diff --git a/bin/pt-archiver b/bin/pt-archiver
index 6e78dcc4..54bb72e4 100755
--- a/bin/pt-archiver
+++ b/bin/pt-archiver
@@ -2112,7 +2112,8 @@ sub get_cxn_params {
          . join(';', map  { "$opts{$_}->{dsn}=$info->{$_}" }
                      grep { defined $info->{$_} }
                      qw(F h P S A))
-         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client';
+         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client'
+         . ($info->{L} ? ';mysql_local_infile=1' : '');
    }
    PTDEBUG && _d($dsn);
    return ($dsn, $info->{u}, $info->{p});
@@ -2141,6 +2142,9 @@ sub get_dbh {
       mysql_enable_utf8 => ($cxn_string =~ m/charset=utf8/i ? 1 : 0),
    };
    @{$defaults}{ keys %$opts } = values %$opts;
+   if (delete $defaults->{L}) { # L for LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE, our own extension
+      $defaults->{mysql_local_infile} = 1;
+   }
 
    if ( $opts->{mysql_use_result} ) {
       $defaults->{mysql_use_result} = 1;
@@ -6433,6 +6437,10 @@ waits until the insertion is successful.
 The L<"--low-priority-insert">, L<"--replace">, and L<"--ignore"> options work
 with this option, but L<"--delayed-insert"> does not.
 
+If C<LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE> throws an error in the lines of C<The used
+command is not allowed with this MySQL version>, refer to the documentation
+for the C<L> DSN option.
+
 =item --charset
 
 short form: -A; type: string
@@ -7163,6 +7171,26 @@ copy: yes
 
 Index to use.
 
+=item * L
+
+copy: yes
+
+Explicitly enable LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE.
+
+For some reason, some vendors compile libmysql without the
+--enable-local-infile option, which disables the statement.  This can
+lead to weird situations, like the server allowing LOCAL INFILE, but 
+the client throwing exceptions if it's used.
+
+However, as long as the server allows LOAD DATA, clients can easily
+reenable it; See L<https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/load-data-local.html>
+and L<http://search.cpan.org/~capttofu/DBD-mysql/lib/DBD/mysql.pm>.
+This option does exactly that.
+
+Although we've not found a case where turning this option leads to errors or
+differing behavior, to be on the safe side, this option is not
+on by default.
+
 =item * m
 
 copy: no
diff --git a/bin/pt-upgrade b/bin/pt-upgrade
index 157da959..396833aa 100755
--- a/bin/pt-upgrade
+++ b/bin/pt-upgrade
@@ -245,7 +245,8 @@ sub get_cxn_params {
          . join(';', map  { "$opts{$_}->{dsn}=$info->{$_}" }
                      grep { defined $info->{$_} }
                      qw(F h P S A))
-         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client';
+         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client'
+         . ($info->{L} ? ';mysql_local_infile=1' : '');
    }
    PTDEBUG && _d($dsn);
    return ($dsn, $info->{u}, $info->{p});
@@ -274,6 +275,9 @@ sub get_dbh {
       mysql_enable_utf8 => ($cxn_string =~ m/charset=utf8/i ? 1 : 0),
    };
    @{$defaults}{ keys %$opts } = values %$opts;
+   if (delete $defaults->{L}) { # L for LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE, our own extension
+      $defaults->{mysql_local_infile} = 1;
+   }
 
    if ( $opts->{mysql_use_result} ) {
       $defaults->{mysql_use_result} = 1;
@@ -12936,6 +12940,26 @@ dsn: host; copy: yes
 
 Connect to host.
 
