MySql ERROR 1153: Got a packet bigger than 'max_allowed_packet' bytes

You're probably here because you were trying to load a MySql database dump and you saw something like this:

bar@foohost:~$  mysql -uroot -p some_database < some_big_dump.db
Enter password: 
ERROR 1153 (08S01) at line 42: Got a packet bigger than 'max_allowed_packet' bytes

Don't panic! This one is easy to fix. It's happening because somewhere on either the MySql client or the MySql server, the max_allowed_packet is being exceeded. It's an easy fix, but you will need to bounce your server.

1. Edit your /etc/my.cnf and look for the parameter max_allowed_packet. In my case it was set to 1M, which is obviously not big enough. Set it to something larger (but not insanely large). I changed mine to 16M.
2. Save the file and bounce MySql (/etc/init.d/mysql restart on redhat).
3. Run your import again, but this time specify an explicit maximum packet size on your client as well. Try this command:

   bar@foohost:~$  mysql -uroot -p some_database --max_allowed_packet=16M < some_big_dump.db
   Enter password: 
   bar@foohost:~$  
   

I hope it worked that time. If not, try making your max_allowed_packet a bit bigger. Once you're done don't forget to set this parameter back to the original size!