2008-09-20 03:17am by Niko - Hello,
The value of the wait_timeout variable in the MySQL configuration is set to 10 and has been recently equalized on all our shared hosting servers. As for the "2006 - MySQL server has gone away" error, it is most likely caused by the fact that the queries which you site generates exceed this value. The timeout settings have been configured by our System Administrators as part of setting up the shared servers based on their best knowledge for optimal server performance. The settings cannot be altered on per account basis and increasing them further in the global MySQL configuration might lead to a serious disruption in the provided service, if not downtime, which will affect all the customers whose accounts reside on the the same server.
In case you need these settings to have higher values than their current ones, we can offer you a dedicated solution (VPS server or a Dedicated one) where we will be able to fulfill such a request and tweak the server's settings as per your own specific requirements. The upgrade to a dedicated solution can be issued from the Order Extras section of your Customer's Area. For more detailed information about our private servers and their features, you can refer to the following URL:
siteground.com/dedicated_solutions.htm
Alternatively, you can contact a developer which is familiar with the source code of your application and the structure of its database and possesses the required knowledge to assist you in optimizing the website and its database. For more detailed information about optimizing a MySQL databases, you can refer to the following URL:
developer.com/db/article.php/3667831
Best Regards,
Support Team
SiteGround.com