+=item * L
+
+copy: yes
+
+Explicitly enable LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE.
+
+For some reason, some vendors compile libmysql without the
+--enable-local-infile option, which disables the statement.  This can
+lead to weird situations, like the server allowing LOCAL INFILE, but 
+the client throwing exceptions if it's used.
+
+However, as long as the server allows LOAD DATA, clients can easily
+reenable it; See L<https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/load-data-local.html>
+and L<http://search.cpan.org/~capttofu/DBD-mysql/lib/DBD/mysql.pm>.
+This option does exactly that.
+
+Although we've not found a case where turning this option leads to errors or
+differing behavior, to be on the safe side, this option is not
+on by default.
+
 =item * p
 
 dsn: password; copy: yes
diff --git a/lib/DSNParser.pm b/lib/DSNParser.pm
index 43625496..5e6dff1d 100644
--- a/lib/DSNParser.pm
+++ b/lib/DSNParser.pm
@@ -244,7 +244,8 @@ sub get_cxn_params {
          . join(';', map  { "$opts{$_}->{dsn}=$info->{$_}" }
                      grep { defined $info->{$_} }
                      qw(F h P S A))
-         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client';
+         . ';mysql_read_default_group=client'
+         . ($info->{L} ? ';mysql_local_infile=1' : '');
    }
    PTDEBUG && _d($dsn);
    return ($dsn, $info->{u}, $info->{p});
@@ -277,6 +278,9 @@ sub get_dbh {
       mysql_enable_utf8 => ($cxn_string =~ m/charset=utf8/i ? 1 : 0),
    };
    @{$defaults}{ keys %$opts } = values %$opts;
+   if (delete $defaults->{L}) { # L for LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE, our own extension
+      $defaults->{mysql_local_infile} = 1;
+   }
 
    # Only add this if explicitly set because we're not sure if
    # mysql_use_result=0 would leave default mysql_store_result
diff --git a/lib/PerconaTest.pm b/lib/PerconaTest.pm
index 974da1a2..e06b7ee3 100644
--- a/lib/PerconaTest.pm
+++ b/lib/PerconaTest.pm
@@ -138,6 +138,12 @@ our $dsn_opts = [
       dsn  => 'user',
       copy => 1,
    },
+   {
+      key  => 'L',
+      desc => 'Pass mysql_local_infile to DBD::mysql',
+      dsn  => 'mysql_local_infile',
+      copy => 1,
+   },
 ];
 
 # Runs code, captures and returns its output.
@@ -788,7 +794,7 @@ sub tables_used {
 
 sub can_load_data {
     my $output = `/tmp/12345/use -e "SELECT * FROM percona_test.load_data" 2>/dev/null`;
-    return ($output || '') =~ /42/;
+    return ($output || '') =~ /1/;
 }
 
 1;
diff --git a/lib/Sandbox.pm b/lib/Sandbox.pm
index 413db6b9..dd880925 100644
--- a/lib/Sandbox.pm
+++ b/lib/Sandbox.pm
@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ sub get_dbh_for {
    my $dp = $self->{DSNParser};
    my $dsn = $dp->parse('h=127.0.0.1,u=msandbox,p=msandbox,P=' . $port_for{$server});
    my $dbh;
+   # This is primarily for the benefit of CompareResults, but it's
+   # also quite convenient when using an affected OS
+   $cxn_ops->{L} = 1 if !exists $cxn_ops->{L}
+                     && !$self->can_load_data('master');
    eval { $dbh = $dp->get_dbh($dp->get_cxn_params($dsn), $cxn_ops) };
    if ( $EVAL_ERROR ) {
       PTDEBUG && _d('Failed to get dbh for', $server, ':', $EVAL_ERROR);
@@ -396,6 +400,7 @@ sub clear_genlogs {
    return;
 }
 
+
 sub is_cluster_node {
    my ($self, $server) = @_;
    
@@ -410,6 +415,12 @@ sub is_cluster_node {
             : 0;
 }
 
+sub can_load_data {
+    my ($self, $server) = @_;
+    my $output = $self->use($server, q{-e "SELECT * FROM percona_test.load_data"});
+    return ($output || '') =~ /1/;
+}
+
 1;
 }
 # ###########################################################################
diff --git a/sandbox/test-env b/sandbox/test-env
index 4e0d5d27..d6df069c 100755
--- a/sandbox/test-env
+++ b/sandbox/test-env
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ case $opt in
 
