$Id: README 43 2006-02-04 14:39:43Z dewitge $
MySQL Activity Report
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The mysqlard daemon collects MySQL(TM) performance data in a Round Robin
Database using rrdtool. rrdtool stores the data in a very compact way that will
not expand over time, and it presents useful graphs by processing the data to
enforce a certain data density.

The mysqlard package also contains example graphing, cron and php scripts who
are by default installed in the datadir (usually /var/lib/mysqlard).

The mysqlard daemon is distributed in tar.gz, rpm and srpm packages. It is
released under the Gnu General Public License version 2. The full license text
can be found in the COPYING file that should be included in this package.

Prerequisites:
- rrdtool : http://people.ee.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/rrdtool/
- MySQL : http://www.mysql.com

The latest version of the package is available at http://gert.sos.be/

Please read the INSTALL file if you're looking for installation instructions.

Configuration
-------------
Both the sample graphing script and the daemon start script use the
configuration script in the sysconfig directory (usually /etc/mysqlard.cnf)

Security
--------
The most safe way to configure the daemon is to create a mysql user that has
only USAGE permissions and no password. Configured like this, you don't have
to put a plain text password in any of the config files or php files.
Run the following command in the MySQL shell to add a monitoring user without
a password who can only connect from localhost :
GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO mysqlar@localhost;

If you don't want the daemon to run as root, you can also add a special system
user with a locked account to run the daemon. You'll have to edit the daemon
server script and add a "su - marduser" to the daemon start command, and make
sure the datadir is writeable for this user.
However, the danger of running this daemon as root is minimal because it
doesn't create files, read files, listen to sockets, etc.