How to Resolve the "ERROR 2003 (HY000): Can't Connect to MySQL Server on '127.0.0.1' (111)" Error

When attempting to connect to a MySQL server using the command mysql -u root -h 127.0.0.1 -p, you may encounter the error message "ERROR 2003 (HY000): Can't connect to MySQL server on '127.0.0.1' (111)." This error typically occurs when MySQL is not running or when there is a configuration issue that prevents the client from connecting to the server.

Solution for Ubuntu Users

If you are using Ubuntu, there is a specific configuration that you need to adjust to resolve this error:

1. Run the command vim /etc/mysql/my.cnf.
2. Find the line that says bind-address = 127.0.0.1.
3. Comment out this line by adding a # symbol to the beginning of it.
4. Restart the MySQL server.

If you cannot find the bind-address setting in the my.cnf file, look for it in the file /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf.

Solution for MySQL Replication Environments

If you are using MySQL replication, you may need to connect to the MySQL server using the IP address that is specified in the my.cnf file as the bind-address instead of localhost or 127.0.0.1.