             # LOAD DATA is disabled or broken on some boxes.
             # PerconaTest exports $can_load_data which is true
-            # if percona_test.load_data has the 42 row,
+            # if percona_test.load_data has a row with 1,
             # signaling that LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE worked.
             ../util/check-load-data
 
diff --git a/t/lib/CompareResults.t b/t/lib/CompareResults.t
index db03f433..6a5db879 100644
--- a/t/lib/CompareResults.t
+++ b/t/lib/CompareResults.t
@@ -303,7 +303,6 @@ is_deeply(
 # #############################################################################
 my $tmpdir = '/tmp/mk-upgrade-res';
 SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 30 unless $can_load_data;
 
 diag(`rm -rf $tmpdir 2>/dev/null; mkdir $tmpdir`);
 
@@ -728,7 +727,6 @@ is_deeply(
 );
 
 SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 unless $can_load_data;
 
 $cr = new CompareResults(
    method     => 'rows',
diff --git a/t/lib/DSNParser.t b/t/lib/DSNParser.t
index 179317a2..3e6fa406 100644
--- a/t/lib/DSNParser.t
+++ b/t/lib/DSNParser.t
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ is_deeply (
             { S => 'bar', h => 'host' } ))
    ],
    [
-      'DBI:mysql:foo;host=me;mysql_socket=bar;mysql_read_default_group=client',
+      'DBI:mysql:foo;host=me;mysql_socket=bar;mysql_read_default_group=client;mysql_local_infile=1',
       'a',
       'b',
    ],
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ is_deeply (
             { S => 'bar', h => 'host' } ))
    ],
    [
-      'DBI:mysql:foo;host=me;mysql_socket=bar;charset=foo;mysql_read_default_group=client',
+      'DBI:mysql:foo;host=me;mysql_socket=bar;charset=foo;mysql_read_default_group=client;mysql_local_infile=1',
       'a',
       'b',
    ],
@@ -568,6 +568,42 @@ like(
    qr/\QUnknown system variable 'time_zoen'/,
    "get_dbh dies with an unknown system variable"
 );
+$dp->prop('set-vars', undef);
+
+# #############################################################################
+# LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE broken in some platforms
+# https://bugs.launchpad.net/percona-toolkit/+bug/821715
+# #############################################################################
+
+SKIP: {
+   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE already works here", 1 if $can_load_data;
+   my $dbh = $dp->get_dbh( $dp->get_cxn_params( $dsn ) );
+
+   use File::Temp qw(tempfile);
+
+   my ($fh, $filename) = tempfile( 'load_data_test.XXXXXXX', TMPDIR => 1 );
+   print { $fh } "42\n";
+   close $fh or die "Cannot close $filename: $!";
+
+   $dbh->do(q{DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS bug_821715});
+   $dbh->do(q{CREATE DATABASE bug_821715});
+   $dbh->do(q{CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS bug_821715.load_data (i int)});
+
+   eval {
+      $dbh->do(qq{LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '$filename' INTO TABLE bug_821715.load_data});
+   };
+
+   is(
+      $EVAL_ERROR,
+      '',
+      "Even though LOCAL INFILE is off by default, the dbhs returned by DSNParser can use it"
+   );
+   
+   unlink $filename;
+
+   $dbh->do(q{DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS bug_821715});
+   $dbh->disconnect();
+}
 
 # #############################################################################
 # Done.
diff --git a/t/pt-archiver/basics.t b/t/pt-archiver/basics.t
index 25656fd8..e7e61154 100644
--- a/t/pt-archiver/basics.t
+++ b/t/pt-archiver/basics.t
@@ -184,7 +184,6 @@ ok(
 # Bug 903387: pt-archiver doesn't honor b=1 flag to create SQL_LOG_BIN statement
 # #############################################################################
 SKIP: {
-   skip('LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled', 3) if !$can_load_data;
    $sb->load_file('master', "t/pt-archiver/samples/bulk_regular_insert.sql");
    $sb->wait_for_slaves();
 
diff --git a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
index 4727f7f7..00409975 100644
--- a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
+++ b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_insert.t
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ my $dbh = $sb->get_dbh_for('master');
 if ( !$dbh ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to sandbox master';
 }
-elsif ( !$can_load_data ) {
-   plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
-}
 
