Migrating from MariaDB 10.3 to MySQL 5.7.25: Common Issues and Solutions

Background

MariaDB was created by the MySQL founder after MySQL was sold to Sun and later acquired by Oracle; it is fully compatible with MySQL and often used as a drop‑in replacement, for example in CentOS 7. The article discusses a real‑world migration from MariaDB 10.3 to MySQL 5.7.25 and the problems encountered.

Brief Operation Process

Because MariaDB switched to a versioning scheme starting at 10.0 after 5.5, MariaDB 10.3 is theoretically compatible with MySQL 5.7. The migration steps were: remove MySQL‑incompatible parameters from my.cnf , install MySQL, dump the MariaDB databases with mysqldump , and import the dump into MySQL.

Data Import Errors

1. md5(uuid())

The import failed because MySQL does not allow function calls such as md5(uuid()) in a column's DEFAULT clause, whereas MariaDB (since 10.2.1) permits expressions in defaults. This mismatch caused a syntax error.

2. PAGE_CHECKSUM

The PAGE_CHECKSUM=1 option appears in the table definition of an Aria engine table. Aria is exclusive to MariaDB; MySQL lacks this engine and the associated option, leading to another import error.

Application Test Errors

During runtime, a query failed because MySQL 5.7 enables the ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY mode by default, while the original MariaDB environment did not. The missing column in the GROUP BY clause triggered the error. Adjusting sql_mode to remove ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY resolved the issue.

Conclusion

Database migration requires more than checking high‑level compatibility; detailed testing and careful review of engine‑specific features, default expressions, and SQL modes are essential to ensure data integrity and application stability.