Do you see an advantage to moving MySQL off the hosted web server/cPanel and onto a dedicated MySQL box? And does this box need to be Linux based or can it be MS Server 2008? I certainly wouldn't want to lose the ability to have cPanel control MySQL for database & user creation, updates, etc.
I like the way Encompass is marketed with being able to move/control separate web servers, MySQL, etc.
Thanks!
EDIT: Sorry - I posted this before reading the MySQL page you linked above. Thanks.
For most situations, the main advantage would be if you built a server from the ground-up intending it to only be a database server and used that as your remote MySQL machine. This allows you to have a purpose-built machine designed to maximize MySQL performance with a cPanel/WHM environment running on separate hardware.
There is a specific situation where many users are trying to use the MySQL database very much (e.g. a machine hosting many internet forums). In this scenario as well, there would be a benefit to offloading MySQL to another server.
Situations where it's not such a good idea:
- You're only hosting a handful of sites that don't heavily use MySQL
- You're intending to use a MySQL server located far (geographically speaking) from the cPanel/WHM server. Ideally, the MySQL server should be in the same facility, preferably the same rack and on the same switch.