Title: Databases
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: May 12, 2022
Last modified: October 1, 2026

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#  Databases

Each [VIP Platform WordPress environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/infrastructure/environments/)
is supported by a unique database. Unique databases per-environment allows testing
to be performed on non-production environments without impacting the production 
environment.

To improve database performance, WPVIP uses Automattic’s HyperDB `db.php` drop-in.
HyperDB is configured to send writes to an environment’s master database and sends
reads to database replicas. [No other `db.php` drop-ins can be used](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-on-vip/drop-ins/)
on the platform.

**Note**

The `DB_NAME` constant is undefined on the VIP Platform. Attempting to use the `
$wpdb->dbname` property or the `DB_NAME` constant will return null. Any SQL queries
relying on this value within a prepared statement will not behave as expected.

The size of an environment’s database can be reviewed in [the **Database Backups** panel](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/backups/)
or [the **Insights & Metrics** panel](https://docs.wpvip.com/performance/insights-metrics/)
of the VIP Dashboard.

 * 
   ### 󠀁[Import database files](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/import/)󠁿
   
 * Use VIP-CLI to import a full database file when migrating a site to the VIP Platform,
   or import a partial database file to update specific tables on a WordPress environment.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Custom database tables](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/custom-tables/)󠁿
   
 * If necessary, custom tables can be added to a VIP Platform environment’s database.
   When adding a custom database table, use caution and follow best practices.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Supported character sets and collations](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/supported-collations-charsets/)󠁿
   
 * In order to avoid unexpected issues, SQL database files for import should use
   the utf8mb4 character set.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Optimize database queries](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/optimize-queries/)󠁿
   
 * Learn how to identify slow queries and optimize the underlying code to improve
   site performance and resilience.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Database Backups](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/backups/)󠁿
   
 * Database Backups run automatically for all WordPress environments and can be 
   viewed and downloaded in the application view of the VIP Dashboard and with VIP-
   CLI.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Partial Database Exports](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/partial-database-exports/)󠁿
   
 * Partial Database Exports with VIP-CLI allow a custom set of data to be exported
   from the current state of a VIP Platform environment’s database.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Database access](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/access/)󠁿
   
 * Direct access to an environment’s database is limited, but users can view data
   in a read-only phpMyAdmin console session or interact with the databases on WPVIP
   through WP-CLI commands run via VIP-CLI.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Data sync from production to non-production environments](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/data-sync/)󠁿
   
 * Data syncs from a production environment to a non-production environment can 
   be performed in the VIP Dashboard or with VIP-CLI.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Data sync between environments](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/data-sync-between-environments/)󠁿
   
 * A data sync operation copies a WordPress database, including media files, from
   a source environment to a destination environment within the same application.
   On the WordPress VIP Platform, data sync operations are multi-directional: a 
   sync can run in any direction between environments, including from a non-production
   environment into production. The source environment supplies the data, and the
   destination environment receives it. A data sync is initiated from the Sync Data
   page in the VIP Dashboard. The destination is always the environment that is 
   currently selected in the VIP Dashboard. The source is selected on the page. 
   Prerequisites To initiate a…
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Export a SQL file from a site not hosted at WordPress VIP](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/export-a-file-for-migration/)󠁿
   
 * To migrate the content of a WordPress site to an environment on the WordPress
   VIP Platform, a SQL database file must be exported from the non-VIP site.

Last updated: October 01, 2026