MySQL

Overview

MySQL is a widely used, open-source relational database known for its speed, ease of use, and strong community support. In Zenskar, you can use MySQL as a data source to import transactional, usage, or customer data for metering, billing, and analytical reporting.

Prerequisites

Create a dedicated read-only user in MySQL (recommended)

Create a dedicated read-only database user for replicating data. Alternatively, you may use an existing MySQL user in your database.

CREATE USER 'zenskar'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';

For CDC replication, grant appropriate permissions:

GRANT SELECT, RELOAD, SHOW DATABASES, REPLICATION SLAVE, REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* TO 'zenskar'@'%';

Enable binary logging on your MySQL server

You must enable binary logging for MySQL replication using CDC. Most cloud providers (AWS, GCP, etc.) provide easy one-click options for enabling the binlog on your source MySQL database.

If you are self-managing your MySQL server, configure your MySQL server configuration file with the following properties:

server-id                  = 223344
log_bin                    = mysql-bin
binlog_format              = ROW
binlog_row_image           = FULL
binlog_expire_logs_seconds  = 864000

Set up a MySQL data-source connector via Zenskar dashboard

1. Log into your Zenskar dashboard.
2. In the left side bar, click Usage > Data Sources.
3. In the top-right corner, click + ADD DATA SOURCE.
4. On the Add New Data Source page, configure the MySQL connector.
5. Click on the SAVE SOURCE button.

Connector configuration

General configuration

Connector configuration

• Refer the section on SSH tunneling for details on all SSH-related configuration parameters.
• Replication Method: select from Standard and Logical Replication (CDC). Refer the section on MySQL replication modes for more details.

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Note

You must allow inbound traffic from Zenskar IP addresses.

Addendum

MySQL replication modes

Change data capture (CDC)

Zenskar uses logical replication of the MySQL binlog to incrementally capture deletes. We recommend configure your MySQL source with CDC whenever possible, as it provides:

• A record of deletions, if needed.
• Scalable replication to large tables (1 TB and more).
• A reliable cursor not reliant on the nature of your data. For example, if your table has a primary key but doesn't have a reasonable cursor field for incremental syncing (i.e. updated_at), CDC allows you to sync your table incrementally.

Standard

Zenskar offers incremental replication using a custom cursor available in your source tables (e.g. updated_at). We generally recommend against this replication method, but it is well suited for the following cases:

• Your MySQL server does not expose the binlog.
• Your data set is small, and you just want snapshot of your table in the destination.

Connect with SSL or SSH Tunneling

SSL Modes

Here is a breakdown of available SSL connection modes:

• disable to disable encrypted communication between Zenskar and the source
• allow to enable encrypted communication only when required by the source
• prefer to allow unencrypted communication only when the source doesn't support encryption
• require to always require encryption. Note: The connection will fail if the source doesn't support encryption.
• verify-ca to always require encryption and verify that the source has a valid SSL certificate
• verify-fullto always require encryption and verify the identity of the source

Connect via SSH Tunnel

You can connect to a MySQL server via an SSH tunnel.

When using an SSH tunnel, you are configuring Zenskar to connect to an intermediate server (also called a bastion or a jump server) that has direct access to the database. Zenksar connects to the bastion and then asks the bastion to connect directly to the server.

To connect to a MySQL server via an SSH tunnel:

1. While setting up the MySQL source connector, from the SSH tunnel dropdown, select:

   1. SSH Key Authentication to use a private as your secret for establishing the SSH tunnel
   2. Password Authentication to use a password as your secret for establishing the SSH Tunnel

2. For SSH Tunnel Jump Server Host, enter the hostname or IP address for the intermediate (bastion) server that Zenskar will connect to.

3. For SSH Connection Port, enter the port on the bastion server. The default port for SSH connections is 22.

4. For SSH Login Username, enter the username to use when connecting to the bastion server.

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Note

This is the operating system username and not the MySQL username.

1. For authentication:
   1. If you selected SSH Key Authentication, set the SSH Private Key to the private key that you are using to create the SSH connection.
   2. If you selected Password Authentication, enter the password for the operating system user to connect to the bastion server.

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Note

This is the operating system password and not the MySQL password.

Generating a private key for SSH Tunneling

The connector expects an RSA key in PEM format. To generate this key:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -m PEM -f myuser_rsa

This produces the private key in pem format, and the public key remains in the standard format used by the authorized_keys file on your bastion host. The public key should be added to your bastion host to whichever user you want to use with Zenskar. The private key is provided via copy-and-paste to the Zenskar connector configuration screen, so it may log in to the bastion.