diff --git a/utils/mariadb/Makefile b/utils/mariadb/Makefile
index 727e064b1..2baab6a8b 100644
--- a/utils/mariadb/Makefile
+++ b/utils/mariadb/Makefile
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ define Package/libmariadb/Default
 endef
 
 define Package/libmariadb
-$(call Package/libmariadb/Default)
+  $(call Package/libmariadb/Default)
   DEPENDS:=$(MARIADB_COMMON_DEPENDS)
   TITLE:=MariaDB database client library
   MENU:=1
@@ -234,10 +234,9 @@ endef
 
 define Package/mariadb-client
   $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
-  TITLE:=MariaDB database core client binaries
-  DEPENDS:= \
-	  $(MARIADB_COMMON_DEPENDS) \
-	  +libedit
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database client
+  MENU:=1
+  DEPENDS:=mariadb-client-base
 endef
 
 define Package/mariadb-client/description
@@ -249,9 +248,30 @@ $(subst $(space),$(newline),$(MARIADB_CLIENT))
 
 endef
 
+define Package/mariadb-client-base
+  $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database client base
+  DEPENDS:=mariadb-common \
+	  $(MARIADB_COMMON_DEPENDS) \
+	  +libedit
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-client-base/conffiles
+$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d/50-client.cnf
+$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d/50-mysql-clients.cnf
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-client-base/description
+$(call Package/mariadb/description/Default)
+
+This package provides the foundation for mariadb-client. It installs the
+configuration and the dependencies.
+
+endef
+
 define Package/mariadb-client-extra
   $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
-  TITLE:=MariaDB database extra client binaries
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database client extra
   DEPENDS:=mariadb-client
 endef
 
@@ -264,6 +284,23 @@ $(subst $(space),$(newline),$(MARIADB_CLIENT_EXTRA))
 
 endef
 
+define Package/mariadb-common
+  $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database common files
+  DEPENDS:=
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-common/conffiles
+$(CONF_DIR)/my.cnf
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-common/description
+$(call Package/mariadb/description/Default)
+
+This package includes shared files, for example $(CONF_DIR)/my.cnf.
+
+endef
+
 define Package/mariadb-extra-charsets
   $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
   TITLE:=MariaDB database extra character sets
@@ -280,16 +317,10 @@ endef
 
 define Package/mariadb-server
   $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
-  DEPENDS:= \
-	  $(MARIADB_COMMON_DEPENDS) \
-	  +!arc:libaio \
-	  +liblzma \
-	  +libpcre \
-	  +resolveip
-  TITLE:=MariaDB database core server binaries
+  DEPENDS:=mariadb-server-base
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database server
   MENU:=1
   PROVIDES:=mysql-server
-  USERID:=mariadb=376:mariadb=376
 endef
 
 define Package/mariadb-server/description
@@ -301,9 +332,35 @@ $(subst $(space),$(newline),$(MARIADB_SERVER))
 
 endef
 
+define Package/mariadb-server-base
+  $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
+  DEPENDS:=mariadb-common \
+	  $(MARIADB_COMMON_DEPENDS) \
+	  +!arc:libaio \
+	  +liblzma \
+	  +libpcre \
+	  +resolveip
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database server base
+  USERID:=mariadb=376:mariadb=376
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-server-base/conffiles
+$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d/50-server.cnf
+/etc/default/mysqld
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-server-base/description
+$(call Package/mariadb/description/Default)
+
+This package provides the foundation for mariadb-server. It installs the
+init script, support files (configuration etc.), the user "mariadb" and
+the dependencies.
+
+endef
+
 define Package/mariadb-server-extra
   $(call Package/mariadb/Default)
-  TITLE:=MariaDB database extra server binaries
+  TITLE:=MariaDB database server extra
   DEPENDS:=mariadb-server
 endef
 
@@ -488,11 +545,22 @@ define Package/mariadb-client/install
 	cd $(1)/usr/bin; $(LN) mysqlcheck mysqloptimize
 endef
 
+define Package/mariadb-client-base/install
+	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
+	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/50-client.cnf $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
+	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/50-mysql-clients.cnf $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
+endef
+
 define Package/mariadb-client-extra/install
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/usr/bin
 	$(foreach b,$(MARIADB_CLIENT_EXTRA),$(call Package/mariadb/install/bin,$(1),$(b));)
 endef
 
