Parallels Plesk Panel - 11.0 Installation Manual
Parallels® Panel
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Contents
Preface 6
Typographical Conventions ........................................................................................................... 6
Feedback ....................................................................................................................................... 7
About This Document 8
Introduction 9
Installing Panel 10
Before Installing Panel ................................................................................................................ 11
1. Check Installation Requirements .................................................................................. 12
2. Choose a Release Tier ................................................................................................. 14
3. Choose Panel Components .......................................................................................... 16
4. (Advanced) Use Alternative Package Repositories ...................................................... 19
Manual Installation....................................................................................................................... 20
Installation from the Web Interface ................................................................................... 21
Installation from the Command Line ................................................................................. 22
Typical Installation with One-Click Installer ....................................................................... 22
(Advanced) Automated Installation ............................................................................................. 23
Running Automated Installations ...................................................................................... 25
Installation Script Examples (Linux) .................................................................................. 27
(Advanced) Installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers .......................................................... 28
Linux PVC Templates ....................................................................................................... 29
Installation on PVC for Linux ............................................................................................. 32
Windows PVC Templates ................................................................................................. 35
Installation on PVC for Windows ....................................................................................... 36
Post-Installation Setup ................................................................................................................ 38
Manual Post-Installation Setup ......................................................................................... 39
(Advanced) Automated Post-Installation Setup ................................................................ 40
Installing Third-Party Services 51
Web Deploy 2.0 ........................................................................................................................... 52
1. Install Web Deploy ........................................................................................................ 52
2. Improve the Security Level ............................................................................................ 53
3. Secure the Service with a Valid Certificate ................................................................... 53
4. Activate Web Deploy in Hosting Plans and Subscriptions ............................................ 53
Manual Installation of Web Deploy.................................................................................... 53
Adobe ColdFusion (Linux) ........................................................................................................... 54
Google Services for Websites ..................................................................................................... 55
Providing Access to Google Services on Websites .......................................................... 57
UNITY Mobile Services for Mobile Sites ..................................................................................... 59
Miva E-commerce Applications (Windows) ................................................................................. 60
Miva E-commerce Applications (Linux) ....................................................................................... 60
Installing Panel Extensions (Linux) 62
Preface 4
Installing Additional License Keys for Panel Add-ons ................................................................. 63
(Advanced) Mirroring Parallels Updates Server 64
What Upgrade Way to Choose 65
In-Place Panel Upgrading 66
Before Upgrading Panel .............................................................................................................. 68
1. Check Requirements ..................................................................................................... 69
2. Perform Pre-Upgrade Check-Up ................................................................................... 70
3. Choose a Release Tier ................................................................................................. 70
Manual Upgrade .......................................................................................................................... 71
Upgrade from the Panel GUI (Panel 10 and later) ............................................................ 72
Upgrade from the Web Interface ....................................................................................... 72
Upgrade from the Command Line ..................................................................................... 75
(Advanced) Automated Upgrade ................................................................................................. 76
Running Automated Upgrades .......................................................................................... 78
Upgrade Script Examples (Linux) ..................................................................................... 80
(Advanced) Upgrade in Parallels Virtuozzo Containers .............................................................. 81
Upgrading Panel on PVC for Linux ................................................................................... 82
Upgrading Panel on PVC for Windows ............................................................................. 83
Post-Upgrade Setup .................................................................................................................... 84
Installing a License Key .................................................................................................... 85
Configuring Connections to Remote Panels of Earlier Versions ...................................... 86
Upgrading Panel by Transfer 87
Upgrading with Migration & Transfer Manager ........................................................................... 88
Preparing for Upgrade ....................................................................................................... 89
Performing Upgrade .......................................................................................................... 98
Upgrading Through Backup Files .............................................................................................. 100
Completing Upgrade from Panel 9 and Earlier Versions 104
Conversion Schemes and Recommended Steps ..................................................................... 105
Reseller Accounts ........................................................................................................... 105
Administrator's Clients and Their Domains ..................................................................... 106
Resellers' Clients and Their Domains ............................................................................. 107
Domains Belonging to Administrator ............................................................................... 108
Domains Belonging to Resellers ..................................................................................... 108
Completing the Transition ......................................................................................................... 109
Associating New Accounts and Subscriptions with Plans ......................................................... 111
Execution of Scripts via Cron Task Scheduler (Linux Hosting) ................................................. 111
Transferring Panel Data 113
Transferring Data with Migration & Transfer Manager .............................................................. 114
Preparing for Transfer ..................................................................................................... 115
Performing Transfer ........................................................................................................ 124
Transferring Data Through Backup Files .................................................................................. 126
Migrating to Panel 129
Preface 5
Preparing for Migration .............................................................................................................. 131
cPanel ............................................................................................................................. 132
Confixx ............................................................................................................................ 136
Parallels Pro Control Panel for Linux .............................................................................. 142
Helm ................................................................................................................................ 146
Performing Migration ................................................................................................................. 161
Migrating from Parallels Small Business Panel ......................................................................... 163
Important Facts about Migration ..................................................................................... 163
Migration Scenarios ........................................................................................................ 165
Preparing for Migration from SBP ................................................................................... 165
Performing Migration from SBP ...................................................................................... 167
Troubleshooting 171
Troubleshooting Installation and Upgrade Issues ..................................................................... 172
Troubleshooting Migration and Transfer Issues ........................................................................ 173
Troubleshooting on Linux Systems ................................................................................. 174
Troubleshooting on Windows Systems ........................................................................... 176
Appendix A: Parallels Installer Options 178
Appendix B: Configuring Panel for Linux to Access Vendor Updates 181
Appendix C: Enabling Support for SecureLVE 182
6 Preface
In this section:
Typographical Conventions ............................................................................... 6
Feedback .......................................................................................................... 7
Formatting convention
Type of Information
Example
Special Bold
Items you must select,
such as menu options,
command buttons, or
items in a list.
