2.1 General Installation Guidance ..................................................................................................... 96 2.1.1 Supported Platforms ........................................................................................................ 96 2.1.2 Which MySQL Version and Distribution to Install ............................................................... 96 2.1.3 How to Get MySQL ......................................................................................................... 97 2.1.4 Verifying Package Integrity Using MD5 Checksums or GnuPG ........................................... 97 2.1.5 Installation Layouts ........................................................................................................ 111 2.1.6 Compiler-Specific Build Characteristics ........................................................................... 111 2.2 Installing MySQL on Unix/Linux Using Generic Binaries .............................................................. 111 2.3 Installing MySQL on Microsoft Windows .................................................................................... 114 2.3.1 MySQL Installation Layout on Microsoft Windows ............................................................ 117 2.3.2 Choosing an Installation Package ................................................................................... 117 2.3.3 MySQL Installer for Windows ......................................................................................... 118 2.3.4 Installing MySQL on Microsoft Windows Using a  noinstall  ZIP Archive ......................... 143 Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading MySQL Table of Contents