The following sections contain information about mysqld options and server variables that are used in replication and for controlling the binary log. Options and variables for use on replication masters and replication slaves are covered separately, as are options and variables relating to binary logging and global transaction identifiers (GTIDs). A set of quick-reference tables providing basic information about these options and variables is also included.

Of particular importance is the --server-id option.

Specifies the server ID. The server_id system variable is set to 1 by default. The server can be started with this default ID, but when binary logging is enabled, an informational message is issued if you did not specify a server ID explicitly using the --server-id option.

For servers that are used in a replication topology, you must specify a unique server ID for each replication server, in the range from 1 to 2³² − 1. “Unique” means that each ID must be different from every other ID in use by any other replication master or slave. For additional information, see Section 17.1.6.2, “Replication Master Options and Variables”, and Section 17.1.6.3, “Replication Slave Options and Variables”.

If the server ID is set to 0, binary logging takes place, but a master with a server ID of 0 refuses any connections from slaves, and a slave with a server ID of 0 refuses to connect to a master. Note that although you can change the server ID dynamically to a nonzero value, doing so does not enable replication to start immediately. You must change the server ID and then restart the server to initialize the replication slave.

For more information, see Section 17.1.2.2, “Setting the Replication Slave Configuration”.

server_uuid

The MySQL server generates a true UUID in addition to the default or user-supplied server ID set in the server_id system variable. This is available as the global, read-only variable server_uuid.

When starting, the MySQL server automatically obtains a UUID as follows:

The auto.cnf file has a format similar to that used for my.cnf or my.ini files. auto.cnf has only a single [auto] section containing a single server_uuid setting and value; the file's contents appear similar to what is shown here:

[auto]
server_uuid=8a94f357-aab4-11df-86ab-c80aa9429562

When using MySQL replication, masters and slaves know each other's UUIDs. The value of a slave's UUID can be seen in the output of SHOW SLAVE HOSTS. Once START SLAVE has been executed, the value of the master's UUID is available on the slave in the output of SHOW SLAVE STATUS.

A server's server_uuid is also used in GTIDs for transactions originating on that server. For more information, see Section 17.1.3, “Replication with Global Transaction Identifiers”.

When starting, the slave I/O thread generates an error and aborts if its master's UUID is equal to its own unless the --replicate-same-server-id option has been set. In addition, the slave I/O thread generates a warning if either of the following is true: