Knowledge Base

How to enable remote access to MySQL/MariaDB server in Plesk?

Question

How to enable remote access to a MySQL/MariaDB database server in Plesk?

Answer

Warning: After enabling the access, all MySQL/MariaDB connections will be unencrypted. To make them encrypted, an SSL certificate is required. For that and additional steps check this link: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/using-encrypted-connections.html#using-encrypted-connections-server-side-configuration

Note: Make sure that MySQL/MariaDB port is not blocked by a firewall: How to open all ports on local server needed by Plesk automatically?

By default, Plesk administrator does not have remote access. It is recommended to create a new user that will be used for the remote connection. Though user admin can be used, too.

In order to enable remote access to a MySQL/MariaDB server follow the instructions below:

Plesk Obsidian for Linux:

Log into Plesk.
Go to Tools & Settings > Database Servers > Settings > click on the Local MySQL Settings link:
Select the Allow local MySQL server to accept external connections checkbox and click OK to apply changes:

Allow remote access to MySQL/MariaDB database server in Plesk for Linux and Plesk for Windows for a specific user:

Log into Plesk.
Go to Subscriptions > example.com > Databases > User Management > example_db_user.
Make sure that the Access control option is set to Allow remote connections from any host or to Allow remote connections from:
Connect to the server via SSH/RDP.
Open the MySQL/MariaDB configuration file in any text editor. The location of this file is:
- For Linux:
  - for CentOS/RHEL-based distributions:
    /etc/my.cnf
  - for Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:
    
    /etc/mysql/my.cnf
- For Windows:
  %plesk_dir%DatabasesMySQLmy.ini
Change/add bind-address parameter to:

bind-address = 0.0.0.0

0.0.0.0 means every IP address on the server. If it is required to bind to a specific IP address, specify this particular IP instead of 0.0.0.0

Note: Make sure that skip-networking parameter is not defined in MySQL/MariaDB configuration file.

Note: The bind-address directive may also be specified in the /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf file. If it is, make sure it is pointing to 0.0.0.0 instead of the loopback address.
Restart MySQL/MariaDB server:
- For Linux:
  
  # service mariadb restart || service mysql restart
- For Windows:
  
  Start Plesk Services Monitor > select MySQLXX or MariaDBXX (where XX is a version) > click Restart.