diff --git a/nixos/tests/slurm.nix b/nixos/tests/slurm.nix
index 97e031a62793..3702d243b486 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/slurm.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/slurm.nix
@@ -109,12 +109,12 @@ in {
             ensurePermissions = { "slurm_acct_db.*" = "ALL PRIVILEGES"; };
             name = "slurm";
           }];
-          extraOptions = ''
+          settings.mysqld = {
             # recommendations from: https://slurm.schedmd.com/accounting.html#mysql-configuration
-            innodb_buffer_pool_size=1024M
-            innodb_log_file_size=64M
-            innodb_lock_wait_timeout=900
-          '';
+            innodb_buffer_pool_size="1024M";
+            innodb_log_file_size="64M";
+            innodb_lock_wait_timeout=900;
+          };
         };
       };