+define Package/mariadb-common/install
+	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(CONF_DIR)
+	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/my.cnf $(1)$(CONF_DIR)
+endef
+
 define Package/mariadb-extra-charsets/install
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)/charsets
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(PKG_INSTALL_DIR)$(SHARE_DIR)/charsets/* $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)/charsets
@@ -501,13 +569,16 @@ endef
 define Package/mariadb-server/install
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/usr/bin
 	$(foreach b,$(MARIADB_SERVER),$(call Package/mariadb/install/bin,$(1),$(b));)
+endef
+
+define Package/mariadb-server-base/install
+	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
+	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)/english
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/etc/default
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/etc/init.d
-	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
 	$(INSTALL_BIN) files/mysqld.init $(1)/etc/init.d/mysqld
-	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/my.cnf $(1)$(CONF_DIR)
+	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/50-server.cnf $(1)$(CONF_DIR)/conf.d
 	$(INSTALL_CONF) conf/mysqld.default $(1)/etc/default/mysqld
-	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)/english
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(PKG_INSTALL_DIR)$(SHARE_DIR)/english/errmsg.sys $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)/english
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(PKG_INSTALL_DIR)$(SHARE_DIR)/fill_help_tables.sql $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(PKG_INSTALL_DIR)$(SHARE_DIR)/maria_add_gis_sp_bootstrap.sql $(1)$(SHARE_DIR)
@@ -521,11 +592,6 @@ define Package/mariadb-server-extra/install
 	$(foreach b,$(MARIADB_SERVER_EXTRA),$(call Package/mariadb/install/bin,$(1),$(b));)
 endef
 
-define Package/mariadb-server/conffiles
-/etc/default/mysqld
-$(CONF_DIR)/my.cnf
-endef
-
 define BuildPlugin
   define Package/$(1)-plugin-$(subst _,-,$(2))
     $(call Package/$(subst mariadb-server,mariadb,$(1))/Default)
@@ -548,9 +614,12 @@ endef
 $(eval $(call HostBuild))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,libmariadb))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-client))
+$(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-client-base))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-client-extra))
+$(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-common))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-extra-charsets))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-server))
+$(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-server-base))
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,mariadb-server-extra))
 
