Getting started with the Private SQL service

Last updated 2nd February 2018

Objective

With the Private SQL service, you can get an SQL instance that works hand-in-hand with an OVH web hosting plan, with dedicated, guaranteed resources. You can get even higher performance and flexibility on the database systems that are available, as well as those that you can create. This service is generally designed for customers with more specific requirements.

Learn how to get started with a Private SQL service.

Requirements

• You must have a Private SQL instance (included in web hosting plans, or available to order as an SQL option).
• You must have a web hosting plan hosted in the same datacentre as your Private SQL instance (you can view this information in your OVH Control Panel).
• You must be logged in to your OVH Control Panel.

Instructions

View general information on the instance

In the services bar on the left-hand side of your OVH Control Panel, go to the Databases section, then to the SQL instance concerned. Click on the General information tab.

You can also view important information on your SQL instance. Please take a few moments to ensure that the information displayed is correct, and corresponds to the instructions below.

Create a database

The database will store all of the data related to your website (e.g. for a blog, comments).

To create your first database, click on the Databases tab, then on the Add a database button.

When the window opens, you can create a user. You will need to create a user, as they will be able to log in to your instance - and with the permissions that are attributed to them, they can carry out requests on your database (like reading, inserting or deleting data).

You can create a user as you create your database, by ticking the Create User box - or you can create a user separately, and leave this box unticked. Tick the box for a quick, simple solution.

Enter the information requested now, following the instructions in the information boxes - then click Confirm.

• Database name (obligatory): this will be your database’s name.
• Username (optional if the box is unticked): the user that can log in to your database and perform requests.
• Rights (optional if the box is unticked): the permissions that will be associated with the user on the database. For standard usage, select Administrator. The permissions can be modified as follows.
• Password/Confirm password (optional if the box is unticked): select a password, then confirm it.

Create a user (optional)

This stage is optional if you have created a user whilst creating a database in the previous step. For standard usage, you will only need a single user. However, for more specific projects, you may need several users to access your database. For example, one user associated with a database can have read and write permissions, whilst another only has read permissions.

If you have already created your first user and the project doesn’t require any additional users, you can move to the following step. To create a user, you can also click on the Users and rights tab, then on the Add user button.

In the window that appears, enter the information requested now, following the instructions in the information boxes - then click Confirm.

• Username: the user that can log in to your instance. You can give them permissions on your database in the next step.
• Password/Confirm password: select a password, then confirm it.

Once you have created a user, you will need to attribute permissions that allow them to perform actions on your database (like reading, inserting or deleting data). To do this, click on the cog wheel icon, then Manage rights.

On the new page, select the permission by clicking on it. For standard usage, select Administrator.

Importing a database (optional)

This step only applies if you want to import a backup of a database that already exists (which is essential if you are migrating your website to OVH, or if you are migrating your databases to your new Private SQL instance). If you do not need to import any databases, you can move to the next step.

There are several techniques you can choose from to import a database. OVH offers a tool for this in its Control Panel. We will focus on this tool. To use another import method, please refer to our documentation.

Step 1: access a database import

Go to the Databases tab, click on the cog wheel icon, then Upload a file.

On the window that opens, tick the Import a new file box, then click Next.

Step 2: select and send the backup file

Enter a filename (which you can use to identify this backup at a later date if you wish to restore it again), then next to File (.gz), select the database backup file on your computer, then click Send.

Wait until the interface confirms that the file has been sent successfully, then click Next.

Step 3: launch the database importation

Finally, you can choose whether or not to apply the additional options displayed:

• Clear the current database: by ticking this box, the content currently stored in the database will be completely deleted, then replaced by your backup. In this case, assuming that the database is already empty, you can leave this box unticked.
• Send an email when the import is complete: by ticking this box, you will be sent an email notification when the database import is complete.

Link your website to the database

Now that you have created your database and created one or several users with access to it, you simply need to link your website to the database. You can use several methods to do this, depending on your website, the CMS you are using (WordPress, Joomla! etc.), or the stage you are at if you are setting up a website.

No matter which method you choose to follow, you must have the following 5 pieces of information to hand to ensure that you do this successfully:

• the database name: the name you entered when you created your database
• the username: the name of the user you entered when you created the database, or the name of an additional user that you created at a later stage
• the user password: the password associated with the user, which was defined during the previous steps
• server host name: the server that needs to be entered for your website to be connected to your database. You can access this information in your Control Panel by going to the Connections section, then the General information tab
• server port: the port for connecting to your Private SQL instance, so that your website can connect to your database. You can access this information in your Control Panel by going to the Connections section, then the General information tab.

At this stage, you can finalise your website setup or database migration on your new SQL instance.

Go further

Join our community of users on https://community.ovh.com/en/