 my $output;
 my $rows;
@@ -41,7 +38,7 @@ $dbh->do('INSERT INTO `test`.`table_5_copy` SELECT * FROM `test`.`table_5`');
 $output = output(
    sub { pt_archiver::main(qw(--no-ascend --limit 50 --bulk-insert),
       qw(--bulk-delete --where 1=1 --statistics),
-      '--source', "D=test,t=table_5,F=$cnf",
+      '--source', "L=1,D=test,t=table_5,F=$cnf",
       '--dest',   "t=table_5_dest") },
 );
 like($output, qr/SELECT 105/, 'Fetched 105 rows');
@@ -66,7 +63,7 @@ $output = output(
    sub { pt_archiver::main(
        '--where', "id < 8", qw(--limit 100000 --txn-size 1000),
        qw(--why-quit --statistics --bulk-insert),
-      '--source', "D=bri,t=t,F=$cnf",
+      '--source', "L=1,D=bri,t=t,F=$cnf",
       '--dest',   "t=t_arch") },
 );
 $rows = $dbh->selectall_arrayref('select id from bri.t order by id');
diff --git a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
index 13879833..6c1e6705 100644
--- a/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
+++ b/t/pt-archiver/bulk_regular_insert.t
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ my $dbh = $sb->get_dbh_for('master');
 if ( !$dbh ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to sandbox master';
 }
-elsif ( !$can_load_data ) {
-    plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
-}
 
 my $output;
 my $cnf = "/tmp/12345/my.sandbox.cnf";
@@ -39,7 +36,7 @@ $sb->load_file('master', "t/pt-archiver/samples/bulk_regular_insert.sql");
 $dbh->do('use bri');
 
 output(
-   sub { pt_archiver::main("--source", "F=$cnf,D=bri,t=t", qw(--dest t=t_arch --where 1=1 --bulk-insert --limit 3)) },
+   sub { pt_archiver::main("--source", "F=$cnf,D=bri,t=t,L=1", qw(--dest t=t_arch --where 1=1 --bulk-insert --limit 3)) },
 );
 
 my $t_rows      = $dbh->selectall_arrayref('select * from t order by id');
@@ -73,7 +70,7 @@ is_deeply(
 $sb->load_file('master', "t/pt-archiver/samples/bulk_regular_insert.sql");
 $dbh->do('use bri');
 
-`$cmd --source F=$cnf,D=bri,t=t --dest t=t_arch,m=bulk_regular_insert --where "1=1" --bulk-insert --limit 3`;
+`$cmd --source F=$cnf,D=bri,t=t,L=1 --dest t=t_arch,m=bulk_regular_insert --where "1=1" --bulk-insert --limit 3`;
 
 my $bri_t_rows      = $dbh->selectall_arrayref('select * from t order by id');
 my $bri_t_arch_rows = $dbh->selectall_arrayref('select * from t_arch order by id');
diff --git a/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t b/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
index 04fcfc81..661be26d 100644
--- a/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
+++ b/t/pt-upgrade/basics.t
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ elsif ( !$dbh2 ) {
    plan skip_all => 'Cannot connect to second sandbox master';
 }
 
-my @host_args = ('h=127.1,P=12345', 'P=12348');
+my @host_args = ('h=127.1,P=12345,L=1', 'P=12348');
 my @op_args   = (qw(-u msandbox -p msandbox),
                  '--compare', 'results,warnings',
                  '--zero-query-times',
@@ -61,9 +61,6 @@ ok(
    'Report for multiple queries (checksum method)'
 );
 
-SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 unless $can_load_data;
-   
    ok(
       no_diff(
          sub { pt_upgrade::main(@args, "$trunk/$sample/001/select-one.log",
@@ -81,7 +78,6 @@ SKIP: {
       ),
       'Report for multiple queries (rows method)'
    );
-}
 
 ok(
    no_diff(
@@ -108,9 +104,6 @@ $sb->wipe_clean($dbh2);
 # Issue 951: mk-upgrade "I need a db argument" error with
 # compare-results-method=rows
 # #############################################################################
-SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 4 unless $can_load_data;
-
    $sb->load_file('master',  "$sample/002/tables.sql");
    $sb->load_file('master1', "$sample/002/tables.sql");
 
