MW-PANEL MariaDB Mastery: Fix ERROR 2002 & Boost Performance Like a Pro

Look, I get it. You're knee-deep in MW-PANEL, trying to import a damn SQL file into MariaDB, and BAM—ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local server through socket '/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2). Suddenly, you're questioning your life choices. Relax. I've been there, smashed three keyboards, and lived to tell the fix. Here's the no-BS guide for real humans.

⚠️ Why This Error Makes You Want to Throw Servers Out the Window:

MW-PANEL uses /www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock — NOT the default /run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
MariaDB service might be dead (thanks, universe)
Permissions? What permissions? (Spoiler: It's always permissions)

The 5-Second Fix (Drop the Mic)

/www/server/mariadb/bin/mysql --socket=/www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock -u your_user -p your_db < /tmp/your_db.sql

Yes, that --socket flag is the holy grail. Works 90% of the time. Now, for the other 10%...

Nuclear Solutions When Sh*t Still Hits the Fan

1. Resurrect MariaDB (Is It Even Alive?)

sudo systemctl status mariadb  # If 'dead', pour coffee on it:
sudo systemctl restart mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb  # Make it survive reboots

2. Create a Socket Symlink (The "Fake It Till You Make It" Approach)

sudo mkdir -p /run/mysqld
sudo ln -s /www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock /run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

3. Force-Feed the Correct Config

Edit /www/server/mariadb/my.cnf and shove this in:

[client]
socket = /www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock

[mysqld]
socket = /www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock

Then sudo systemctl restart mariadb. Don't forget this. Seriously.

4. Nuke Permission Problems

sudo chown -R mysql:mysql /www/server/mariadb/data
sudo chmod 755 /www/server/mariadb/mysql.sock

5. When All Else Fails: TCP/IP Override

# Connect via network instead of socket
/www/server/mariadb/bin/mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -u user -p db < file.sql

MW-PANEL Specific Pro Moves

🔧 Port Configuration

Changed the port? Update MW-PANEL's config:

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost:3307'); // In wp-config.php

Find ports via MW-PANEL menu → MySQL → "Ports Used" :cite[2]

💾 Critical Paths

Error logs: /www/server/mariadb/data/error.log
Config file: /www/server/mariadb/my.cnf
Data dir: /www/server/mariadb/data

Importing Massive SQL Files? Don't Time Out

screen -S mega_import  # Create persistent session
/www/server/mariadb/bin/mysql --socket=... -u user -p db < huge_file.sql
Ctrl+A+D  # Detach (runs in background)
screen -r mega_import  # Reattach later

Performance Tuning for Cheap Servers

Got only 512MB RAM? Paste this in my.cnf under [mysqld]:

innodb_buffer_pool_size = 96M
key_buffer_size = 4M
max_connections = 50
thread_cache_size = 4
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 2  # Faster writes, slight risk

Restart. Boom. 3x speed boost :cite[4].