Installing Confluence with MySQL Issues
Asked by Justin Metras:

Hi,

I'm sure this is an easy solution, but I'm stuck. I'm trying to install Confluence on a Linux server, with MySQL. I have installed Confluence and when I get to the installation section to select DB, I select MySQL and the NEXT is grayed out. I thought I uploaded the extracted .jar MySQL file to the right location but I can't get past the MySQL screen. I've stopped and restarted Confluence, a few times with no luck. Is it possible I'm uploading the MySQL connector to the wrong location?

Can anyone tell me where the installation is if my system is something like this: /home/ellumigl/xxxxxxx/atlassian-confluence-6.6.1-x64.bin ?

Thanks for the help!


Answers:
author: Shannon S
body: Hi Justin,

I've recorded a video so you can see where to put the MySQL Driver.

In the beginning of my video, you'll see a lot of different folders with the Confluence versions that I have installed on my system.

Watch once I go into the folder for the 6.6.0 version and I will show you where to put it:

* [Where to put MySQL Driver](http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cFV0I6o0vq)

**Steps**:

1. Stop Confluence.
2. Find the Confluence Installation Directory. This is where you extracted the Confluence installation file. It is different than Confluence home directory. See [Confluence Home and other important directories](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/confluence-home-and-other-important-directories-590259707.html) for more information.
3. Once inside the installation directory, you should see folders like in the 2nd screen, such as **bin** , **conf** , **confluence** , **lib**, etc.
4. Go into the folder called **confluence** , from there to **WEB-INF** , and then from there, into the folder called **lib**. You can watch the video for my example.
5. Drop the MySQL driver into the **lib** folder. My video above will also show you what other files are already there. It should only contain other **.jar** files.
6. Once you've added the driver, you can then start Confluence up again.

Can you give that a try, watch my video if you're unsure, and let me know if you have any trouble?

Regards,

Shannon

comments: author: Justin Metras
body: Shannon,

Thanks so much for the prompt answer and video! I am able to find that location, but I can't seem to put the file into that folder. It says the permissions are denied. I've tried unzipping the driver and only putting the .jar file inside, but same error. I've also increased the permissions to 0777 (was 0755 which should have been sufficient). This is on my webserver (dedicated server) so I've tried to put the file through Cpanel, through Filezilla and also through putty. When I try through putty, it tells me there is a break-in attempt and basically logs me out, even when I'm accessing through the root user.

Any thoughts?

Regards,

Justin


author: Shannon S
body: Justin,

You may want to check with your server administrators but what is the problem when you try to add through cPanel or Filezilla? And what is the exact error from Putty? I could try to do some research and see if there are any workarounds but I don't know how much I'll be able to help in that realm.

Using "sudo" in addition to root doesn't change how it reacts to you trying to add the file ?

Regards,

Shannon


author: Justin Metras
body: Shannon,

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I think I've tried doing about 8 different setups and each time fails. I just can't get past the database setup page. When I try to select MySQL, the next button is grayed out. I've checked the location of the file and it's where it is supposed to be. Is it possible that I'm supposed to rename the mysql driver so confluence recognizes it?

![database.jpg](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/14327i2FEA2053E823C51B/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "database.jpg")


author: Shannon S
body: Hi Justin,

You should leave the name as is.

Just to verify:

1. [Navigate to this driver download page](https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/file/?id=474258)
2. Download either the TAR or ZIP file, and extract it.
3. This will create a directory called **mysql-connector-java-5.1.45**. Navigate into this directory.
4. There, you will find a file called **mysql-connector-java-5.1.45-bin.jar**. I recommend leaving the file name as it is.
5. Drag this file into the location I let you know about earlier.

If you still have issues, can you let me know what permissions the user running Confluence has for that file? Your server admin may need to check for you. It should have read permissions at least.

Regards,

Shannon


author: Justin Metras
body: Shannon,

Yes, I did all the things you suggested. The user that can access the file/folder is either root or user. Confluence was installed with the root access.

Thanks,

Justin


author: Shannon S
body: Hi Justin,

The problem is, you're likely not using the root user to run Confluence.

If you used the .bin file to install Confluence, then each time it is started, it switches to the **confluence** account on your operating system.  
This is the account that probably does not have access to the .jar file.  
You can check this by requesting the output of the **start-confluence** command.  
In order to resolve that, you can either change the **\<confluence-install\>/bin/user.sh** script to use root instead of the **confluence** user, or change the permissions to **confluence** user for all files and folders.  
Have a look at this for more information on using a dedicated account to run Confluence, rather than using your root user:

* [Creating a Dedicated User Account on the Operating System to Run Confluence](https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/creating-a-dedicated-user-account-on-the-operating-system-to-run-confluence-255362445.html)

Regards,

Shannon


author: Justin Metras
body: Shannon,

I'm having a really hard time making this work, and I've tried a handful of installations. I was able to get the demo up in seconds, but when it comes to installing on our server, it's been issue after issue. Do you offer any installation services?

Thanks,

Justin


author: Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
body: Atlassian do not, but their partners do - see <https://www.atlassian.com/partners/search?page=1>