How to set max_allowed_packet size for MySQL?

How to set max_allowed_packet size to 16 MB for MySQL?

Follow the steps below to achieve the same:

Set the max_allowed_packet value in /etc/my.cnf file:

vi /etc/my.cnf
---
....
[mysqld]
max_allowed_packet=16M
....
---

Restart MySQL service:

# /etc/init.d/mysqld restart
mysql start/running, process 2496

Plesk for Windows :

Correct the same value in %plesk_dir%\Plesk\Databases\MySQL\Data\my.ini and restart MySQL process.