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JM4
Asked: 2011-09-07 09:38:26 +0800 CST

Can I update MySQL through YUM repository without data loss/corruption? Should I be nervous?

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I do not have much experience with upgrading software on a Linux system but am of course familiar with 'yum update' commands. I am currently running a Media Temple DV 3.5 CentOS 5 server with MySQL 5.0.90 running. I want to upgrade to the latest (5.5) because I am looking to start using 'event schedulers', something not available until MySQL 5.1.

I have two respected repositories that are able to provide the yum software update but I am afraid that running the update on the repo could cause data loss, bad table manipulation/recreation, etc.

Any advice on this or past experience doing so?

(note, I would be usign remi and/or webtatic repos for reference to do the updates)

mysql yum update

2 Answers

  1. Not sure why this wasn't provided as an answer so here it is:

    The recommended approach is to upgrade to the next major version first. You should go from 5.0 -> 5.1 -> 5.5.

    As a general rule, to upgrade from one release series to another, go to the next series rather than skipping a series. To upgrade from a release series previous to MySQL 5.1, upgrade to each successive release series in turn until you have reached MySQL 5.1, and then proceed with the upgrade to MySQL 5.5. For example, if you currently are running MySQL 5.0 and wish to upgrade to a newer series, upgrade to MySQL 5.1 first before upgrading to 5.5, and so forth.

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  2. Best Answer

    If you're worried, you should do the upgrade process on some other box first, i.e., a dress rehearsal with QA testing. You can set up a staging box using a virtual machine and get the software looking like what you have on your production box. Then dump out your prod data and load it into staging, do the MySQL update and do some testing.

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