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How do you host an Mysql database that can be accessed by different websites on a cloud, such as google drive and ubuntu one. Is it even possible to do this? If so how is it done, because so many businesses that use Mysql databases start up on a cloud. Can it be done for free?

user2884344
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  • There's Always Free Cheese In A Mousetrap. Do you really think somebody will provide you with servers/space/power/clouds for free? Also, you're mixing up database storage files and database engine, files can be stored in google drive, but engine is executable - it will not run – Iłya Bursov Oct 15 '13 at 22:30
  • because it is not a server in common sense, it is just storage, you just cannot run anything in storage server's memoryspace – Iłya Bursov Oct 15 '13 at 22:32
  • "can be accessed by different web sites on a cloud" doesn't really come close to explaining what you are actually wanting the server to be able to do. – Michael - sqlbot Oct 15 '13 at 22:56
  • @Michael-sqlbot I mean how do you host the database on the cloud and access it from other websites and applications. – user2884344 Oct 15 '13 at 23:06
  • I think you should give a try to www.freemysqlhost.com – Lavneet Jul 26 '14 at 07:36

2 Answers2

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There are two primary ways of setting up a cloud-hosted MySQL database: either you set up a cloud-hosted virtual server and install MySQL Server on it... or you set up a cloud-hosted, managed, MySQL-only service, which gives you access to the MySQL server component, but not to the underlying operating system, which is maintained by the service provider.

http://aws.amazon.com/free/ explains the free tier service offering from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is the cloud hosting provider that I use. The Relational Database Service (RDS) offers a small ("micro") MySQL server with 640 MB of RAM and 20 GB or hard drive space for no monthly charge for the first 12 months. After the first year, that server will cost you $18.75/month. Servers with substantially more capacity are also available at monthly prices that increase with memory and hard drive storage space... but you only pay for what you use for as long as you use it. If you start up a large server and then shut it down almost immediately, for example, you'd only pay for the hours that it was running.

You can also get complete servers, not just the MySQL component, for deploying your applications, web servers, etc. In AWS, that service is called Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

Beyond something very small like the offerings in the AWS free tier, you are not going to get anything "free."

You access such a server the same way you access any MySQL server: over TCP, either over the Internet (using SSL if you care about security) or over a virtual private network (VPN).

Michael - sqlbot
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  • Can you migrate an existing mysql db (that is on my localhost) to an RDS instance? – Riley Fitzpatrick Feb 04 '19 at 23:01
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    @RileyFitzpatrick yes. You can load a dump file from thr existing server and optionally configure the RDS instance as a replica of the external (non-RDS) MySQL server, until you are ready to shut down the external traffic and promote the RDS instance. I haven't needed it, but I believe the relatively new [AWS Database Migration Service](https://aws.amazon.com/dms/) can also automate and manage a lot of this. – Michael - sqlbot Feb 04 '19 at 23:15
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    I have a very simple database (a couple of MBs in total), and $18/month feels like too much for my demands. Is there a more affordable option that you could recommend? – Šime Vidas Mar 31 '19 at 22:52
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Re: the alternatives comment, outside of Amazon RDS, there is also ScaleGrid, Compose, and Azure Database that provide managed MySQL hosting solutions. All are fully managed with varying capabilities and offer free trials. Any free plan will be very limited, and are usually designed for dev/test environments.

You can compare MySQL providers here to see the different benefits of each. Disclaimer - I work at ScaleGrid.

Kristi Anderson
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