error: couldn't connect to server

I encountered a problem when trying to connect to bitcoind via CLI. I start bitcoind in daemon mode, reading all configuration from default config file but when i attempt to connect to daemon via RPC i get the error message stating: "couldn't connect to server".

Here's my config file:

Code:

# bitcoin.conf configuration file. Lines beginning with # are comments.
 
 
 # Network-related settings:
 
 # Run on the test network instead of the real bitcoin network.
 #testnet=0
 
 # Connect via a socks4 proxy
 #proxy=127.0.0.1:9050
 
 ##############################################################
 ##            Quick Primer on addnode vs connect            ##
 ##  Let's say for instance you use addnode=4.2.2.4          ##
 ##  addnode will connect you to and tell you about the      ##
 ##    nodes connected to 4.2.2.4.  In addition it will tell ##
 ##    the other nodes connected to it that you exist so     ##
 ##    they can connect to you.                              ##
 ##  connect will not do the above when you 'connect' to it. ##
 ##    It will *only* connect you to 4.2.2.4 and no one else.##
 ##                                                          ##
 ##  So if you're behind a firewall, or have other problems  ##
 ##  finding nodes, add some using 'addnode'.                ##
 ##                                                          ##
 ##  If you want to stay private, use 'connect' to only      ##
 ##  connect to "trusted" nodes.                             ##
 ##                                                          ##
 ##  If you run multiple nodes on a LAN, there's no need for ##
 ##  all of them to open lots of connections.  Instead       ##
 ##  'connect' them all to one node that is port forwarded   ##
 ##  and has lots of connections.                            ##
 ##       Thanks goes to [Noodle] on Freenode.               ##
 ##############################################################
 
 # Use as many addnode= settings as you like to connect to specific peers
 #addnode=69.164.218.197
 #addnode=10.0.0.2:8333
 
 # ... or use as many connect= settings as you like to connect ONLY
 # to specific peers:
 #connect=69.164.218.197
 #connect=10.0.0.1:8333
 
 # Do not use Internet Relay Chat (irc.lfnet.org #bitcoin channel) to
 # find other peers.
 #noirc=0
 
 # Maximum number of inbound+outbound connections.
 #maxconnections=
 
 
 # JSON-RPC options (for controlling a running Bitcoin/bitcoind process)
 
 # server=1 tells Bitcoin-QT to accept JSON-RPC commands.
 server=1
 
 # You must set rpcuser and rpcpassword to secure the JSON-RPC api
 rpcuser="its_me"
 rpcpassword="its_my_password"
 
 # How many seconds bitcoin will wait for a complete RPC HTTP request.
 # after the HTTP connection is established. 
 rpctimeout=60
 
 # By default, only RPC connections from localhost are allowed.  Specify
 # as many rpcallowip= settings as you like to allow connections from
 # other hosts (and you may use * as a wildcard character):
 #rpcallowip=10.1.1.34
 #rpcallowip=192.168.1.*
 
 # Listen for RPC connections on this TCP port:
 rpcport=8332
 
 # You can use Bitcoin or bitcoind to send commands to Bitcoin/bitcoind
 # running on another host using this option:
 #rpcconnect=127.0.0.1
 
 # Use Secure Sockets Layer (also known as TLS or HTTPS) to communicate
 # with Bitcoin -server or bitcoind
 #rpcssl=1
 
 # OpenSSL settings used when rpcssl=1
 #rpcsslciphers=TLSv1+HIGH:!SSLv2:!aNULL:!eNULL:!AH:!3DES:@STRENGTH
 #rpcsslcertificatechainfile=server.cert
 #rpcsslprivatekeyfile=server.pem
 
 
 # Miscellaneous options
 
 # Set gen=1 to attempt to generate bitcoins
 #gen=0
 
 # Use SSE instructions to try to generate bitcoins faster.
 #4way=1
 
 # Pre-generate this many public/private key pairs, so wallet backups will be valid for
 # both prior transactions and several dozen future transactions.
 #keypool=100
 
 # Pay an optional transaction fee every time you send bitcoins.  Transactions with fees
 # are more likely than free transactions to be included in generated blocks, so may
 # be validated sooner.
 #paytxfee=0.00
 
 # Allow direct connections for the 'pay via IP address' feature.
 #allowreceivebyip=1
   
 # User interface options
 
 # Start Bitcoin minimized
 #min=1
 
 # Minimize to the system tray
 #minimizetotray=1

And here's a pair of commands i use to run bitcoind (daemon, client):

Code:

[earl@b2x2:~/bitcoin_utils]$ bitcoind -daemon -server=1
Bitcoin server starting
[earl@b2x2:~/bitcoin_utils]$ bitcoind -listen=0 -server=0 help

I do not think I need to provide rpc related options when running a client as all information are mentioned in my config file. (Right?)

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I had the working commands until they have been flushed out from my bash history and i'm not able to replicate them from scratch. I would be much grateful if anyone could help me with this one so I can finally go to sleep. :-)