Although the MySQL RPMs offer a painless and effective means to an end, this convenience comes at the cost of flexibility. For example, the installation directory is not relocatable; that is, you are bound to the predefined installation path as determined by the packager. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the flexibility is often nice, and sometimes necessary. If your personal situation requires that added flexibility, read on to find out about the binary and source installation processes. Otherwise, proceed to the “Setting the MySQL Administrator Password” section.