mysql external connection errors?

[joelmoss]

I keep getting this error on our site:

Warning: Host 'server1.*******.com' is blocked because of many connection errors. Unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts'

I have unblocked it with the flush-hosts commands which works for a while, but then I get the error again.

What does this mean?

[cyngon]

Quoteth the MySQL manual:

this means that mysqld has gotten a lot (max_connect_errors) of connect requests from the host 'hostname' that have been interrupted in the middle. After max_connect_errors failed requests, mysqld assumes that something is wrong (like an attack from a cracker), and blocks the site from further connections until someone executes the command mysqladmin flush-hosts.

By default, mysqld blocks a host after 10 connection errors.

There is a full page about this error in the manual here:

http://darkstar.ist.utl.pt/mysql/doc...cked_host.html

(For some reason I can't connect to MySQL.com, so that's a mirror.)

If you do a "mysqladmin flush-hosts", your script will connect to the database the next time you run it?

That said, I can't think of many reasons why it would connect sometimes and not connect others. Perhaps the database server is experiencing problems, or an admin is tinkering with it.