One solution to your problem is to setup mysql as a service. In the mysql installation tarball, there should be a script called mysql-server (or something similar). Copy that to /etc/init.d and name it mysql (you may need to edit it, so that the mysql user is the same as the one you setup on your system and that the path to mysql is the same as the one on your system). After that run the following commands:
# chkconfig --add mysql # chkconfig mysql on You'll then be able to manage mysql using the service command e.g.
service mysql start service mysql stop service mysql status Hope this helps!