Re: ERROR 2006 (HY000) MySQL server has gone away

[Rick James]

"When you change the message buffer size by changing the value of the max_allowed_packet variable, you should also change the buffer size on the client side if your client program permits it. The default max_allowed_packet value built in to the client library is 1GB, but individual client programs might override this. For example, mysql and mysqldump have defaults of 16MB and 24MB, respectively. They also enable you to change the client-side value by setting max_allowed_packet on the command line or in an option file.
"
-- http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_max_allowed_packet

Also...
http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?10,591684,591720
http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?35,521425,521859
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/gone-away.html