Go to the System tab.
Titles of chapters,
sections, and subsections.
Read the Basic Administration
chapter.
Italics
Used to emphasize the
importance of a point, to
introduce a term or to
designate a command line
placeholder, which is to be
replaced with a real name
or value.
The system supports the so
called wildcard character search.
Monospace
The names of commands,
files, and directories.
The license file is located in the
http://docs/common/licen
ses directory.
Preface
Typographical Conventions
Before you start using this guide, it is important to understand the documentation
conventions used in it.
The following kinds of formatting in the text identify special information.
Preface 7
Formatting convention
Type of Information
Example
Preformatted
On-screen computer
output in your commandline sessions; source code
in XML, C++, or other
programming languages.
# ls –al /files
total 14470
Preformatted Bold
What you type, contrasted
with on-screen computer
output.
# cd /root/rpms/php
CAPITALS
Names of keys on the
keyboard.
SHIFT, CTRL, ALT
KEY+KEY
Key combinations for
which the user must press
and hold down one key
and then press another.
CTRL+P, ALT+F4
Feedback
If you have found an error in this guide, or if you have suggestions or ideas on how to
improve this guide, please send your feedback using the online form at
http://www.parallels.com/en/support/usersdoc/. Please include in your report the guide's title,
chapter and section titles, and the fragment of text in which you have found an error.
This document describes how to deploy Parallels Plesk Panel on physical and virtual
C H A P T E R 1
About This Document
servers. Parallels Plesk Panel (hereinafter referred to as Panel) is a complete hosting
automation solution. Panel allows hosting customers to manage their websites, mail
addresses, and other services through a user-friendly web interface. For hosting
providers, Panel offers powerful tools for configuring hosting services and delivering
these services to their customers.
This guide is intended for all categories of users considering Panel deployment: users
who want to perform a new Panel installation, switch to an updated version of Panel
from earlier versions, or switch to Panel from another hosting panel.
The sections of this guide cover all common scenarios of Panel deployment: installing
to a clean environment, upgrading, transferring hosting accounts from one server to
another, or migrating from other hosting solutions. The sections concerning more
complex deployment scenarios (such as automated installation to a group of servers)
are marked with the (Advanced) prefix. Such advanced sections are intended mainly for
companies with a large server park that want to cut costs by automating Panel
deployment.
There are four ways to perform Panel deployment: installation, upgrade, transfer, and
C H A P T E R 2
Introduction
migration. Depending on your needs, you should choose the scenario that suits you
best. For users of other hosting panels, migration is the only way to switch to Panel
11.0. Let us take a closer look at the possible deployment scenarios:
Installation.
If you want to deploy to a single server, you should download and run the installer
utility from the official Parallels website. The installation wizard will guide you
through all the steps that are necessary to successfully install Panel. This scenario
is called "manual" because you interact with the installer. If you have a larger park
of servers, we recommend that you install Panel in an automated, unattended,
manner. This is done by providing the installer utility with all necessary details as
command-line arguments. For mass Panel deployments, we recommend that you
install Panel instances to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers.
Learn more in the chapter Installing Panel (on page 10).
Upgrade.
If you use an earlier Panel version, you can upgrade it to a later version when it is
available. There are two ways of upgrading Panel:
In-place upgrade is a process of updating Panel components on a server. As
well as installations, in-place upgrades can be performed manually or
automatically on a number of Panel servers. Learn more in the chapter In-Place
Panel Upgrading (on page 66).
Upgrade by transfer implies transferring of Panel data from your current Panel
server (source server) to a server with a clean installation of the latest Panel
version (destination server). Learn more in the chapter Upgrading Panel by Transfer
(on page 87).
