Cannot connect to MySQL at install time linux

[mrsharkbait]

Hi,
I am trying to install Alfresco 1.2 on a hosted linux VPS environment.  I am installing it via console.

MySQL 4.1 is set up and running fine, and I entered the password for the root user in MySQL.  When I entered the port information, I get:

Please enter the port for your MySQL database.

MySQL database Port [3306]: 

Warning: Unable to bind to the given port number. Please select another one.‍‍‍‍‍

Is the installer assuming that you must be root in order to install Alfresco?  In my VPS I cannot be "real" root.  I have also enabled remote connection to the database, but that doesn't seem to help.

Any help to get me over this hump is greatly appreciated; I really don't look forward to building it from src.

Eugene

[gavinc]

It probably means you already have a MySQL server running on your machine and using the default port of 3306.

You can either try a different port number during the Alfresco install to see if that works. If you do though, you will have to change the database URL to incude the port number. Have a look at the following wiki page for info on changing the database properties: http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Repository_Configuration

Alternatively, if you don't need the other MySQL server running on your machine stop that instance and try the installer again.

[mrsharkbait]

Ah, so the installer has an embedded MySQL!  I wish there was some doc telling me that.  Of course since I can't run the installer, I can't get to the docs  :?

Is there a way I can install Alfresco into an existing MySQL installation, without having to create yet another instance?  My web hosting company will certainly appreciate that.  Perhaps I can specify a different port number, then let it install everything, and migrate the tables to the existing installation, then get rid of the new one?  If so, what things do I need to look out for?

e

[gavinc]

Yes, you can use an existing database.

Once installed you can configure a custom repository.properties file (see http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Repository_Configuration) to point to your existing MySQL database.

All you'll need to do is create the database and the user you want to use for the alfresco tables and start the server. The server will create the tables for you when it starts.

Alternatively, it may be easier to take one of the zip/tar bundles rather than using the installer as those presume you already have a MySQL install.