You may of course use your personal copy of MySQL for your project work. Alternatively, you are welcome to use the departmental copy, which (like Oracle), is visible on csdb.
There are three ways you can use it: while you're logged on csdb, from the command prompt on Windows systems that have mysql.exe, and from a friendly front end (for example, MySQL-front) on Windows systems that have them.
Regardless of which environment you're using, your username for this software is the same as your UNIX login, and your password initially will be set to fL followed by your VUId# (remember: VUId# is not your social security number; it is your Banner ID, as displayed in Novasis). Also, the host is always csdb.csc.villanova.edu.
Whether you're using the command line in a UNIX shell on csdb or the command line on Windows, you should enter
mysql -u username [-h hostname] -D username -p
(In other words, it's not necessary to include the hostname switch if
you're doing this on csdb itself.) You'll be prompted for your password.
Note that if you're in Windows,
then you should be in the folder that has mysql.exe. If you're on csdb, then your search path should include /usr/local/mysql/bin
(or else invoke mysql by its "fully-qualified pathname":
/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql).
If you're using MySQL-front, then you might need to enter 3306 as the port. The hostname is csdb.csc.villanova.edu, the database has the same name as your username, and for credentials enter your username and assigned password.
mysql.exe and MySQL-front (like ssh) are available for students to download at csc.villanova.edu. These are older software versions that do not have time limits, and work just fine.
Off-campus access is also possible through the Villanova VPN (Virtual Private Network). Instructions are at gateway.villanova.edu (you may need to install the plugin). For more information on the Villanova secure gateway, visit this support page.