Each MySQL Instance on a machine should have its own data directory. The location is specified using the --datadir= dir_name option. There are different methods of setting up a data directory for a new instance: Create a new data directory. Copy an existing data directory. The following discussion provides more detail about each method.

MySQL data directory stores the databases, tables, log files, and other essential elements that enable the functioning of the MySQL Server. When installing MySQL, you can explicitly set the location for the data directory.

When installing MySQL, you can explicitly set the location for the data directory. If you use the default, the data directory location depends on the operating system where you install MySQL Server as illustrated in the following table: MySQL stores the location of the data directory in the MySQL configuration file (my.cnf or my.ini).

Typically, when setting up MySQL, the MySQL installer creates a user called mysql and assigns its home directory to the data directory, commonly found at /var/lib/mysql/. The mysql user is granted the appropriate permissions to access the directories and files in the data directory.