Unable to access Plesk panel: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Connection refused

Symptoms

• An attempt to access Plesk login page at http://203.0.113.1:8443 results in the following error:

  Server Error
  500 Plesk\Exception\Database
  DB query failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Connection refused Type Plesk\Exception\Database
  Message DB query failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Connection refused
  File Mysql.php
  Line 79

• Mariadb service is not started

  # systemctl status mariadb.service
  ○ mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.6.21 database server
  Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; vendor prese>
  Active: inactive (dead)

Cause

Plesk user interface requires mariadb.service to be up and running to load properly.

Resolution

1. Connect to the server via SSH

2. Start MariaDB with the following command:

# systemctl start mariadb.service