Each way of upgrade is better in certain cases: In-place upgrade is faster and does
not require preparing an additional server, while upgrade by transfer supports a
wider list of Panel versions and allows you, for example, to move from a server with
a currently unsupported operating system. To find out which way is the most
suitable for you, refer to the chapter What Upgrade Way to Choose (on page 65).
Transfer.
Panel supports transferring hosting data (for example, service plans, subscriptions
with content, and so on) from one Panel server to another. This allows you, for
example, to seamlessly move your Panel to a more productive server. To learn how
to transfer Panel data, see the chapter Transferring Panel Data (on page 113).
Migration.
Migration is the only way to switch to Panel from other hosting solutions (CPanel,
Confixx, and other). This is done by transferring hosting data from a source server
to Panel. To learn from what hosting solutions you can migrate to Panel and how to
do it, see the chapter Migrating to Panel (on page 129).
There are three main installation scenarios that you choose from, depending on your
C H A P T E R 3
Installing Panel
environment: Manual, automatic, and installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers.
Manual Installation
This is the best way if you want a new single installation of Panel. Manual means that
the installation requires user input. The wizard will prompt you to enter various
installation settings such as Panel version, installed components, and so on. Manual
installation is performed by the Parallels Installer utility that you should download from
the official Parallels website and run either in the GUI or in the command-line mode.
For those who want to quickly install Panel in the most typical configuration, we offer
the One-Click Installer utility. Learn more about it in the section Manual Installation (on
page 20).
Automated Installation
A manual Panel installation is time-consuming when it comes to handling a large
number of hardware nodes or physical servers. To facilitate these complex
deployments, we offer the automated type of installation. The main idea is to run the
installation without any user input. This is done by setting up all installation parameters
with the help of Parallels Installer command-line options. Moreover, on Linux systems
we suggest that you write a script that copies and simultaneously runs the Installer
utility on a number of servers. Learn more in the section (Advanced) Automated Installation
(on page 23).
Note that automated installations can be significantly speeded up if you create a local
mirror of the Parallels updates server. Learn more in the chapter (Advanced) Mirroring
Parallels Updates Server (on page 64).
Installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers
Parallels Virtuozzo Containers (PVC) is a virtualization solution employed by a large
number of service providers. If you need to install Panel into Virtuozzo Containers, the
best way to do it is to use PVC app templates. A PVC app template is a package
containing app data and configuration scripts that are necessary for installation. The
main benefit of PVC templates is that you install an app template to your server just
once, and then install the app from the template to a number of containers
simultaneously. Further app upgrades are also applied through templates.
When installing Panel with a PVC template, you do not need to use the Installer utility.
You just apply a certain template to a container (or a number of containers) using the
Virtuozzo commands. If you need a number of containers with Panel, you can clone the
container with the installed template as many times as you need. Learn more in the
section (Advanced) Installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers (on page 28).
Installing Panel 11
Installation Steps
In this chapter:
Before Installing Panel ...................................................................................... 11
Manual Installation ............................................................................................ 20
(Advanced) Automated Installation .................................................................... 23
(Advanced) Installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers .................................. 28
Post-Installation Setup ...................................................................................... 38
In this section:
1. Check Installation Requirements ................................................................... 12
2. Choose a Release Tier .................................................................................. 14
3. Choose Panel Components ........................................................................... 16
4. (Advanced) Use Alternative Package Repositories ........................................ 19
Every installation begins with some preliminary steps (checking requirements, choosing
the proper Panel version, and so on) and ends with some post-installation configuration
(initializing Panel, installing a license key, and so on). Most of these steps are the same
for all installation types. The only difference is that in manual installations, postinstallation steps should be performed through the GUI, while for automated
installations we suggest using Panel API to automatically perform the post-installation
configuration.
Note that Panel supports many third-party services that are not installed by default
(such as support for Google Services, UNITY Mobile Services, Microsoft Web Deploy,
and others). If you want Panel to provide such services, you must install them after all
post-installation steps are finished. Learn more in the chapter Installing Third-Party
Services (on page 51).
Moreover, you can significantly extend Panel functionality on Linux systems by
installing Panel extensions. You can access such extensions directly from the Panel
GUI and gain control over many additional and handy features, such as a file server,
firewall, and others. Learn how to install additional Panel extensions in the chapter
Installing Panel Extensions (Linux) (on page 62).
Before Installing Panel
There are a few preliminary steps that you might need to perform before installing
Panel. These steps apply to all installation scenarios.
12 Installing Panel
1. Check Installation Requirements
Before you install Panel on a server, make sure you meet the following requirements.
