Installing MySQL on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 or Oracle Linux 9 can be done using the official MySQL RPM Bundle. In this guide, we will install MySQL Community Server 8.4.11 using RPM packages, initialize the database, start the MySQL service, secure the installation, and verify connectivity.

This article is based on a practical installation of MySQL 8.4.11 on an EL9-based server.

Environment

• Operating System: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 / Oracle Linux 9
• Architecture: x86_64
• MySQL Version: 8.4.11
• Installation Method: RPM Bundle
• Database Port: 3306
• MySQL Socket: /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock

---

1. Download the MySQL RPM Bundle

Download the MySQL 8.4.11 RPM Bundle from the official MySQL download page:Download MySQL

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 / Oracle Linux 9 (x86, 64-bit), RPM Bundle

The downloaded file will be similar to:

mysql-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm-bundle.tar

---

2. Extract the RPM Bundle

After downloading the bundle, extract it using tar:

tar -xvf mysql-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm-bundle.tar

This extracts the MySQL RPM packages.

The bundle contains several packages, including:

mysql-community-client-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-client-plugins-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-common-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-icu-data-files-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-libs-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-libs-compat-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
mysql-community-server-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

There are also debug, development, and test packages.

For a standard MySQL Server installation, you generally do not need to install all of the debug and test RPMs.

---

3. Install the Required RPM Packages

For a basic MySQL Server installation, install the packages in dependency order.

Install MySQL Common

rpm -ivh mysql-community-common-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Example output:

Verifying...                          ################################# [100%]
Preparing...                          ################################# [100%]
Updating / installing...
   1:mysql-community-common-8.4.11-1.e################################# [100%]

Install ICU Data Files

rpm -ivh mysql-community-icu-data-files-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Install Client Plugins

rpm -ivh mysql-community-client-plugins-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Install MySQL Libraries

rpm -ivh mysql-community-libs-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Install MySQL Client

rpm -ivh mysql-community-client-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Install MySQL Server

Finally, install the MySQL Server package:

rpm -ivh mysql-community-server-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

At this point, the MySQL Server software has been installed.

---

4. Verify the MySQL Systemd Service

Check the MySQL service:

systemctl status mysqld

Initially, the service may show:

mysqld.service - MySQL Server
Active: inactive (dead)

This means the software is installed but the MySQL service is not currently running.

---

5. Enable MySQL at System Startup

Enable the service so MySQL automatically starts after the operating system boots:

systemctl enable mysqld

You can verify the enabled state using:

systemctl is-enabled mysqld

Expected output:

enabled

---

6. Start MySQL Server

Start MySQL:

systemctl start mysqld

Then verify:

systemctl status mysqld

You should see:

Active: active (running)

---

7. Check the MySQL Initialization Log

After the first initialization, MySQL generates a temporary password for the root@localhost account.

You can check the MySQL log:

tail -300f /var/log/mysqld.log

A successful initialization contains messages similar to:

MySQL Server Initialization - start.
InnoDB initialization has started.
InnoDB initialization has ended.
A temporary password is generated for root@localhost
MySQL Server Initialization - end.

For example:

2026-10-02T07:45:35.705380Z 6 [Note] [MY-010454] [Server] A temporary password is generated for root@localhost: <TEMPORARY_PASSWORD>

Important: The temporary root password should be treated as sensitive information. Do not publish an actual production password in documentation, screenshots, or blog posts.

---

8. Verify MySQL Is Listening

The MySQL startup log should eventually show:

/usr/sbin/mysqld: ready for connections.
Version: '8.4.11'
socket: '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock'
port: 3306
MySQL Community Server - GPL

This confirms that MySQL is accepting connections on TCP port 3306.

MySQL X Plugin may also be enabled:

X Plugin ready for connections.
Bind-address: '::'
port: 33060

The traditional MySQL client connection uses port 3306.

---

9. Log In to MySQL

Connect using the MySQL client:

mysql -u root -p

Enter the temporary root password obtained from the MySQL error log.

A successful connection displays:

Welcome to the MySQL monitor.
Commands end with ; or \g.

Your MySQL connection id is 11
Server version: 8.4.11 MySQL Community Server - GPL

You can verify the server version:

SELECT VERSION();

Example:

+-----------+
| VERSION() |
+-----------+
| 8.4.11    |
+-----------+

---

10. Secure the MySQL Installation

MySQL provides the mysql_secure_installation utility:

mysql_secure_installation

The utility walks through several security-related configuration options.

During the installation, you may be asked to:

• Change the root password
• Remove anonymous users
• Disable remote root login
• Remove the test database
• Reload privilege tables

For a production environment, the recommended approach is generally to remove unnecessary anonymous access, restrict administrative access, and remove unused test objects.

