Isolated MySQL Database Issues

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This Hostgator support thread was started by GatorDHanna on 2009-03-17 17:33:52:

Dear Customers,

A recent upgrade to MySQL 5.1 has resulted in a limited number of customers experiencing problems connecting to and accessing their SQL databases. The issues are limited to a small number of customers on a small proportion of our servers. A vast majority of HostGator’s customers are not at all affected by these upgrades.

Username Truncation Issues:

The upgrade to MySQL 5.1 was supposed to be transparent and trivial from a user perspective, but MySQL 5.1 fixed a bug that resulted in the truncation of MySQL usernames to a maximum of 16 characters, including the required cPanel username and underscore preceding the database name. With these requirements in mind, MySQL usernames should be six or fewer characters.

The difference in usernames has caused customers with MySQL usernames exceeding 16 characters to experience problems connecting to their database.

Solution for Username Truncation Issues:

Customers can fix this issue themselves if they are familiar with the various scripts they are using on their web site. To fix a WordPress installation, for example, please do the following:

1. Login to your cPanel and go to the MySQL page
2. Look at the usernames of any databases that are not working and note that username. The username has already been updated to reflect the character limit.
3. Go into your WordPress installation’s wp-config.php file and update the file to reflect the truncated MySQL username.

Most scripts have corresponding configuration files and the process to update the usernames is very similar (for example, Joomla’s is called configuration.php). Once the username is updated to reflect what is showing on the MySQL page, it will fix the problem.

If you are unsure of how to do this or uncomfortable doing so, please do not hesitate to contact our support team.

Isolated Database Corruption Issues:

A separate issue that is not directly related to the above issue is also affecting a small number of customers who had corrupt databases before the MySQL upgrade. Customers who had previously corrupt databases will have problems connecting to and using their databases. To rectify these problems, our support team can restore databases from our backups and will do so free of charge.

Contacting Our Support Team:

Both of these issues are easy to rectify quickly and easily. Please contact our support team via email at support@hostgator.com and include your affected domain names and any other relevant details that can help our support team in resolving your issues.

Fixes for these issues only take a few moments and like all of our support operations, are being done 24/7. Our system administrators are prioritizing these issues and getting a large number of fixes done very quickly.

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