Requirements for Linux Systems
We recommend that you install Panel on a clean operating system. Before installing
Parallels Plesk Panel for Linux, make sure that the following requirements are met:
A static IPv4 address is preliminarily configured. If you have an environment that
uses only IPv6 addresses, ensure the proper address translation to the IPv4
segment of the Internet.
Certain ports should be opened. For details, see http://kb.parallels.com/en/391.
PHP 5 is required for the brand new Web Presence Builder component.
The disk space allocated to the /tmp directory exceeds three gigabytes.
A user who runs the installer is able to execute files in the /tmp directory. This
makes it possible to install the system packages required for the Panel. When the
installation is completed, we recommend that you mount /tmp with the noexec
option. For details on how to do it, see http://kb.parallels.com/en/1410
(http://kb.parallels.com/en/1410).
If you run Debian, CloudLinux, or Ubuntu, add updates and security repositories to
your apt (package manager) configuration.
Your hard drive must be properly partitioned. For instructions, see the article on
partitioning tips at http://kb.parallels.com/article_17_819_en.html.
On Debian and Ubuntu operating systems, the path /usr/local/psa is reserved
for system needs. We highly recommend that you neither manually create this
directory nor mount a separate partition to this location. Instead, if you want to use
a separate partition for Panel, mount the partition to /opt/psa/, the commonly
used path for Debian and Ubuntu installations. If you do not follow this
recommendation, Panel will not be able to apply updates.
If you wish to install Panel with the Business Manager component, you should
preliminarily check that the MySQL server configuration option sort_buffer_size is set to
2 megabytes (sort_buffer_size=2M) or more. This option is set in the /etc/my.cnf
file. After the configuration change, restart the mysqld service:
service mysqld restart
Installing Panel 13
Requirements for Windows Systems
Before installing Parallels Plesk Panel for Windows, back up all your server data and
make sure that the following requirements are met:
Your server is not working as a Windows Domain Controller (neither primary nor
backup). If this requirement is not fulfilled, a system crash may occur during the
creation of domains with certain names.
Internet Information Services (IIS) should be installed on the server. Particularly,
the following components are required:
On Windows Server 2003, World Wide Web (WWW) Service and File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) Service.
On Windows Server 2008, the default components of the Web Server Role.
A static IPv4 address should be configured in the OS prior to the Panel installation.
If you have an environment that uses only IPv6 addresses, ensure the proper
address translation to the IPv4 segment of the Internet.
Certain ports should be opened. For details, see http://kb.parallels.com/en/391.
The installation path of the Panel must contain only ASCII symbols.
Panel can be installed only on NTFS partitions.
If you plan to use Microsoft SQL Server support in the Panel, the SQL Server
should be installed and configured to use standard or mixed security mode. If the
SQL Server is not installed, you can select it to be installed with the Panel and
configured with administrator name 'sa' and a random password.
Prior to upgrading Panel, ensure that you have the latest version of the Microsoft
Visual C++ Redistributable Package.
Note: To install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as a part of Plesk installation, preliminarily
install Microsoft Installer 4.5 and .NET Framework 2.0 SP 2. If you are running
Windows 2003 server, install the Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003 before installing
Panel.
If you want to install Panel with the Business Manager component, you should
preliminarily check that the MySQL server configuration option sort_buffer_size is set to
2 megabytes (sort_buffer_size=2M) or more. This option is set in the
%plesk_dir%\Databases\MySQL\Data\my.ini file. After the configuration
change, restart the mysqld service by running these two commands from shell:
net stop mysql
net start mysql
2. Choose a Release Tier
One more step before installing Panel is to choose the proper Panel version depending
on its release tier.
Each major version of Panel passes through a number of development stages. It is
natural that on earlier stages, some of newly implemented features may not be in their
final state and may require some further modification. The functionality of suсh features
in subsequent Panel versions is improved as they receive more customer feedback
over time. To indicate the stage of the current Panel version, we assign one of the
following release tiers to it: Testing release, Early Adopter release, General release,
and Late Adopter release. The decision on what tier to use is absolutely up to you. For
example, consider installing the early adopter release if you want to try new features
before the general availability of Panel. On the other hand, if you want to get the
solution that received all major updates and is successfully used by a number of
service providers, wait until Panel gets the late adopter release status (it may be a
couple of months after the general release).
Choose one of the following:
Testing release.
We start each release cycle with publishing a number of testing releases for
preview purposes and let you sequentially upgrade from the first one to the last,
and then upgrade to higher release tiers. We do not provide technical support for
such builds even if they were upgraded to higher tiers. Thus, avoid using this build
in a production environment.
Notes:
1. By default, testing builds are not shown as available for installation. You can
install the testing Panel version only by running Parallels Installer with one of the
special options. Learn more in the chapter Manual Installation.
2. Upgrade to the next testing release is available only to the users of a testing
build. Subsequent Panel builds do not have the corresponding option in the GUI.
