# How to manage many MySQL and MariaDB servers from one dashboard
> Manage multiple MySQL and MariaDB servers from one self-hosted dashboard: connect each server, see every database, schedule backups and query them all at once.
Source: https://fleetdock.dev/guides/manage-multiple-mysql-servers
Updated: 2026-11-04
To manage multiple MySQL and MariaDB servers from one place, install Fleetdock on one Linux
host and connect each database server to it, either through the Fleetdock agent or directly
with a host, port and admin login. Fleetdock then finds the databases on every server it can
log in to and gives you one list, one backup system, a data browser, a SQL console and
queries that run across all of them. It runs on your own infrastructure and does not replace
replication or failover.
## What does "one dashboard" cover? [#what-does-one-dashboard-cover]
Once your servers are connected, the same dashboard shows:
* **Servers**: every machine running the agent, with CPU, memory, disk and connection charts
fed by a heartbeat every 30 seconds.
* **Databases**: every database grouped by its database server, with engine, size and status.
* Per database: backups, users and grants (**Access**), schema history, the
[data browser](/docs/data-browser) and the [SQL console](/docs/sql-console).
* **Fleet query**: one SQL script on up to 500 databases, with the results merged into one
table.
* Ctrl/⌘ + K finds a table or column in any database you may
open.
* **Activity → Audit log**: who changed what, from which IP address.
## Step 1: Install Fleetdock on one host [#step-1-install-fleetdock-on-one-host]
You need a Linux server with 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM to start, and ports 80 and 443 open. A
domain is optional: without one, the installer uses an `.sslip.io` name that still gets a
real HTTPS certificate.
```bash
curl -sSL https://fleetdock.dev/install.sh | sudo sh
```
The installer asks for a domain and an admin email, installs Docker if it is missing, and
prints the dashboard URL and your password. `fleetdock credentials` shows them again later.
The full walkthrough is in [Getting started](/docs/getting-started).
## Step 2: Choose how each server connects [#step-2-choose-how-each-server-connects]
Each MySQL or MariaDB server can be connected in one of two ways. You can mix both in one
fleet.
| | With the agent | Connected remotely |
| ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Added from | **Servers → Connect server** | **Databases → Connect database server → Connect to one anywhere** |
| Fits | Your own VMs and bare-metal machines | Amazon RDS and other hosted MySQL, or servers you cannot install software on |
| Machine metrics (CPU, memory, disk) | Yes | No |
| Can create new MySQL or MariaDB containers | Yes | No |
| Who runs backups and restores | The agent, on that machine | The Fleetdock control plane |
| Network | The machine connects out to Fleetdock on 443 | Fleetdock connects to the database port |
The data browser and SQL console always connect from Fleetdock straight to the database
port, even on a machine with the agent. Keep that port reachable from the Fleetdock host,
over a private network where possible. See [Networking](/docs/networking).
## Step 3: Connect the servers [#step-3-connect-the-servers]
### Install the agent on each machine [#install-the-agent-on-each-machine]
Open **Servers → Connect server**. Fleetdock generates a single-use registration token and a
command to paste on the database machine. Put `sudo` after the pipe:
```bash
curl -sSL https://your-control-plane/install.sh | \
sudo env FLEETDOCK_URL=https://your-control-plane \
FLEETDOCK_TOKEN= sh
```
The server appears in **Servers** within about 30 seconds. On the machine,
`systemctl status fleetdock-agent` confirms the service is running. Details:
[Agent installation](/docs/agents).
### Add the MySQL or MariaDB server on that machine [#add-the-mysql-or-mariadb-server-on-that-machine]
Open **Databases → Connect database server**. Choose **Use one on my server** for a MySQL or
MariaDB that already runs there, and enter its admin login. Choose **Create a new one** to
have Fleetdock launch a new MySQL or MariaDB container with a generated password, a named
data volume and a published port (3306 by default). See
[Database instances](/docs/database-instances).
### Connect hosted servers directly [#connect-hosted-servers-directly]
For RDS or any server you can reach but not install on, choose **Connect to one anywhere**
and enter the host, port and an admin login. A server behind a bastion can be reached
through an SSH tunnel. Do not enter `localhost` or `127.0.0.1`: Fleetdock runs in a
container, so use `host.docker.internal` for a database on the Fleetdock host itself.
