5.8.2.2 Starting Multiple MySQL Instances as Windows Services

Approach 1: Specify the options for all services in one of the standard option files. To do this, use a different service name for each server. Suppose that you want to run the 5.5.9 mysqld using the service name of mysqld1 and the 8.0.19 mysqld using the service name mysqld2. In this case, you can use the [mysqld1] group for 5.5.9 and the [mysqld2] group for 8.0.19. For example, you can set up C:\my.cnf like this:

# options for mysqld1 service
[mysqld1]
basedir = C:/mysql-5.5.9
port = 3307
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe1

# options for mysqld2 service
[mysqld2]
basedir = C:/mysql-8.0.19
port = 3308
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe2

Install the services as follows, using the full server path names to ensure that Windows registers the correct executable program for each service:

C:\> C:\mysql-5.5.9\bin\mysqld --install mysqld1
C:\> C:\mysql-8.0.19\bin\mysqld --install mysqld2

To start the services, use the services manager, or NET START or SC START with the appropriate service names:

C:\> SC START mysqld1
C:\> SC START mysqld2

To stop the services, use the services manager, or use NET STOP or SC STOP with the appropriate service names:

C:\> SC STOP mysqld1
C:\> SC STOP mysqld2

Approach 2: Specify options for each server in separate files and use --defaults-file when you install the services to tell each server what file to use. In this case, each file should list options using a [mysqld] group.

With this approach, to specify options for the 5.5.9 mysqld, create a file C:\my-opts1.cnf that looks like this:

[mysqld]
basedir = C:/mysql-5.5.9
port = 3307
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe1

For the 8.0.19 mysqld, create a file C:\my-opts2.cnf that looks like this:

[mysqld]
basedir = C:/mysql-8.0.19
port = 3308
enable-named-pipe
socket = mypipe2

Install the services as follows (enter each command on a single line):

C:\> C:\mysql-5.5.9\bin\mysqld --install mysqld1
           --defaults-file=C:\my-opts1.cnf
C:\> C:\mysql-8.0.19\bin\mysqld --install mysqld2
           --defaults-file=C:\my-opts2.cnf

When you install a MySQL server as a service and use a --defaults-file option, the service name must precede the option.

After installing the services, start and stop them the same way as in the preceding example.