chkconfig not automatically starting mysql

chkconfig not automatically starting mysql

I have mysql set in chkconfig to automatically start when the system reboots:
root@myserver:~#chkconfig mysql
mysql on
However, this does not seem to be the case. When the system reboots, I get
the following error on my PHP pages:
SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket
'/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (2)
If I run service mysql start, the PHP pages begin to work (the above error
does not appear, and queries return values). Is this an inappropriate
configuration on my part? What else do I need to do to get mysql to start
correctly after a reboot?
Note: I'm running mysql on a SLES VM.