Hi,

I am new to Linode and it is what is running on the school server. I am attempting to connect and use MySQL on this server. This brings me to my question. Do Linode servers have MySQL installed automatically? If they do not, how can I add it? Furthermore, Linode allows for the use of sub accounts on this server. Will I able to use MySQL in one of these sub accounts or will I need to connect to root to use it?

You get a clean, empty VPS on which you can install your own software, that includes MySQL. You have full control over the server, so you can also create accounts on the MySQL server to login with.

How to install depends on what OS you pick. With Ubuntu/Debian you can use apt-get to install. Check Linode Library for guides

rkolinsky, it depends on which stack script you use to create your Linode. Some of them add several software packages for you including MySQL, Apache or nginx, PHP, etc.