQL provides a GUI (graphical user interface) client application that you can use for database management. MySQL Workbench is an integrated tools environment that enables you to manage databases, run queries, and much more. It replaces the older MySQL GUI Tools application bundle, which is no longer actively developed.

MySQL Workbench is free to download and use. There are versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems.

Connecting to databases with MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench enables you to quickly connect to your MySQL databases. This article covers two methods:

• Direct connection: This method establishes a direct connection from your computer to the MySQL server.
  Before you can establish this type of connection, you must do two things:

  • Open a support ticket on the A2 Hosting Customer Portal at https://my.a2hosting.com. In the ticket, specify that you want to enable inbound access to MySQL port 3306 for your account.
  • Enable remote MySQL access for your IP address in cPanel. For information about how to do this, please see this article.
• SSH connection: This method uses SSH to establish a secure connection from your computer to the MySQL server.

Method #1: Direct connection

To configure a direct connection to MySQL, follow these steps:

1. Start MySQL Workbench.
2. From the workspace page, click the + icon next to MySQL Connections. The Setup New Connection dialog appears.
3. In the Connection Name text box, type a name for the connection.
4. In the Connection Method list box, select Standard (TCP/IP).
5. On the Parameters tab, in the Hostname text box, type example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.
6. Confirm that the Port text box is set to 3306.
7. In the Username text box, type one of the following usernames:
   • Your A2 Hosting (cPanel) account username: With this username, you can access all of the MySQL databases on your hosting account.
   • A MySQL database username you created in cPanel: With this username, you can access all of the MySQL databases for which the specified user has been granted privileges.
8. In the Default Schema text box, type the name of the MySQL database that you want to access. Alternatively, you can leave this text box blank to select the database later.

9. Click Test Connection, and then in the Password text box, type the password for the username you specified in step 7.
   

   To have MySQL Workbench remember your password, select the Save password in keychain check box.

10. Click OK.
    

    If you receive a connection warning about incompatible or nonstandard server versions, click Continue Anyway.
11. If the connection is successful, you receive a Successfully made the MySQL connection message. If you do not receive this message, check the values you specified in steps 4 to 9, and then try again.
12. Click OK. MySQL Workbench saves the new connection on the workspace page.
13. To open the connection, click it on the workspace page. You can now run queries, create tables, and more.

Method #2: SSH connection

MySQL Workbench enables you to connect securely to your MySQL databases using an SSH tunnel. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start MySQL Workbench.
2. From the workspace page, click the + icon next to MySQL Connections. The Setup New Connection dialog appears.
3. In the Connection Name text box, type a name for the connection.
4. In the Connection Method list box, select Standard (TCP/IP) over SSH.
5. In the SSH Hostname text box, type example.com:7822, where example.com represents your domain name.
6. In the SSH Username text box, type your A2 Hosting (cPanel) account username.
7. In the MySQL Hostname text box, type localhost.
8. Confirm that the MySQL Server Port text box is set to 3306.
9. In the Username text box, type one of the following usernames:
   • Your A2 Hosting (cPanel) account username: With this username, you can access all of the MySQL databases on your hosting account.
   • A MySQL database username you created in cPanel: With this username, you can access all of the MySQL databases for which the specified user has been granted privileges.
10. Click Test Connection. The Open SSH Tunnel dialog box appears.

11. In the Password text box, type your A2 Hosting (cPanel) account password.
    

    To have MySQL Workbench remember your password, select the Save password in keychain check box.
12. Click OK. The Connect to MySQL Server dialog box appears.

13. In the Password text box, type the password for the username you specified in step 9.
    

    To have MySQL Workbench remember your password, select the Save password in keychain check box.
14. Click OK. If the connection is successful, you receive a Connection parameters are correct message. If you do not receive this message, check the values you specified in steps 3 to 9, and then try again.
15. On the Setup New Connection dialog box, click OK.
16. You can now run queries, create tables, and more. For example, from the workspace page, under Open Connection to Start Querying, double-click the connection name you specified in step 3. MySQL Workbench connects to your account and displays your databases.

More Information

To download MySQL Workbench and view the online documentation, please visit http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/tools/workbench.