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MySQL 5.4 Reference Manual :: 20 Connectors and APIs :: 20.1 MySQL Connector/ODBC :: 20.1.5 Connector/ODBC Examples :: 20.1.5.2 Step-by-step Guide to Connecting to a MySQL Database through Connector/ODBC
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20.1.5.2. Step-by-step Guide to Connecting to a MySQL Database through Connector/ODBC

A typical installation situation where you would install Connector/ODBC is when you want to access a database on a Linux or Unix host from a Windows machine.

As an example of the process required to set up access between two machines, the steps below take you through the basic steps. These instructions assume that you want to connect to system ALPHA from system BETA with a user name and password of myuser and mypassword.

On system ALPHA (the MySQL server) follow these steps:

  1. Start the MySQL server.

  2. Use GRANT to set up an account with a user name of myuser that can connect from system BETA using a password of myuser to the database test: 

    GRANT ALL ON test.* to 'myuser'@'BETA' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';

    For more information about MySQL privileges, refer to Section 5.5, “MySQL User Account Management”.

On system BETA (the Connector/ODBC client), follow these steps:

  1. Configure a Connector/ODBC DSN using parameters that match the server, database and authentication information that you have just configured on system ALPHA.

    Parameter Value Comment
    DSN remote_test A name to identify the connection.
    SERVER ALPHA The address of the remote server.
    DATABASE test The name of the default database.
    USER myuser The user name configured for access to this database.
    PASSWORD mypassword The password for myuser.

  2. Using an ODBC-capable application, such as Microsoft Office, connect to the MySQL server using the DSN you have just created. If the connection fails, use tracing to examine the connection process. See Section 20.1.4.8, “Getting an ODBC Trace File”, for more information.