Sometimes when you try to install a component/plugin/module to your Joomla, the installation may time out or you can get an error "MySQL Server has gone away".

This is a known issue when FTP in Joomla is enabled. The reason for this issue is simple - when FTP is enabled, the upload of the component/plugin/module goes through FTP and this process is quite slow. If FTP is disabled, the upload goes directly through PHP and thus the installation process is completed much faster.

You can disable FTP in Joomla from the admin area > Global Configuration > Server > FTP Settings > Enable FTP > No.