--- title: Secure Access to a MySQL-Server description: Access a MySQL-Server through an SSH tunnel. level: [intermediate] updated_at: 2023-06-23 slug: secure-access-mysql-by-ssh author_name: Andre E. author_url: https://github.com/TFWIsaac author_image: author_bio: tags: [ssh, mysql, sql, mysql-server, port-forwarding, tunnel] netcup_product_url: https://www.netcup.eu/bestellen/produkt.php?produkt=2992 language: en available_languages: [de, en] --- # Introduction In this tutorial you will learn how to connect to a remote MySQL server (on a netcup vServer) through an SSH tunnel. The SSH tunnel allows up to do port-forwarding. In our scenario, we link the database port to us, which means that after the successful connection with the tunnel we access the database server through `127.0.0.1` and not the public IP. But why should we do that? Connecting through the SSH tunnel has two advantages: 1. We don't have to open a server port on the server. If we opened a port, it would be accessible to the entire internet. 2. The data is encrypted end-to-end through the SSH tunnel. Both advantages clearly show that we are dealing with security issues here. # Requirements We need the following: * SSH access to the netcup server (vServer or Root-Server). * [HeidiSQL](https://www.heidisql.com/). HeidiSQL is a free MySQL client that supports connecting through an SSH tunnel. * A MySQL user with password. You can either use the root user or a previously set up new user. ### Why don't we use phpMyAdmin? A good point. We don't use phpMyAdmin because phpMyAdmin runs on the server and we would have to open a port. This is exactly what we don't want. # Step 1 - Change the network type ![HeidiSQL after start](img-en/heidi-start.png) After starting HeidiSQL for the first time, you will see a screen similar to the one above, but probably without any entries. In the lower left corner above "new", you can add a new entry. After creating a new session, you can set the following options on the right side in the "Settings" tab: * Network type: `MariaDB or MySQL (SSH tunnel)` * Library: Library that matches your server. libmariadb.dll for a MariaDB server or libmysql.dll for an MySQL server. * Hostname / IP: `127.0.0.1` * User: `root` or your newly created user * Password: Password for that user * Port: `3306` Next we go to the 'SSH-tunnel' tab. # Step 2 - SSH settings ![HeidiSQL SSH-Settings](img-en/heidi-ssh.png) In this tab we set the SSH configuration. * First select the "Use SSH tunnel" checkbox. * SSH executable: `plink.exe` * SSH host + port: Here you set the public ip/hostname of your server and your SSH port. * Username: your username for SSH login * Password: your SSH password, skip this if you use a private key/public key method * SSH timeout: 4 (default value) * Private key file: Path to your private key, leave empty if not used * Local port: `3307` (default value) At the bottom left you can now save your changes via "Save". # Conclusion You can now access your MySQL server through the SSH tunnel without opening any ports. # License [MIT](https://github.com/netcup-community/community-tutorials/blob/main/LICENSE) Copyright (c) 2021 netcup Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. 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