## Sections of the config.ini File 

There are six different sections that you can use in the config.ini  configuration file, as described in the following list: 

• [computer] : Defines cluster hosts. This is not required to configure a viable NDB Cluster, but be may used as a convenience when setting up a large cluster. See Section 23.3.3.4, “Defining Computers in an NDB Cluster” , for more information. 

• [ndbd] : Defines a cluster data node ( ndbd  process). See Section 23.3.3.6, “Defining NDB Cluster Data Nodes” , for details. 

• [mysqld] : Defines the cluster’s MySQL server nodes (also called SQL or API nodes). For a discussion of SQL node configuration, see Section 23.3.3.7, “Defining SQL and Other API Nodes in an NDB Cluster” . 

• [mgm]  or [ndb_mgmd] : Defines a cluster management server (MGM) node. For information concerning the configuration of management nodes, see Section 23.3.3.5, “Defining an NDB Cluster Management Server” . 

• [tcp] : Defines a TCP/IP connection between cluster nodes, with TCP/IP being the default transport protocol. Normally, [tcp]  or [tcp default]  sections are not required to set up an NDB Cluster, as the cluster handles this automatically; however, it may be necessary in some situations to override the defaults provided by the cluster. See Section 23.3.3.10, “NDB Cluster TCP/IP Connections” , for information about available TCP/IP configuration parameters and how to use them. (You may also find Section 23.3.3.11, “NDB Cluster TCP/IP Connections Using Direct Connections”  to be of interest in some cases.) 

• [shm] : Defines shared-memory connections between nodes. In MySQL 8.0, it is enabled by default, but should still be considered experimental. For a discussion of SHM interconnects, see Section 23.3.3.12, “NDB Cluster Shared-Memory Connections” . 

• [sci] : Defines Scalable Coherent Interface connections between cluster data nodes. Not supported in NDB 8.0. 

You can define default  values for each section. If used, a default  section should come before any other sections of that type. For example, an [ndbd default]  section should appear in the configuration file before any [ndbd]  sections. 

NDB Cluster parameter names are case-insensitive, unless specified in MySQL Server my.cnf  or my.ini files. 

## 23.3.3.2 Recommended Starting Configuration for NDB Cluster 

Achieving the best performance from an NDB Cluster depends on a number of factors including the following: 

•NDB Cluster software version 

•Numbers of data nodes and SQL nodes 

•Hardware 

•Operating system 

•Amount of data to be stored 

•Size and type of load under which the cluster is to operate 

