MySQL Required

Is MySQL required to run WHM/cPanel?

It is not listed here: https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/ALD/Installation+Guide+-+Software+Requirements

Is there a way around this requiremet? What specifically is MySQL used for in regards to account creation? What about other processes?

 

If they're "options" then MySQL shouldn't be required if they're not used. It seems MySQL is required for WHM/cPanel core functionality, regardless of the utilization of the aforementioned options. I'm not able to find any documentation on this, or any ways to adjust the MySQL connection used.

Account modifications or creations fail when done through the WHM interface if MySQL isn't run on the local machine and available using the default sock file. Yet you can still create accounts using the API, although I wouldn't be surprised if portions of the account creation failed and I'm just not seeing the issues caused by this yet.

Why is MySQL required to change an account's domain name? As far as I knew, cPanel/WHM doesn't store any account information in MySQL, this seems like an oversight.

 

Thank you Michael, that makes much more sense to me.

Presently my group of cPanel/WHM servers are using an SSH tunnel to connect to a central/shared MySQL database. Because of this no db is available over the unix socket. Is there a way to configure WHM to use a TCP connection for this functionality instead?

 

I turned MySQL back on using a non-standard port to test. It is available over the unix socket. Attempting to modify an account name in WHM just sits and spins with no progress and no errors. Nothing showing up in the MySQL processlist.