How do I...Connect directly to my VM database from my desktop?

1. Enable remote login using the SSH protocol
2. Create a port forward to the remote machine
3. Connect with a MySQL client

When you install the MindTouch Deki VM, it comes with the MySQL database. You might want to administer this using a graphical database client. However, the server only accepts connections from the local machine. Using Secure Shell (SSH), it's easy to create a 'port forward' or 'SSH tunnel' so you can connect to a port on your local machine, and it will send your request directly to a port on the remote machine, as if you were on that machine itself.

(This also applies if you have MySQL installed on any remote SSH-accessible machine; even a Linux web host on the Internet!)

While this might sound difficult, it only takes three simple steps:

Enable remote login using the SSH protocol
Create a port forward to the remote machine
Connect with a MySQL client

Enable remote login using the SSH protocol

Follow the simple guide on how to enable SSH access to the Deki VM. Ensure you can log in via SSH before proceeding to the next step.

Create a port forward to the remote machine

If you are running the command-line SSH utility, you can connect like this:

ssh user@wiki-server -L 33060:localhost:3306

The -L option specifies that the local port (33060) should become a forward to a remote machine (localhost) on a remote port (3306, the default MySQL port). You can use SSH tunnels to access anything that you would be able to access if you were logged into that machine directly.

I have selected 33060 as the port as it is unlikely to be in use, even if you are running MySQL on your local machine. You can select any port you like.

Windows users using the PuTTY SSH client can set up port forwarding on a new or saved connection. From the left hand menu; select Connection, SSH, Tunnels. Enter in the source port (33060) and the local address, in hostname:port format (localhost:3306). Click Add, and then click Open to connect. (Tip: You can also dynamically add a port forward while you are connected to a site.)

Adding a port forward in PuTTY - remember to hit "Add"!

After hitting Add, click Open to connect as normal.

Connect with a MySQL client

TOAD for MySQL is a freeware, graphical MySQL client for Windows. (Mac users can try Sequel Pro.)

Install TOAD, then when you start it, create a new connection. Connect to the localhost server on port 33060 (the end of our tunnel), and enter your database username, password and name. (By default, the VM database is called 'wikidb', and has a user named 'root' with a password of 'password'. You should consider changing these if you are going to administer them remotely!)