Setting Up MariaDB MaxScale Binlog Proxy for backup/failover

 

Setting Up MariaDB MaxScale Binlog Proxy

MariaDB MaxScale Binlog Server is a replication proxy that acts as an intermediate master, storing binary logs and allowing replicas to fetch them. It enables scalable replication and fast recovery.

Step 1: Install MariaDB MaxScale

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install maxscale

On RHEL/CentOS:

sudo yum install maxscale

Verify Installation:

maxscale --version

Step 2: Configure MaxScale as a Binlog Proxy

Edit MaxScale's configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/maxscale.cnf

Add the following binlog replication settings:

[maxscale]

threads=4

[Replication-Monitor]

type=monitor

module=mariadbmon

servers=primary-db,replica-db1,replica-db2

user=maxscale

password=maxpass

monitor_interval=10000

auto_failover=true

[Binlog-Server]

type=service

router=binlogrouter

servers=primary-db

user=maxscale

password=maxpass

filestem=binlog

binlogdir=/var/lib/maxscale/binlogs

gtid_strict_mode=on

• binlogrouter acts as the binlog proxy.
• binlogdir stores the binlog files.

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

Step 3: Set Up Users on the Primary Database

Log in to your MariaDB primary database:
mysql -u root -p

Create a replication user for MaxScale:

CREATE USER 'maxscale'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'maxpass';

GRANT REPLICATION SLAVE, REPLICATION CLIENT ON *.* TO 'maxscale'@'%';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 4: Start and Enable MaxScale

sudo systemctl enable maxscale
sudo systemctl start maxscale
sudo systemctl status maxscale

Step 5: Configure Replica Servers to Use MaxScale

On each replica database, configure replication to fetch binlogs from MaxScale instead of the primary DB:

CHANGE MASTER TO

    MASTER_HOST='maxscale-server-ip',

    MASTER_PORT=3306,

    MASTER_USER='maxscale',

    MASTER_PASSWORD='maxpass',

    MASTER_LOG_FILE='binlog.000001',

    MASTER_LOG_POS=4;

START SLAVE;

Verify replication status:

SHOW SLAVE STATUS\G;

Conclusion

MariaDB MaxScale Binlog Proxy helps in:
Scalable replication without overloading the primary database.
Fast disaster recovery using binlog caching.
Automatic failover with minimal downtime.