@@ -120,7 +113,7 @@ SKIP: {
    ok(
       no_diff(
          sub { pt_upgrade::main(@op_args, "$log/002/no-db.log",
-            'h=127.1,P=12345,D=test', 'P=12348,D=test',
+            'h=127.1,P=12345,D=test,L=1', 'P=12348,D=test',
             qw(--compare-results-method rows --temp-database test)) },
          "$sample/002/report-01.txt",
       ),
@@ -134,7 +127,7 @@ SKIP: {
    ok(
       no_diff(
          sub { pt_upgrade::main(@op_args, "$log/002/no-db.log",
-            'h=127.1,P=12345,D=test', 'P=12348,D=test',
+            'h=127.1,P=12345,D=test,L=1', 'P=12348,D=test',
             qw(--compare-results-method rows --temp-database tmp_db)) },
          "$sample/002/report-01.txt",
       ),
@@ -155,15 +148,11 @@ SKIP: {
    
    $sb->wipe_clean($dbh1);
    $sb->wipe_clean($dbh2);
-}
 
 # #############################################################################
 # Bug 926598: DBD::mysql bug causes pt-upgrade to use wrong 
 # precision (M) and scale (D) 
 # #############################################################################
-SKIP: {
-   skip "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled", 2 unless $can_load_data;
-
    $sb->load_file('master',  "$sample/003/tables.sql");
    $sb->load_file('master1', "$sample/003/tables.sql");
 
@@ -185,7 +174,6 @@ SKIP: {
       qr/[`"]SUM\(total\)[`"]\s+double\sDEFAULT/i,
       "No M,D in table def (bug 926598)"
    );
-}
 
 # #############################################################################
 # SELECT FUNC(), so there are no tables.
diff --git a/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t b/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
index d745a63e..c699f205 100644
--- a/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
+++ b/t/pt-upgrade/warnings.t
@@ -15,13 +15,6 @@ use PerconaTest;
 use Sandbox;
 require "$trunk/bin/pt-upgrade";
 
-# This test calls pt-upgrade with --compare-results-method rows
-# which use LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE.  If LOAD DATA is disabled,
-# then this this test can't run.
-if ( !$can_load_data ) {
-   plan skip_all => 'LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is disabled';
-}
-
 # This runs immediately if the server is already running, else it starts it.
 diag(`$trunk/sandbox/start-sandbox master 12348 >/dev/null`);
 
@@ -43,7 +36,7 @@ $sb->load_file('master', 't/pt-upgrade/samples/001/tables.sql');
 $sb->load_file('master1', 't/pt-upgrade/samples/001/tables.sql');
 
 my $output;
-my $cmd = "$trunk/bin/pt-upgrade h=127.1,P=12345,u=msandbox,p=msandbox P=12348 --compare results,warnings --zero-query-times --compare-results-method rows --limit 10";
+my $cmd = "$trunk/bin/pt-upgrade h=127.1,P=12345,u=msandbox,p=msandbox,L=1 P=12348 --compare results,warnings --zero-query-times --compare-results-method rows --limit 10";
 
 # This test really deals with,
 #   http://code.google.com/p/maatkit/issues/detail?id=754
diff --git a/util/check-load-data b/util/check-load-data
index e6b7d9e4..69f25577 100755
--- a/util/check-load-data
+++ b/util/check-load-data
@@ -41,17 +41,21 @@ my $dbh = DBI->connect(
 
 $dbh->do("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS percona_test.load_data (i int)");
 
-`echo 42 > /tmp/load_data_test.$$`;
+`echo 1 > /tmp/load_data_test.$$`;
 
 eval {
    $dbh->do("LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/tmp/load_data_test.$$' INTO TABLE percona_test.load_data");
 };
 
+if ( $EVAL_ERROR ) {
+   $dbh->do("INSERT INTO percona_test.load_data (i) VALUES (0)");
+}
+
 unlink "/tmp/load_data_test.$$";
 
 my ($val) = $dbh->selectrow_array("SELECT i FROM percona_test.load_data");
 
-if ( ($val || 0) == 42 ) {
+if ( ($val || 0) == 1 ) {
    print "LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE is enabled\n";
 }
 else {