## 16.8 The FEDERATED Storage Engine

[16.8.1 FEDERATED Storage Engine Overview](federated-description.html)
[16.8.2 How to Create FEDERATED Tables](federated-create.html)
[16.8.3 FEDERATED Storage Engine Notes and Tips](federated-usagenotes.html)
[16.8.4 FEDERATED Storage Engine Resources](federated-storage-engine-resources.html)

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 The `FEDERATED` storage engine lets you access data from a remote MySQL database without using replication or cluster technology. Querying a local `FEDERATED` table automatically pulls the data from the remote (federated) tables. No data is stored on the local tables.

 To include the `FEDERATED` storage engine if you build MySQL from source, invoke **CMake** with the [`-DWITH_FEDERATED_STORAGE_ENGINE`](source-configuration-options.html#option_cmake_storage_engine_options) option.

 The `FEDERATED` storage engine is not enabled by default in the running server; to enable `FEDERATED`, you must start the MySQL server binary using the `--federated` option.

 To examine the source for the `FEDERATED` engine, look in the `storage/federated` directory of a MySQL source distribution.