### Let discovery fill in the databases [#let-discovery-fill-in-the-databases]
Every minute, Fleetdock checks each database server it has a login for. New databases appear
on their own, marked `discovered`. A database dropped outside Fleetdock is marked **not found
on server** after about three minutes, and nothing is deleted. **Check now** on a database
server's page runs the check immediately.
## Step 4: Decide which login people browse data with [#step-4-decide-which-login-people-browse-data-with]
Each database server has a **Data browsing connects as** setting, which decides the login
the data browser, SQL console, exports and imports use:
* **Admin login** (the default): reaches every database, so only users with
`instance:write` on that server may browse.
* **Dedicated login**: a login you create on the server; its grants decide what it can do.
* **Fleetdock-managed roles**: Fleetdock creates a role confined to each database
(`fleetdock_ro_*`, `fleetdock_rw_*`), so someone with access to one database cannot reach
the others.
If teammates should see only some databases, use one of the last two, and give people the
`viewer` or `operator` role rather than `owner`. The full model is in [Security](/docs/security).
## Step 5: Put backups and alerts on every server [#step-5-put-backups-and-alerts-on-every-server]
Add an S3, Cloudflare R2 or S3-compatible bucket under **Backups → Backup storage**, then
give each database a schedule with a retention period. Backups use `mariadb-dump` or
`mysqldump`, are gzipped and checksummed with SHA-256. The step-by-step setup is in
[Scheduled backups to S3 or R2](/guides/database-backups-to-s3).
Under **Settings → Notifications**, add an email, Slack or webhook channel. Failed backups
and servers that stop heartbeating for two minutes notify you automatically, and alert rules
can watch CPU, memory, disk and connections.
## Working across all servers at once [#working-across-all-servers-at-once]
With everything connected, a few features replace a loop of SSH sessions.
**Fleet query.** Pick databases by name pattern, server and engine, and run one script on up
to 500 of them, 1 to 16 at a time. This lists the five largest tables in each database, with
the database and server in front of every row:
```sql
SELECT table_name,
ROUND((data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024) AS size_mb
FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema = DATABASE()
ORDER BY data_length + index_length DESC
LIMIT 5;
```
Scripts that write need a typed confirmation, run on the first database alone and stop at the
first failure by default. See [Fleet query](/docs/fleet-query).
**Top queries.** A database server's **Monitoring → Top queries** lists its most expensive
statements from `performance_schema`, which MySQL 8 enables by default. On MariaDB, set
`performance_schema=ON` and restart.
**Index health.** Each database's page lists unused and redundant indexes with the
`DROP INDEX` statement to review. Fleetdock never drops an index itself. See
[Performance](/docs/performance).
**Schema comparison.** **Compare with…** on a database's **Schema** tab diffs it against
another database on the same engine, such as staging against production, and writes the DDL
that aligns them. See [Schema history](/docs/schema-history).
## What Fleetdock does not do [#what-fleetdock-does-not-do]
* **No replication, high availability or automatic failover.** Keep MySQL replication,
Galera or your provider's failover for that.
* **No point-in-time recovery.** Backups are logical dumps, so you can restore to the moment
of a backup, not to an arbitrary second between two.
* **No configuration tuning or version upgrades.** Edit `my.cnf` and upgrade MySQL or
MariaDB as you do today.
* **No capacity enforcement.** Server charts show headroom, but Fleetdock does not block a new
container on a full machine.
## Next steps [#next-steps]
* [Getting started](/docs/getting-started): install and connect your first server.
* [Move a database to another server](/guides/move-database-to-another-server) when one
machine fills up.
* [Database-per-tenant](/guides/database-per-tenant) if your servers hold one database per
customer.
## Frequently asked questions
### Do I need to install an agent on every MySQL server?
No. A database server Fleetdock can reach over the network is connected with its host, port and an admin login. Install the agent only on machines where you want Fleetdock to create database containers, report CPU, memory and disk, or run backups on the machine itself.
### Can Fleetdock manage Amazon RDS or other hosted MySQL?
Yes. Add it as a database server connected remotely, with its hostname and a login. Machine metrics such as CPU and disk are only available for servers that run the Fleetdock agent.
### Does Fleetdock set up MySQL replication or failover?
No. Fleetdock manages, backs up and monitors MySQL and MariaDB servers, but it does not replicate databases or fail over between servers. Keep your existing replication setup for that.
### Is Fleetdock free?
Yes. It is open source under the Apache-2.0 license and runs on your own server, so you pay only for that machine.