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MariaDB

What is MariaDB?​

MariaDB is a free, open-source database management system (DBMS) that originated as a fork of MySQL. It was founded by the original developers of MySQL after Oracle acquired MySQL, with the goal of providing a fully open alternative.

MariaDB is designed to be highly compatible with MySQL while offering additional features, performance improvements, and a commitment to remaining open source. It's widely used for web applications, data warehousing, and enterprise applications.

Creating a MariaDB database​

You can deploy a MariaDB database in your mittwald hosting environment using containers. There are several main approaches:

Using Terraform (Recommended)​

The most convenient way to deploy a MariaDB database is using Terraform. The following example shows how to use a MariaDB container in your own Terraform deployment:

variable "mariadb_password" {
  type      = string
  sensitive = true
}

variable "mariadb_root_password" {
  type      = string
  sensitive = true
}

data "mittwald_container_image" "mariadb" {
  image = "mariadb:lts-ubi9"
}

resource "mittwald_container_stack" "mariadb" {
  project_id    = mittwald_project.example.id
  default_stack = true

  containers = {
    mariadb = {
      description = "MariaDB Database Server"
      image       = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.image
      entrypoint  = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.entrypoint
      command     = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.command

      environment = {
        MARIADB_DATABASE      = "mydatabase"
        MARIADB_USER          = "myuser"
        MARIADB_PASSWORD      = var.mariadb_password
        MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD = var.mariadb_root_password
      }

      volumes = [
        {
          volume = "mariadb_data"
          mount_path = "/var/lib/mysql"
        },
        {
          project_path = "/files/mariadb-backups"
          mount_path = "/mnt"
        }
      ]

      ports = [
        {
          container_port = 3306
          public_port    = 3306
          protocol       = "tcp"
        }
      ]
    }
  }

  volumes = {
    mariadb_data = {}
  }
}

You can also use the random_password resource to generate a password dynamically. Note that in this case you should also store this password securely in a secret manager, as it will not be retrievable afterwards.

resource "random_password" "mariadb_password" {
  length = 24
}

resource "random_password" "mariadb_root_password" {
  length = 24
}

data "mittwald_container_image" "mariadb" {
  image = "mariadb:lts-ubi9"
}

resource "mittwald_container_stack" "mariadb" {
  project_id    = mittwald_project.example.id
  default_stack = true

  containers = {
    mariadb = {
      description = "MariaDB Database Server"
      image       = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.image
      entrypoint  = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.entrypoint
      command     = data.mittwald_container_image.mariadb.command

      environment = {
        MARIADB_DATABASE      = "mydatabase"
        MARIADB_USER          = "myuser"
        MARIADB_PASSWORD      = random_password.mariadb_password.result
        MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD = random_password.mariadb_root_password.result
      }

      volumes = [
        {
          volume = "mariadb_data"
          mount_path = "/var/lib/mysql"
        },
        {
          project_path = "/files/mariadb-backups"
          mount_path = "/mnt"
        }
      ]

      ports = [
        {
          container_port = 3306
          public_port    = 3306
          protocol       = "tcp"
        }
      ]
    }
  }

  volumes = {
    mariadb_data = {}
  }
}

After creating the resource, you can access the MariaDB database from within your hosting environment via the URL mysql://mariadb:3306.

Using the mStudio UI​

Alternatively, you can set up a MariaDB container manually:

  1. Go to the Container menu item in your project in mStudio and create a new container. You can choose any name.

  2. Enter the image mariadb:lts-ubi9. You can keep the entrypoint and command as suggested.

Volumes​

To persistently store your MariaDB database data, define volumes under Volumes as follows:

  • Create new volume, on Path in Container (Mount Point): /var/lib/mysql (Stores the database data)
  • Project path /files/mariadb-backups, on Path in Container (Mount Point): /mnt (This path is used to store database dumps or backups)

Environment Variables​

Set the following environment variables for the container:

MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=my_root_password
MARIADB_DATABASE=mydatabase
MARIADB_USER=myuser
MARIADB_PASSWORD=mypassword

Ports​

Accept the suggested default port 3306.

Using CLI with mw container run​

You can also deploy a MariaDB container with the mittwald CLI and the mw container run command:

user@local $ mw container run \
  --name mariadb \
  --env MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=my_root_password \
  --env MARIADB_DATABASE=mydatabase \
  --env MARIADB_USER=myuser \
  --env MARIADB_PASSWORD=mypassword \
  --volume mariadb-data:/var/lib/mysql \
  --volume /files/mariadb-backups:/mnt \
  --publish 3306:3306/tcp \
  --create-volumes \
  mariadb:lts-ubi9

This command creates a new container named "mariadb" with the MariaDB image, sets all necessary environment variables and mounts volumes for persistent data storage.

Using CLI with mw stack deploy​

If you prefer Docker Compose, you can create a docker-compose.yml file and deploy it with the mw stack deploy command:

  1. Create a docker-compose.yml file with the following content:

    services:
      mariadb:
        image: mariadb:lts-ubi9
        environment:
          - MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=my_root_password
          - MARIADB_DATABASE=mydatabase
          - MARIADB_USER=myuser
          - MARIADB_PASSWORD=mypassword
        ports:
          - "3306:3306"
        volumes:
          - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
          - /files/mariadb-backups:/mnt
    volumes:
      mariadb_data:

  2. Deploy the stack with the CLI:

    user@local $ mw stack deploy

This approach is particularly useful when you want to deploy multiple containers that work together.

Accessing your container within your hosting environment​

Once the container is running, you can verify that the MariaDB instance is available. There are two main options:

Option 1: Direct access via container shell​

user@local $ mw container ssh mariadb
user@mariadb $ mysql -umyuser -p -hlocalhost mydatabase

Option 2: Port forwarding for local access​

user@local $ mw container port-forward mariadb 3306:3306

In a separate terminal, you can then connect locally:

user@local $ mysql -umyuser -P 3306 -p -hlocalhost mydatabase

With both options, you should be redirected to the MariaDB prompt where you can execute SQL commands.

Operations​

Your MariaDB data is backed up as part of regular project backups. However, for databases it is strongly recommended to create additional dumps to ensure consistency and recoverability.

A dump can be created directly in the container. Example command for a manual backup:

user@local $ mw container exec mariadb "mysqldump --column-statistics=0 --opt --no-tablespaces -u'myuser' -p'mypassword' 'mydatabase' > /mnt/mydatabase.sql"

The backup file will then be available in the project under /files/mariadb-backups/.

Automation is easily possible via cronjobs.

Further Resources​