MySQL Database Replication and High Availability Training Course

Course overview

MySQL services that support customer applications, reporting workloads and operational systems cannot rely on a single database server without accepting avoidable outage, data-loss and maintenance risk. Database professionals need to decide where replication fits, configure it correctly, detect lag before it affects users, and execute a controlled failover when infrastructure or a source server fails. This course addresses the practical operational work behind resilient MySQL deployments, including the trade-offs between asynchronous replication, semi-synchronous replication and MySQL Group Replication.

Participants build and administer MySQL 8.0 replication topologies using binary logs, GTIDs, replication channels and relay logs. They configure source-replica replication, apply replication filters safely, diagnose common SQL and I/O thread failures, measure replication lag, and recover replicas from backup. The course also covers MySQL InnoDB Cluster, MySQL Router, automatic primary election, read-write routing, planned switchover, unplanned failover, backup validation and point-in-time recovery. By the end of the week, participants can select an appropriate high-availability design for a stated workload and document its operational runbook.

Teaching combines instructor-led technical walkthroughs with hands-on labs on multi-node MySQL environments. Participants work through replication breakages, inconsistent transactions, node loss, router routing behaviour and recovery scenarios using MySQL Shell and operational logs. Each participant leaves with a tested MySQL high-availability topology design, a configuration checklist, a failover and recovery runbook, and monitoring thresholds that can be adapted for their own environment.

The course is designed for database administrators, infrastructure engineers, platform engineers and senior developers who already work with MySQL and need to operate production-grade replicated or highly available database services.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure GTID-based MySQL source-replica replication using binary log and replication channel settings
• Build a multi-node MySQL InnoDB Cluster with MySQL Group Replication
• Route application read-write and read-only traffic through MySQL Router
• Diagnose replication lag, I/O thread failures and SQL applier errors using MySQL status and performance data
• Execute a planned switchover and an unplanned failover using documented recovery procedures
• Recover a failed replica from a physical backup and restore replication safely
• Design replication filters and retention settings that protect data consistency and recovery options
• Produce a MySQL high-availability architecture diagram, monitoring plan and failover runbook

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• MySQL Database Administrators — who configure, monitor and recover production database services
• Database Engineers — who design replication topologies and improve database resilience
• Site Reliability Engineers — who need repeatable database failover and incident-response procedures
• Platform Engineers — who provide highly available MySQL services for internal development teams
• Infrastructure Engineers — who support the servers, networks and storage underpinning MySQL clusters
• Senior Application Developers — who must understand connection routing, consistency and failover behaviour

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable administering MySQL from the command line and writing basic SQL queries, including SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and CREATE statements. Prior experience creating users, granting privileges, reviewing MySQL configuration files and using Linux shell commands is expected. Familiarity with InnoDB tables, transactions, indexes, backups and client-server networking will help participants progress quickly. A working understanding of DNS, TCP ports and service logs is useful. Prior replication or clustering experience is not required, and participants do not need Kubernetes, cloud-platform or advanced programming knowledge.

Training methodology

The instructor demonstrates each MySQL capability on a multi-node lab environment before participants configure and test it themselves. Labs move from binary-log inspection and GTID replication to Group Replication, MySQL Router routing and simulated component failures. Small groups analyse outage scenarios, choose recovery actions and compare asynchronous and quorum-based designs against stated availability requirements. Troubleshooting exercises use replication status output, error logs and MySQL Shell administration commands. The final session turns the completed lab into an organisation-ready architecture decision and failover runbook.

Course outline

Day 1: Replication foundations and topology design

• MySQL availability objectives: RPO, RTO and service-level trade-offs
• Binary logs, relay logs and the replication event lifecycle
• Source-replica terminology and MySQL 8.0 replication architecture
• Global transaction identifiers and GTID consistency requirements
• Binary log formats: row, statement and mixed logging implications
• Replication users, privileges, TLS and secure replication connections
• Topology patterns for read scaling, disaster recovery and maintenance

Workshop: Build a two-node GTID source-replica environment and produce a topology diagram identifying write paths, read paths and failure points.

Day 2: Administering and troubleshooting source-replica replication

• Configuring replication channels with CHANGE REPLICATION SOURCE TO
• Replica parallelism and multithreaded applier configuration
• Replication filters and their data-consistency risks
• Monitoring SHOW REPLICA STATUS and Performance Schema replication tables
• Measuring replication lag and interpreting Seconds_Behind_Source limitations
• Resolving duplicate-key, missing-row and schema-change replication failures
• Rebuilding replicas from backup and rejoining them with GTIDs

Workshop: Diagnose a deliberately broken replica, repair the underlying cause and document the evidence and recovery steps in an incident record.

Day 3: MySQL Group Replication and InnoDB Cluster

• Group Replication architecture, membership and quorum
• Single-primary and multi-primary mode selection
• InnoDB Cluster prerequisites and instance configuration
• Creating and administering clusters with MySQL Shell AdminAPI
• Primary election, member expulsion and automatic rejoin behaviour
• Clone-based provisioning and distributed recovery
• Consistency settings, flow control and write conflict considerations

Workshop: Create a three-instance InnoDB Cluster with MySQL Shell and test member loss, primary election and node rejoin behaviour.

Day 4: Traffic routing, failover and recoverability

• MySQL Router architecture and bootstrap configuration
• Read-write and read-only routing ports
• Application connection handling during primary failover
• Planned switchover procedures and maintenance windows
• Unplanned failover decision criteria and split-brain prevention
• Physical backup strategy with MySQL Enterprise Backup concepts
• Binary log recovery and point-in-time recovery workflows

Workshop: Configure MySQL Router for an InnoDB Cluster, perform a planned primary switchover and validate application reconnection behaviour.

Day 5: Operationalising a production high-availability design

• Replication health monitoring metrics and alert thresholds
• Capacity planning for binary logs, relay logs and recovery storage
• Backup verification, restore testing and recovery evidence
• Security controls for replication accounts and administrative access
• Cross-site replication and latency-aware disaster recovery design
• High-availability architecture review against workload requirements
• Runbook structure for failover, rollback and post-incident review

Workshop: Complete a capstone failure simulation and produce a MySQL high-availability design, monitoring matrix and step-by-step failover runbook.

Tools & standards covered

MySQL Server 8.0, MySQL Shell, MySQL Router, MySQL Enterprise Backup

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions