This post is about deploying a TiDB database in a non-productive environment. I intend to try the features of Hybrid Transactional and Analytical Processing (HTAP) workloads of this open-source distributed SQL database. It was mind-blowing when I heard about the possibility of a database maintaining the scalability of a NoSQL database while keeping the ACID transactions of a relational database. Therefore, I will follow the procedure “Deploy a local test cluster” found on the official documentation for MacOS as below:
1- Download and install TiUP:
Command:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/install.sh | sh
Execution:
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ % whoami
brunotechdatabasket
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ % curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/install.sh | sh
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 7658k 100 7658k 0 0 5521k 0 0:00:01 0:00:01 --:--:-- 5525k
…
PATH
open a new terminal or source /Users/brunotechdatabasket/.zshrc to use it
Installed path: /Users/brunotechdatabasket/.tiup/bin/tiup
===============================================
Have a try: tiup playground
===============================================
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ %
2- Declare the global environment variable:
Command:
Note
After the installation, TiUP displays the absolute path of the corresponding Shell profile file. You need to modify ${your_shell_profile} in the following source command according to the path. In this case, ${your_shell_profile} is /Users/user/.zshrc from the output of Step 1.
source ${your_shell_profile}
Execution:
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ % source /Users/brunotechdatabasket/.zshrc (base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ %
3- Start the cluster in the current session:
If you want to start a TiDB cluster of the latest version with 1 TiDB instance, 1 TiKV instance, 1 PD instance, and 1 TiFlash instance, run the following command:
tiup playground
https://docs.pingcap.com/tidb/dev/quick-start-with-tidb#deploy-a-local-test-cluster
Command:
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ % tiup playground tiup is checking updates for component playground ...timeout(2s)! The component `playground` version is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/playground-v1.12.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 8.02 MiB / 8.02 MiB 100.00% 3.15 MiB/s Starting component `playground`: /Users/brunotechdatabasket/.tiup/components/playground/v1.12.0/tiup-playground Using the version v7.0.0 for version constraint "". If you'd like to use a TiDB version other than v7.0.0, cancel and retry with the following arguments: Specify version manually: tiup playground <version> Specify version range: tiup playground ^5 The nightly version: tiup playground nightly Playground Bootstrapping... Start pd instance:v7.0.0 The component `pd` version v7.0.0 is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/pd-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 48.81 MiB / 48.81 MiB 100.00% 40.68 MiB/s Start tikv instance:v7.0.0 The component `tikv` version v7.0.0 is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/tikv-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 30.99 MiB / 30.99 MiB 100.00% 39.25 MiB/s Start tidb instance:v7.0.0 The component `tidb` version v7.0.0 is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/tidb-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 64.47 MiB / 64.47 MiB 100.00% 42.09 MiB/s Waiting for tidb instances ready 127.0.0.1:4000 ... Done The component `prometheus` version v7.0.0 is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/prometheus-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 96.82 MiB / 96.82 MiB 100.00% 39.32 MiB/s download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/grafana-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 47.24 MiB / 47.24 MiB 100.00% 39.39 MiB/s Start tiflash instance:v7.0.0 The component `tiflash` version v7.0.0 is not installed; downloading from repository. download https://tiup-mirrors.pingcap.com/tiflash-v7.0.0-darwin-amd64.tar.gz 72.75 MiB / 72.75 MiB 100.00% 9.50 MiB/s Waiting for tiflash instances ready 127.0.0.1:3930 ... Done CLUSTER START SUCCESSFULLY, Enjoy it ^-^ To connect TiDB: mysql --comments --host xxxx --port 4000 -u root -p xxxxxxx To view the dashboard: http://xxxxxx:2379/dashboard PD client endpoints: [xxxx:2379] To view the Prometheus: http://xxxxx:9090 To view the Grafana: http://xxxxx:3000
Note to “CLUSTER START SUCCESSFULLY, Enjoy it ^-^”. And to my surprise, after the creation of the cluster is possible to connect to both Prometheus and Grafana dashboards besides the TiDB dashboard.
TiDB dashboard:
To view the dashboard: http://localIP
PDclientendpoints:2379/dashboard
Inside TiDB dashboard:
PDclientendpoints:2379/dashboard
Prometheus dashboard:
To view the Prometheus: http://PDclientendpoints:9090
Grafana login page:
To view the Grafana: http://PDclientendpoints:3000
As the cluster was successfully started, I want to connect to it via “mysql –comments –host 127.0.0.1 –port 4000 -u root -p (no password)” as below:
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP ~ % mysql --comments --host 127.0.0.1 --port 4000 -u root -p xxxx zsh: command not found: mysql
As I realized that I did not have the MySQL package, I executed the following command to install it “brew install mysql” which takes approximately 2-3 minutes to release the prompt as the execution below:
==> mysql
We've installed your MySQL database without a root password. To secure it run:
mysql_secure_installation
MySQL is configured to only allow connections from localhost by default
To connect run:
mysql -u root
To restart mysql after an upgrade:
brew services restart mysql
Or, if you don't want/need a background service you can just run:
/usr/local/opt/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe --datadir=/usr/local/var/mysql
After installing the MySQL package successfully, it is possible to connect to the TiDB cluster successfully:
(base) brunotechdatabasket@Brunos-MBP v1.12.0 % mysql --comments --host 127.0.0.1 --port 4000 -u root -p Enter password: Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MySQL connection id is 461 Server version: 5.7.25-TiDB-v7.0.0 TiDB Server (Apache License 2.0) Community Edition, MySQL 5.7 compatible Copyright (c) 2000, 2023, Oracle and/or its affiliates. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement. mysql>
*Note to “Server version: 5.7.25-TiDB-v7.0.0 TiDB Server (Apache License 2.0) Community Edition, MySQL 5.7 compatible”.
Also, it is possible to start a TiUP client to connect to TiDB as below by executing the command “tiup client” the output will start a session and create a view as below:
*The views expressed here are my own and do not represent those of my employer.*
Hello, I’m Bruno — a dual citizen of Brazil and Sweden. I bring a global perspective shaped by experiences in both South America and Europe, with a strong focus on collaboration and innovation across cultures. I am a Computer Scientist, PhD Candidate in Information and Communication Technologies, focusing on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and hold dual Master’s degrees in Data Science and Cybersecurity. With over fifteen years of international experience spanning Brazil, Hungary, and Sweden, I have collaborated with global organizations such as IBM, Playtech, and Oracle, as well as contributed remotely to projects across multiple regions. My professional interests include Databases, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Data Science, Data Engineering, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Programming, and Software Engineering, all driven by a deep passion for transforming data into strategic business value.