title: MariaDB - cannot set max_connections through my.cnf
body: <p>I am struggling to set max_connections parameter in /etc/my.cnf but MariaDB does not seem to read the parameter from the file.</p>
  
  <p>My /etc/my.cnf file:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[mysqld]
  #skip-grant-tables
  datadir=/data/mysql
  socket=/data/mysql/mysql.sock
  # Disabling symbolic-links is recommended to prevent assorted security risks
  symbolic-links=0
  
  # network
  connect_timeout = 60
  wait_timeout = 28800
  max_connections = 100000
  max_allowed_packet = 64M
  max_connect_errors = 1000
  
  # limits
  tmp_table_size = 512M
  max_heap_table_size = 256M
  table_cache = 512
  
  [mysqld_safe]
  log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log
  pid-file=/var/run/mariadb/mariadb.pid
  
  [client]
  port = 3306
  socket= /data/mysql/mysql.sock
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But when I check the variable in MariaDB, it shows the default value:</p>
  
  <pre><code>MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'max_connections';
  +-----------------+-------+
  | Variable_name   | Value |
  +-----------------+-------+
  | max_connections | 214   |
  +-----------------+-------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, other parameters in my.cnf are correct:</p>
  
  <pre><code>MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'wait_timeout';
  +---------------+-------+
  | Variable_name | Value |
  +---------------+-------+
  | wait_timeout  | 28800 |
  +---------------+-------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  
  MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'max_allowed_packet';
  +--------------------+----------+
  | Variable_name      | Value    |
  +--------------------+----------+
  | max_allowed_packet | 67108864 |
  +--------------------+----------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  
  
  MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'max_connect_errors';
  +--------------------+-------+
  | Variable_name      | Value |
  +--------------------+-------+
  | max_connect_errors | 1000  |
  +--------------------+-------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  
  MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'connect_timeout';
  +-----------------+-------+
  | Variable_name   | Value |
  +-----------------+-------+
  | connect_timeout | 60    |
  +-----------------+-------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I can set this variable from mysql command line but it resets itself when I restart the service:</p>
  
  <pre><code>MariaDB [(none)]&gt; set global max_connections := 10000;
  Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
  
  MariaDB [(none)]&gt; show variables like 'max_connections';
  +-----------------+-------+
  | Variable_name   | Value |
  +-----------------+-------+
  | max_connections | 10000 |
  +-----------------+-------+
  1 row in set (0.00 sec)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>OS: RHEL 7</p>
  
  <p>MariaDB version: mariadb-server-5.5.47-1.el7_2.x86_64</p>
  
  <p>See here: <a href="https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/137487/mariadb-cannot-set-max-connections-and-wait-timeout-through-my-cnf">https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/137487/mariadb-cannot-set-max-connections-and-wait-timeout-through-my-cnf</a></p>