I've got a third-party application that uses MySQL as a backed. The next version will have support for our backup system, but before we upgrade we would like to take a backup. Catch 22! I am not a DBA, and our DBA staff isn't familiar with MySQL, so I'm pretty much on my own. Our server has lots of space and CPU cycles, so I would like to test the restore on that machine, without overwriting the production data. So my question is, should I install another instance of MySQL on the same computer in a different location, or is there a way to restore my data to an alternate database on the existing server?
If you are not familiar with MySQL. The preferable option would be to install MySQL on another machine, ideally with the same OS and test your restore there. It's free to install and any extra time taken to install MySQL (About 15 minutes with the Wizard) far outweighs the effort it would take to restore your live system if you make a mistake and break it.
If that is not an option and you really do want to restore on the same machine. Then your question has already been answered and voted for on stackoverflow. Multiple MySQL instances on a single machine