 $(eval $(call BuildPlugin,libmariadb,auth_gssapi_client,+krb5-libs))
diff --git a/utils/mariadb/conf/50-client.cnf b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-client.cnf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..de2b89f5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-client.cnf
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#
+# This group is read by the client library
+# Use it for options that affect all clients, but not the server
+#
+
+[client]
+# Default is Latin1, if you need UTF-8 set this (also in server section)
+default-character-set = utf8mb4
+
+# Example of client certificate usage
+# ssl-cert=/etc/mysql/client-cert.pem
+# ssl-key=/etc/mysql/client-key.pem
+#
+# Allow only TLS encrypted connections
+# ssl-verify-server-cert=on
+
+# This group is *never* read by mysql client library
+# If you use the same .cnf file for MySQL and MariaDB, use it for
+# MariaDB-only client options
+[client-mariadb]
+
diff --git a/utils/mariadb/conf/50-mysql-clients.cnf b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-mysql-clients.cnf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b762a766b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-mysql-clients.cnf
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#
+# These groups are read by MariaDB command-line tools
+# Use it for options that affect only one utility
+#
+
+[mysql]
+# Default is Latin1, if you need UTF-8 set this (also in server section)
+default-character-set = utf8mb4
+
+[mysql_upgrade]
+
+[mysqladmin]
+
+[mysqlbinlog]
+
+[mysqlcheck]
+
+[mysqldump]
+
+[mysqlimport]
+
+[mysqlshow]
+
+[mysqlslap]
+
diff --git a/utils/mariadb/conf/50-server.cnf b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-server.cnf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d478d1f5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/mariadb/conf/50-server.cnf
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+#
+# These groups are read by MariaDB server.
+# Use it for options that only the server (but not clients) should see
+#
+# See the examples of server my.cnf files in /usr/share/mysql/
+#
+
+# this is read by the standalone daemon and embedded servers
+[server]
+
+# this is only for the mysqld standalone daemon
+[mysqld]
+
+#
+# * Basic Settings
+#
+user		= mariadb
+pid-file	= /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid
+socket		= /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
+port		= 3306
+basedir		= /usr
+# Don't put this on flash memory
+# Figure out where you are going to put the databases and run
+# mysql_install_db --force
+datadir		= /mnt/data/mysql
+# tmpdir should also not go on flash memory
+tmpdir		= /tmp
+lc-messages-dir	= /usr/share/mariadb
+
+skip-external-locking
+
+# Instead of skip-networking the default is now to listen only on
+# localhost which is more compatible and is not less secure.
+bind-address	= 127.0.0.1
+
+#
+# * Fine Tuning
+#
+key_buffer_size		= 16M
+max_allowed_packet	= 16M
+thread_stack		= 192K
+thread_cache_size	= 8
+# This replaces the startup script and checks MyISAM tables if needed
+# the first time they are touched
+myisam_recover_options	= BACKUP
+#max_connections	= 100
+#table_cache		= 64
+#thread_concurrency	= 10
+
+#
+# * Query Cache Configuration
+#
+query_cache_limit	= 1M
+query_cache_size	= 16M
+
+#
+# * Logging and Replication
+#
+# Both location gets rotated by the cronjob.
+# Be aware that this log type is a performance killer.
+# As of 5.1 you can enable the log at runtime!
+#general_log_file	= /var/log/mysql/mysql.log
+#general_log		= 1
+#
+# Error log - should be very few entries.
+# Note that if unset the errors will go to stdout and can be seen in syslog
+# (check "logread")
+#
+#log_error = /var/log/mysql/error.log
+#
+# Enable the slow query log to see queries with especially long duration
+#slow_query_log_file	= /var/log/mysql/mariadb-slow.log
+#long_query_time	= 10
+#log_slow_rate_limit	= 1000
+#log_slow_verbosity	= query_plan
+#
+#log-queries-not-using-indexes
+#
+# The following can be used as easy to replay backup logs or for replication.
+#server-id		= 1
+#log_bin		= /var/log/mysql/mysql-bin.log
+expire_logs_days	= 10
+max_binlog_size		= 100M
+#binlog_do_db		= include_database_name
+#binlog_ignore_db	= exclude_database_name
+
+#
+# * InnoDB
+#
+# InnoDB is enabled by default with a 10MB datafile in /var/lib/mysql/.
+# Read the manual for more InnoDB related options. There are many!
+
+#
+# * Security Features
+#
+# Read the manual, too, if you want chroot!
+# chroot = /var/lib/mysql/
+#
+# For generating SSL certificates you can use for example the GUI tool "tinyca".
+#
+# ssl-ca=/etc/mysql/cacert.pem
+# ssl-cert=/etc/mysql/server-cert.pem
+# ssl-key=/etc/mysql/server-key.pem
+#
+# Accept only connections using the latest and most secure TLS protocol version.
+# ..when MariaDB is compiled with OpenSSL:
+# ssl-cipher=TLSv1.2
+
+#
+# * Character sets
+#
+# MySQL/MariaDB default is Latin1, but in OpenWrt we rather default to the full
+# utf8 4-byte character set. See also client.cnf
+#
+# Note: In OpenWrt until mariadb 10.2.19-2 the baked-in defaults were
+# "DEFAULT_CHARSET=utf8" and "DEFAULT_COLLATION=utf8_general_ci". As MariaDB's
+# utf8 (supports three bytes per character) is not really UTF-8 (which needs up
+# to four bytes per character) this was changed. Now the baked in-defaults are
+# the upstream defaults (Latin1), but in the default configuration (like in the
+# file you are currently reading) utf8mb4 is set, which is real UTF-8.
+#
+# Of course you are free to change this, either here or in a configuration file
+# of your own which is read after this .cnf file, see my.cnf in parent folder
+# (files are read in alphabetical order).
+character-set-server  = utf8mb4
+collation-server      = utf8mb4_general_ci
+
+#
+# * Unix socket authentication plugin is built-in
+#
+# Needed so the root database user can authenticate without a password but
+# only when running as the unix root user.
+#
+# Also available for other users if required.
+# See https://mariadb.com/kb/en/unix_socket-authentication-plugin/
+
diff --git a/utils/mariadb/conf/my.cnf b/utils/mariadb/conf/my.cnf
index effa88a77..7583c7cae 100644
--- a/utils/mariadb/conf/my.cnf
+++ b/utils/mariadb/conf/my.cnf
@@ -1,54 +1,22 @@
-[client]
-port		= 3306
-socket		= /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
-
-[mysqld]
-user		= mariadb
-socket		= /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
-port		= 3306
-basedir		= /usr
-
-############ Don't put this on the NAND #############
-# Figure out where you are going to put the databases
-# And run mysql_install_db --force
-datadir		= /mnt/data/mysql/
-
-######### This should also not go on the NAND #######
-tmpdir		= /mnt/data/tmp/
-
-skip-external-locking
-
-bind-address		= 127.0.0.1
-
-# Fine Tuning
-key_buffer_size		= 16M
-max_allowed_packet	= 16M
-thread_stack		= 192K
-thread_cache_size	= 8
-
-# Here you can see queries with especially long duration
-#log_slow_queries	= /var/log/mysql/mysql-slow.log
-#long_query_time	= 2
-#log-queries-not-using-indexes
-
-# The following can be used as easy to replay backup logs or for replication.
-#server-id		= 1
-#log_bin		= /var/log/mysql/mysql-bin.log
-#expire_logs_days	= 10
-#max_binlog_size	= 100M
-#binlog_do_db		= include_database_name
-#binlog_ignore_db	= include_database_name
-
-
-[mysqldump]
-quick
-quote-names
-max_allowed_packet	= 16M
-
-[mysql]
-#no-auto-rehash	# faster start of mysql but no tab completition
-
-[isamchk]
-key_buffer		= 16M
-
+# The MariaDB configuration file
+#
+# The MariaDB/MySQL tools read configuration files in the following order:
+# 1. "/etc/mysql/my.cnf" (this file) to set global defaults,
+# 2. "/etc/mysql/conf.d/*.cnf" to set global options.
+# 3. "~/.my.cnf" to set user-specific options.
+#
+# If the same option is defined multiple times, the last one will apply.
+#
+# One can use all long options that the program supports.
+# Run program with --help to get a list of available options and with
+# --print-defaults to see which it would actually understand and use.
+
+#
+# This group is read both both by the client and the server
+# use it for options that affect everything
+#
+[client-server]
+
+# Import all .cnf files from configuration directory
+!includedir /etc/mysql/conf.d/