"Packet for query is too large" Error Occurs During Portal Integration Update

Products

• CA API Gateway
• CA API Developer Portal

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading the API Developer Portal and attempting the Update Portal Integration in the Gateway, a JDBC exception occurs. In the ssg logs, the following error is observed.

2026-01-01T00:00:26.113-0400 INFO    75  com.l7tech.server.bundling.EntityBundleImporter importBundles: Importing bundle!
2026-01-01T00:00:29.226-0400 WARNING 75  org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper logExceptions: SQL Error: 0, SQLState: S1000
2026-01-01T00:00:29.227-0400 SEVERE  75  org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper logExceptions: Packet for query is too large (38,453,554 > 33,554,432). You can change this value on the server by setting the 'max_allowed_packet' variable.
2026-01-01T00:00:29.232-0400 WARNING 75  com.l7tech.server.bundling.EntityBundleImporter a: Error importing bundle on processing mapping 184 of 184. Mapping: EntityHeader. 

Environment

CA API Gateway 11.x
API Developer Portal 5.x.x
MySQL Database

Cause

The MySQL max_allowed_packet parameter was set to 32 MB, but the entity bundle being imported during the Portal integration update was larger than that.

Resolution

Increase the max_allowed_packet parameter in the MySQL configuration, then attempt the Portal integration update again.

1- Stop the mysql and ssg services on the gateway.
2- Open the /etc/my.cnf file using a text editor.
3- Locate the max_allowed_packet parameter and set it to 1G.
Note: This parameter may exist in multiple sections of the file; ensure all instances are updated.
4- Save the file.
5- Start the mysql and ssg services.

Once the Portal integration update is successful, it is recommended to lower the max_allowed_packet value to 64M.