Early Adopter release.
An early adopter release has all claimed features and previous versions
successfully upgrade to it. The quality of this version is eventually improved by
updates. By selecting the early adopter release you become the first to see the new
features and receive the freshest updates.
General release.
A general release has passed all quality tests. Minor issues are promptly fixed by
updates. We recommend that you always upgrade Panel to general release
versions.
Late Adopter release.
A late adopter release has received all major updates issued for the current Panel
version, and a number of service providers have successfully used it for some time.
Installing Panel 15
During the manual installation, selection of a release tier is one of the installation
wizard steps. If an installation is automated by a script, you should specify a certain tier
using Installer options. For users of PVC templates, the general release is the only
option.
16 Installing Panel
3. Choose Panel Components
Panel employs a number of interchangeable components for providing its services. For
example, mail services on Linux can be provided by either Postfix or Qmail. The
decision about what component to choose is made during Panel installation. Also,
some components that you may find useful are not installed by default. Before installing
Panel, acquaint yourself with available Panel components and choose the ones to
include in your final Panel configuration. Next in this section, we will give
recommendations on which components to choose under various circumstances. The
components from the list below are not installed by default unless explicitly stated.
Note: Some components may be unavailable to you due to the limitations of your
Panel license key.
Billing Automation
Customer & Business Manager
Customer & Business Manager is a billing automation solution available with Panel
out of the box. This automates the subscribing of customers to hosting services,
along with all attendant business operations. Do not install the component if you
want to use a third-party solution or if you do not need billing automation at all.
Web Hosting
Web hosting components are used to switch the support for a certain web hosting
service. For example, support for a certain scripting language or support for FTP
connections.
Apache mod_fcgid module
(Installed by default). Install this component if you want to turn on FastCGI support
for the Apache web server.
Apache mod_perl module
(Installed by default). Install this component if you want to turn on support for Perl
scripts by the Apache web server.
ProFTPD FTP server
(Installed by default). Install this component if you want to allow users to connect to
Panel using FTP.
Bandwidth Limiter for Apache support (mod_bw)
Install this component if you want to manage bandwidth limiting for incoming
connections.
Apache ASP support
Install this component if you want to turn on support for ASP scripts by the Apache
web server.
Tomcat Java Servlets support
Install this component if you want to turn on support for Java servlets.
Apache mod_python module
Install this component if you want to turn on support for Python scripts by the
Apache web server.
Installing Panel 17
Ruby on Rails support
Install this component if you want to turn on support for Ruby on Rails scripts.
ColdFusion support for Plesk
Install this component if you want to turn on support for ColdFusion scripts.
MIVA Empresa support
Install this component if you want to turn on support for MIVA scripts.
Webalizer web statistics package
(Installed by default). This component allows users to collect site visit statistics by
means of the Webalizer software.
AWStats web statistics package
(Installed by default). This component allows users to collect site visit statistics by
means of the AWStats software.
Apache Web Server Versions (Linux Hosting)
Choose one of the following options:
Apache web server support
Typical Apache web server used to deliver websites to Internet users.
Apache web server with SNI support
(Installed by default). Server Name Indication (SNI) is a feature that extends the
SSL protocol. Install this component if you want to use separate SSL certificates for
websites with a shared IP address.
Mail (Linux Hosting)
Choose one of the following mail servers that best suits your needs:
Qmail mail server
Postfix mail server
(Installed by default).
Specify the webmail software that allows Panel users to access their mail accounts
through a browser:
Horde webmail support
Free webmail software that offers basic webmail functionality.
AtMail webmail support
Commercial webmail software with many handy features.
Select the additional mail services Panel should provide:
Mailman mailing list manager support
This component adds mailing list functionality to Panel.
Kaspersky antivirus
Install this component if you want to use Kaspersky antivirus software for checking
mail.
Parallels Premium antivirus
Install this component if you want to use Parallels Premium antivirus software for
checking mail.
18 Installing Panel
SpamAssassin support
Install this component if you want to use SpamAssassin software to effectively stop
e-mail spam.
Databases (Linux Hosting)
PostgreSQL server support
The default database server in Panel is MySQL. Nevertheless, if you require
support for PostgreSQL databases (for example, this may be a requirement of
certain web apps), select this option to install PostgreSQL to your Panel server.
System Monitoring
Health monitor
Install this component if you want to track all main server health parameters, such
as: Memory and CPU usage by different services, hard disk utilization, number of
running processes, and so on.
Backup / Migration
Plesk Migration & Transfer Manager
Install this component if you want to perform data transfer from another Panel or
migration from another hosting platform. Install this component to a destination
server.
Plesk Backup Manager
(Installed by default). This is an essential component that allows you to create
Panel backups and restore them in case of any issues.