Do not automatically select “No” for all options simply because the installation completed successfully. Review each option according to your security requirements.

---

11. Change the MySQL Root Password

During the first login, MySQL may report:

The existing password for the user account root has expired.
Please set a new password.

Set a new strong password when prompted.

You can also manage the root account directly from MySQL when required.

For example:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED BY 'Your_Strong_Password';

Use a strong password appropriate for your organization’s password policy.

---

12. MySQL Linux User

The MySQL RPM installation creates the operating-system mysql account.

You can verify it with:

id mysql

You may see something similar to:

uid=27(mysql) gid=27(mysql) groups=27(mysql)

If the mysql account already exists, do not run useradd again.

If you are creating a custom MySQL installation rather than using the RPM package, an account can be created with:

groupadd mysql
useradd -r -g mysql -s /bin/bash mysql

However, for an RPM-based installation, allow the MySQL package to create and manage the required system account.

---

13. Changing the MySQL OS User Shell

In some environments, administrators may need the MySQL operating-system account to have a login shell.

For example:

usermod -s /bin/bash mysql

Verify:

getent passwd mysql

Example:

mysql:x:27:27:MySQL Server:/var/lib/mysql:/bin/bash

Security consideration

A MySQL service account normally does not need interactive login access.

Therefore, changing the shell from:

/bin/false

to:

/bin/bash

should only be done when there is a specific administrative requirement.

For a production database server, keeping the service account non-interactive is generally preferable.

---

14. Verify the MySQL Service

Run:

systemctl status mysqld

You should see:

Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/mysqld.service; enabled)
Active: active (running)

You can also check whether MySQL is listening on port 3306:

ss -lntp | grep 3306

Example:

LISTEN ... 0.0.0.0:3306

---

15. Verify the Database From SQL

Connect:

mysql -u root -p

Then run:

SELECT VERSION();

SHOW DATABASES;

SELECT USER, HOST
FROM mysql.user;

You can also check the server status:

SHOW GLOBAL STATUS LIKE 'Threads_connected';

---

16. Important Production Considerations

A successful RPM installation is only the beginning of a production MySQL deployment.

Before putting the database into production, consider the following.

Firewall

If remote applications need to connect to MySQL, allow TCP port 3306 only from trusted application or management networks.

Avoid exposing MySQL directly to the public Internet.

Root Access

Avoid using the MySQL root account for applications.

Create application-specific accounts:

CREATE USER 'app_user'@'10.10.10.%'
IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword';

GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
ON application_db.*
TO 'app_user'@'10.10.10.%';

Use the minimum privileges required by the application.

Configuration

Review:

/etc/my.cnf

and configure parameters based on:

• Available memory
• CPU resources
• Storage performance
• Connection requirements
• Workload
• InnoDB buffer pool requirements
• Binary logging
• Replication requirements
• Backup requirements

Backup

A production database should have a tested backup and recovery strategy.

Possible approaches include:

• MySQL Enterprise Backup
• Logical backups
• Physical backups
• Replication-based recovery strategies

A backup should not be considered reliable until a restore has been successfully tested.

---

17. Complete Installation Summary

The basic installation sequence can be summarized as:

# Extract bundle
tar -xvf mysql-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm-bundle.tar

# Install required packages
rpm -ivh mysql-community-common-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh mysql-community-icu-data-files-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh mysql-community-client-plugins-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh mysql-community-libs-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh mysql-community-client-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh mysql-community-server-8.4.11-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

# Enable and start MySQL
systemctl enable mysqld
systemctl start mysqld

# Check status
systemctl status mysqld

# Check initialization log
tail -300 /var/log/mysqld.log

# Secure the installation
mysql_secure_installation

# Connect
mysql -u root -p

---

Conclusion

Installing MySQL 8.4.11 on RHEL 9 or Oracle Linux 9 using the RPM Bundle is straightforward when the required packages are installed in the correct dependency order.

The key steps are:

1. Download the official MySQL 8.4.11 RPM Bundle.
2. Extract the RPM packages.
3. Install the common, ICU, client plugin, library, client, and server packages.
4. Enable and start mysqld.
5. Retrieve the temporary root password from the MySQL log.
6. Run mysql_secure_installation.
7. Change the temporary root password.
8. Verify the MySQL version and connectivity.
9. Apply appropriate security, firewall, backup, and configuration settings before production use.

This procedure provides a clean foundation for subsequent activities such as MySQL replication, MySQL Enterprise Backup, monitoring, performance tuning, and DR implementation.

MySQL HeatWave, Properly Explained: Architecture, AutoML, and Lakehouse