Error with DHL mod

[trifid]

HI,
I just recently installed the DHL mod "Airborne Express Quotes using ShipIT XML API". When I activate it through the admin side the checkout_shipping.php brakes and through the error:

2006 - MySQL server has gone away
select startdate, counter from counter
[TEP STOP]
2006 - MySQL server has gone away
select count(*) as total from sessions where sesskey='a78ca29074150b4c9ab706c5dd4f1451'
[TEP STOP]

A quick look at the MySQL logs shows that the MySQL server has not gone down. It seem to have timed out.

When I turn on debug print to screen in the DHL mod and reload the page it shows the xml request and a successful xml response with the same error messages following.

Has anyone experienced this problem?

Many thanks,
~trifid

[trifid]

Results of more diagnostic work on this problem.

The first part of the error:
2006 - MySQL server has gone away
select startdate, counter from counter
[TEP STOP]

The select statement referenced in this error is from line 13 of /includes/counter.php

The second part of the error:
2006 - MySQL server has gone away
select count(*) as total from sessions where sesskey='...
[TEP STOP]

The select statement in this error message comes from line 51 in checkout_shipping.php. This is the part of the code that verifies selected address.

Measuring the response time of the page with DHL turned off with DHL turned on reveals response times that are much shorter than the time out default set for my MySQL server. This suggests that the error is not a timing out error.

!!! Important
A quick look at the store database I found the table "counter" referenced by the select statement in "counter.php". It does not have a primary key and the only data in it was dated well before the date I installed it. So no data has been written to this table.

Could someone check their database I find out if there is a primary key for the table "counter".
I suspect that not having a key makes this table inaccessible causing the store system to thrashing out the error.
~trifid