Backup Manager PVC reinstall support
Extensions (Linux Hosting)
You can extend Panel functionality by installing additional extensions. Note that these
extensions require post-installation configuration. Learn more in the chapter Installing
Panel Extensions (Linux) (on page 62).
Plesk Counter-Strike game server extension
Install this component if you want to run a Counter-Strike game server on a Panelmanaged server.
Plesk Firewall extension
Install this component if you want to protect a Panel server and private network
from unauthorized access with a firewall.
Plesk VPN extension
Install this component if you want to set up a VPN connection between a Panel
server and a remote host through the Panel GUI.
Plesk File Server extension and SMB file server package
Install this component if you want to share files on your Panel server.
Installing Panel 19
Watchdog (System monitoring extension)
Install this component if you want to use the Watchdog software to monitor your
system. This ensures that your server is clean from malware, that all services are
up and running, and that there is enough free disk space on the server.
4. (Advanced) Use Alternative Package Repositories
This topic applies only if you are going to install Panel on CentOS operating systems.
In Panel 10.2 and earlier versions, Parallels Installer fetched the packages required for
Panel installation or upgrade from the Parallels Updates server. This server also
contained upgrades to these packages. Hence, there was no way to use custom
package versions when installing or upgrading Panel. In 10.3 and later, you do have
this option if you tune the Installer configuration.
The tuned Installer works this way: it checks that you have the yum package manager
and that it is configured to use alternative repositories. If these checks succeed, the
Installer uses the latest versions of packages it finds in all available repositories when
installing or upgrading Panel. For example, if Parallels Updates contains MySQL
v.5.0.84, and the other repository (say, IUS) contains MySQL v.5.0.93, the most current
version (5.0.93) will be installed.
To turn this feature on, edit the /root/.autoinstallerrc file by adding the
USE_YUM='yes' line to it.
Manual Installation
In this chapter:
Installation from the Web Interface .................................................................... 21
Installation from the Command Line .................................................................. 22
Typical Installation with One-Click Installer ........................................................ 22
C H A P T E R 4
Once you have completed the steps described in the section Before Installing Panel (on
page 11), you can proceed directly to the Panel installation.
To install Panel on Linux- or Windows-based servers, use the Parallels Installer utility.
The Parallels Installer utility is available for download from
http://www.parallels.com/products/plesk/download/. There are several distributions of
Parallels Installer created for different operating systems and platforms, so be sure to
obtain the Parallels Installer version that matches your host's operating system.
Normally, Parallels Installer binaries are distributed under names in the following
format: parallels_installer_v<installer version>_os_<operating
system version>_<platform>. Parallels Installer can be used either via a
browser-based user interface or the command line.
If you run Linux and want to quickly install the latest version of Panel in the typical
configuration, we recommend that you use our separate utility called One-Click
Installer. It is available at http://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer.
Once the installation is finished, complete the post-installation setup. This includes
Panel initialization and installation of a license key. See the section Manual Post-
Installation Setup (on page 39) for details.
Installing Panel 21
Installation from the Web Interface
To install Panel through the web interface:
1. Download the Parallels Installer utility that suits your operating system
from http://www.parallels.com/products/plesk/download/.
2. (Only for Linux) Set the execution permission for Parallels Installer:
chmod +x parallels_products_installer_file_name
3. Run the Parallels Installer.
On a Linux/Unix server: ./parallels_products_installer_file_name --
web-interface
On a Windows server: parallels_products_installer_file_name
(Only for Linux) Open your browser and enter https://host-name:8447/ or
https://IP-address:8447/ in the address bar. The Parallels Installer Web
interface opens.
(Only for Windows) Parallels Installer wizard opens in a new browser window.
When the installer starts, an additional console window opens. This window
displays the operations performed by the utility. It is closed upon the successful
installation, or after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Note: As described in the section Before Installing Panel (on page 11), you can select
what Panel build to install depending on its release tier. By default, Installer shows
you only the latest general and late adopter releases as available for installation. To
be able to install other Panel releases, use the following Installer options:
--all-versions to view all available Panel versions.
--tier <release_tier> to view the latest available versions with the specified
release tier.
4. Log in to the web interface.
If you are running Windows, type the administrator's username ("Administrator"),
administrator's password, and click Log In.
If you are running Linux, type the root username and password, and click Log
In.
5. Follow the installation steps.
22 Installing Panel
Installation from the Command Line
To install Panel from the command line:
1. Download the Parallels Installer utility that suits your operating system
from http://www.parallels.com/products/plesk/download/.
