Access Remote mysql database without allowing remote connections

Question

How can I run an app locally to access the mysql database on my server without enabling remote access to the mysql server.

I have full SSH access.

Is this possible? Reverse SSH? VPN? (but it seems like it would be a bit confusing)

Answer 1

With SSH this is quite easy.

Let's assume that your DB is listening for connections on 127.0.0.1:3306 on machine S. You want to access that DB from machine C.

On machine C you simply do this:

ssh -L 127.0.0.1:3306:127.0.0.1:3306 S

As soon as you are logged in from C to S, C you will be able to use port 3306 on C as if it were on S. The first IP/port combination in that command line is the port you want to have locally, ie on C, the second one is the remote port that you eventually want to use.

Answer 2

It's probably not what you had in mind, but if the mysql server was also a web server, and you used PHP on the server to access the db as localhost, would that fit your description of no remote access?

The "local app" would be your browser.

PHPmysqladmin (is that right? I've never used it) would give you administrative access, but then if you have SSH access to the server, you could use mysql for administration.