Replication enables data from one MySQL database server (the master) to be replicated to one or more MySQL database servers (the slaves). Replication is asynchronous by default – slaves need not to connected permanently to receive updates from the master. This means that updates can occur over long-distance connections and even over temporary or intermittent connections such as a dial-up service. Depending on the configuration, you can replicate all databases, selected databases, or even selected tables within a database.