How to change the innodb_log_file_size setting in MariaDB

Kuzma Ivanov

Updated November 12, 2025 04:18

Plesk for Windows kb: how-to Plesk for Linux

Applicable to:

Plesk for Linux
Plesk for Windows

Question

How to change the innodb_log_file_size setting in MySQL/MariaDB?

Answer

For Plesk on Linux

Connect to your Plesk server via SSH.
Open the MySQL/MariaDB configuration file my.cnf in a text editor. In this example, we are using vi editor:
- on CentOS/RHEL-based distributions:
  
  # vi /etc/my.cnf
- on Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:
  
  # vi /etc/mysql/my.cnf
Under the [mysqld] section, change the innodb_log_file_size value according to your needs (the default value is 48M):

Note: If the innodb_log_file_size directive does not exist in the file, add it manually under the [mysqld] section.

CONFIG_TEXT: [mysqld]
innodb_log_file_size=128M
<...>
Save the changes and close the file.
Find MariaDB version:

# mysql -V

If MariaDB version is 10.5 or higher, move to step 6. If MariaDB version is 10.4 or lower, apply these additional steps:

5.1. Stop the MySQL/MariaDB service:

# systemctl stop mariadb && systemctl stop mysql

5.2. Move the redo log files ib_logfile0 and ib_logfile1 to another directory. In this example, the files are moved to /root:

# mv /var/lib/mysql/ib_log* /root
Restart the MySQL/MariaDB service:

# systemctl start mariadb && systemctl start mysql

For Plesk on Windows Server

In Plesk for Windows, there are two MariaDB instances with their own configuration:

Plesk SQL server for Plesk system databases (location %plesk_dir%MySQL\)
MariaDB (or MySQL) for customers' databases (location %plesk_dir%Databases\MySQL\)

Plesk SQL server

Connect to your Plesk server via RDP.
Open MariaDB configuration file my.ini in a text editor (paste the path below in Windows Explorer to open):

C:\> %plesk_dir%MySQL\my.ini
Under the [mysqld] section, change the innodb_log_file_size value according to your needs (the default value is 10M):

CONFIG_TEXT: innodb_log_file_size=128M
Save the changes and close the file.
Restart the Plesk SQL Server service via Plesk Services Monitor or Windows Services.

MariaDB server

Connect to your Plesk server via RDP.
Open MariaDB configuration file my.ini in a text editor (paste the path below in Windows Explorer to open):

C:\> %plesk_dir%Databases\MySQL\my.ini
Under the [mysqld] section, change the innodb_log_file_size value according to your needs (the default value is 10M):

CONFIG_TEXT: innodb_log_file_size=128M
Save the changes and close the file.
Restart the MariaDB service via Plesk Services Monitor or Windows Services.

Comments

2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [ERROR] InnoDB: File ./ib_logfile0 was not found
2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [ERROR] InnoDB: Plugin initialization aborted with error Generic error
2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [Note] InnoDB: Starting shutdown..

2 comments

Del Corso
December 03, 2023 02:33 (Edited December 03, 2023 02:35)
These instructions work on MariaDB 10.3 but on 10.11.6 - if you do step #5 (moving ib_log*) then mariadb will not start:
```
2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [ERROR] InnoDB: File ./ib_logfile0 was not found
2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [ERROR] InnoDB: Plugin initialization aborted with error Generic error
2023-12-02 21:01:34 0 [Note] InnoDB: Starting shutdown..
```
If you skip step #5, and just restart the service, it will re-size the existing file: (96MB->32MB in my case)
```
2023-12-02 21:03:33 0 [Note] InnoDB: Resizing redo log from 96.000MiB to 32.000MiB; LSN=3001335335
```
This may be correlated with: "innodb_log_file_size: From MariaDB 10.9 the variable is dynamic, and the server no longer needs to be restarted for the resizing to take place."
2
Daniel Black
October 31, 2025 02:46 (Edited October 31, 2025 02:49)

It also corresponds to https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/innodb/innodb-redo-log
Directly editing or moving the redo logs can cause corruption, and should never normally be attempted.

Please update the instructions with specific note that not to move ib_logfile0 on 10.11+.
10.5 requires https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/innodb/innodb-system-variables#innodb_log_file_size of 0 or 3.
For measuring what it should be, take a look though https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/innodb/innodb-redo-log#determining-the-redo-log-occupancy
Also note “ib_logfile0 and ib_logfile1” from 10.5 there is only a single log file.

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