2. (Only for Linux) Set the execution permission for Parallels Installer:
chmod +x parallels_products_installer_file_name
3. Run the Parallels Installer.
On a Linux/Unix server:
./parallels_products_installer_file_name
On a Windows server:
parallels_products_installer_file_name --console
Note: As described in the section Before Installing Panel (on page 11), you can select
what Panel build to install depending on its release tier. By default, Installer shows
you only the latest general and late adopter releases as available for installation. To
install other Panel releases, use the following Installer options:
--all-versions to view all available Panel versions.
--tier <release_tier> to view the latest available versions with the specified
release tier.
4. Follow the installation steps.
Typical Installation with One-Click Installer
Use the One-Click Installer utility to perform a clean installation of Panel in one step.
The utility automatically determines your operating system and installs the latest
version of an appropriate distribution package in the typical configuration. One-Click
Installer works only on Linux operating systems.
To install Panel, run one of the following commands on behalf of the superuser.
If you have the wget utility, run
wget -O - http://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer |
sh
If you have the curl utility, run
curl http://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer | sh
If you have the fetch utility, run
fetch -o - http://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer |
sh
Installing Panel 23
(Advanced) Automated Installation
Once you have completed the steps described in the section Before Installing Panel (on
page 11), you can proceed directly to the Panel installation.
To install Panel on Linux- or Windows-based servers, use the Parallels Installer utility.
The Parallels Installer utility is available for download from
http://www.parallels.com/products/plesk/download/. There are several distributions of
Parallels Installer created for different operating systems and platforms, so be sure to
obtain the Parallels Installer that matches your host's operating system. Normally,
Parallels Installer binaries are distributed under names in the following format:
parallels_installer_v<installer version>_os_<operating system
version>_<platform>.
How to Automate Panel Installation
The typical manual installation takes a long time when it comes to mass deployment of
Panel, so we recommend that you automate this process. The automatic process is
based on using the command line options of the Parallels Installer utility that allow you
to predefine all installation parameters. Thus, you can run an installation that does not
require any user input. To learn how to run such installations, refer to the section
Running Automated Installations (on page 25).
Moreover, if you are going to perform mass deployment of Panels for Linux, you can
write a script that automatically copies and runs Installer on a specified group of
servers. See the script examples in the section Installation Script Examples (Linux) (on
page 27). On Windows systems, scripts with the remote commands execution are also
possible but require additional tools such as PsExec. Thus, we do not give examples of
such scripts for Windows.
Automating Post-Installation Steps
After a typical manual installation is finished, you should log in to Panel to perform
some post-installation operations (initialize Panel, install a license key, and so on). If
you have multiple Panels, this process can be automated as well. If you want to avoid
user input in the Panel interface, the best approach is to perform the same operations
either from the command-line interface or with the remote API (also known as API
RPC). To learn more about how to complete Panel installation in an automated
manner, refer to the section (Advanced) Automated Post-Installation Setup (on page 40).
Speeding Up Automated Installations
Note that you can significantly speed up multiple installations if you create a local
mirror of the Parallels Updates server. This will allow you to save time and bandwidth,
and to secure your installations. Learn how to set up a custom mirror in the chapter
(Advanced) Mirroring Parallels Updates Server.
24 Installing Panel
In this section:
Running Automated Installations ....................................................................... 25
Installation Script Examples (Linux) ................................................................... 27
Installing Panel 25
Running Automated Installations
To install Parallels Plesk Panel without requiring any user input, run the command:
parallels_installer <packages source options> --select-release-id <ID>
<components installation options> [other options]
where
packages source options define the location where the installer should obtain the
Panel packages for installation
<packages source options> =
--source <URL>
if using a mirror of the Parallels Updates server
OR
--source <path>
if using local file system
OR
none
if installing from the Parallels Updates server
--select-release-ID option define what Panel version should be installed.
<ID> is a unique Panel version identifier, like PLESK_10_1_0.
You can get the list of available Panel version IDs by running Installer with the -show-releases option. Note that by default, Installer shows you only IDs of the
publicly released production versions (learn more about Panel release tiers in the
section Before Installing Panel (on page 11)). If you want to obtain a full list of
available Panel versions including those intended for product preview and testing
purposes, add the --skip-branch-filter option.
components installation options define what Panel components should be installed
<components installation options> =
--install-everything
OR
--install-component component1 [--install-component
component2 [... [--install-component componentN]]]
You can get the full list of components available for a certain release by running
Installer with the following options: --select-release-id <ID> --show-
components
other options include those that define proxy settings, installation logging and so
on. For full details, please refer to the Appendix A: Parallels Installer Options (on page
178).
Modifying Default Installation Paths (Windows)
Panel provides extra flexibility for installations on Windows: It lets users modify its
default installation paths from command-line. The customization is granted by the -set-option key. The --set-option value should be a "key=value", where key is a
constant that specifies one of the parts of Panel's data, and the value is the path where
you want these data to be located. Currently, the following keys are available:
26 Installing Panel
PLESK_INSTALLDIR. This key designates the part of Panel data that insignificantly
change over time. This includes the application code, configuration files, utilities,
and so on.
