For the past few months I have been working with the MySQL Cluster product. I have to admit, it’s not an easy hill to climb. When I initially started working to setup a cluster, I associated it with many of the other clustered solutions I had worked with. However, there were some basic differences that I had to get used to. MySQL Cluster doesn’t use shared storage and it’s designed based on three separate node types. Each of which, could run on a single server. I had to get used to that. Once I began to understand those two basic concepts, things went much better. It’s easy to get a cluster of two separate servers up and running, but then comes special considerations for your specific data needs. I was trying to import a database from a single MySQL instance into the new cluster. The definite key word here is “trying”. As a result of searching on the Internet for all the different errors I encountered, I found a company call Severalnines. This company is awesome when it comes to MySQL. They provide a site they call a “Configurator”. By using this site, I was able to get so much closer to the goal. I recommend checking this company out, but definitely check out the configurator site if you’re just starting to work with MySQL Cluster. You’ll save a lot of time.