PLESK_DATADIR. This key designates the part of Panel data that significantly
change over time. This includes customer databases, APS packages, log files, and
so on.
PLESK_VHOSTSDIR. This key designates the path where the content of all your
customers' domains will be stored. This is typically the largest part of the Panel
content.
This sample demonstrates how to use the --set-option key:
ai.exe --select-product-id panel --select-release-id PANEL_10_4_0_WIN
--install-component base --install-component management --install-
component spamassassin --install-component webalizer --installcomponent drweb --set-option "PLESK_INSTALLDIR=C:\Plesk Dir" --setoption "PLESK_DATADIR=C:\Plesk Data" --set-option
"PLESK_VHOSTSDIR=C:\Plesk Vhosts"
Examples, Linux/Unix
1. The following command installs Parallels Plesk Panel 10 (release ID is
PANEL_10_1_0) from the mirror set up on the server mirror.example.com
available via HTTP. Installation files will temporarily be stored at /tmp/panel, and the
installation status will be reported to the e-mail admin@example.com. The installed
components are base Panel packages, PostgreSQL server, and SpamAssassin spam
filter.
./parallels_installer --source http://mirror.example.com/ --target
/tmp/panel --select-release-id PLESK_10_1_0 --install-component base -
-install-component postgresql --install-component spamassassin --
notify-email admin@example.com
2. The following command performs the complete installation (all available product
components are installed) of Parallels Plesk Panel 10 (release ID is PANEL_10_1_0)
from the Parallels Update server. All installer output will be redirected to an XML file.
./parallels_installer --select-release-id PLESK_10_1_0 --installeverything --enable-xml-output
Examples, Windows
1. The following command installs Parallels Plesk Panel 10 (release ID is
PANEL_10_1_0_WIN) from the mirror set up on the server mirror.example.com
available via HTTP. Installation files will temporarily be stored at the
%SystemDrive%\Parallels\ folder, and the installation status will be reported to
the e-mail admin@example.com. The installed components are base Panel packages,
Bind name server, MailEnable mail server, PHP scripting engine, Web Presence
Builder, and Horde Webmail.
parallels_installer.exe --source http://mirror.example.com/ --target
%SystemDrive%\Parallels --select-release-id PANEL_10_1_0_WIN -install-component base --install-component dns --install-component
mailenable --install-component php5 --install-component sitebuilder -install-component webmail --notify-email admin@example.com
Installing Panel 27
2. The following command performs the complete installation (all available product
components are installed) of Parallels Plesk Panel 10 (release ID is
PANEL_10_1_0_WIN) from the Parallels Update server. All installer output will be
redirected to an XML file.
parallels_installer.exe --select-release-id PANEL_10_1_0_WIN -install-everything --enable-xml-output
Installation Script Examples (Linux)
This section provides notes on implementation and execution of an installation script,
and also presents a couple of installation script samples.
Implementation and Execution Notes
To avoid being prompted for password each time you connect via SSH to the
servers where the Panel should be installed, place your public key to the list of
authorized keys of a user on whose behalf the script is run on each server (see
SSH documentation for details on the procedure).
If you have a local mirror of the Panel updates server (as described in the chapter
(Advanced) Mirroring Parallels Updates Server), use the following option:
--source <mirror URL>
By default, all downloaded packages are stored in the /root/psa directory. To
use another directory, use the following option:
--target <directory-name>
Sample Scripts
1. This sample script is applicable in cases when Parallels Installer is previously
uploaded to the target server and the execution bit is set in its permissions.
#!/bin/sh
SERVERS_LIST="node1.example.com node2.example.com"
for current_server in $SERVERS_LIST; do
scp parallels_installer root@$current_server:
ssh -f root@$current_server "parallels_installer --source
http://updates.example.com/ --target /tmp/panel --select-release-id
PLESK_10_0_0 --install-component base --install-component postgresql -
-install-component asp --notify-email admin@example.com"
done
2. This sample script is applicable in cases when the Parallels Installer binary is
obtained directly from a network location (the sample URL
http://example.com/type_parallels_installer_name_here should be substituted with a
valid installer download link).
#!/bin/sh
SERVERS_LIST="node1.example.com node2.example.com"
for current_server in $SERVERS_LIST; do
28 Installing Panel
ssh -f root@$current_server 'wget
In this section:
Linux PVC Templates ........................................................................................ 29
Installation on PVC for Linux ............................................................................. 32
Windows PVC Templates .................................................................................. 35
Installation on PVC for Windows ....................................................................... 36
http://example.com/type_parallels_installer_name_here -o
parallels_installer;chmod 755
./parallels_installer;./parallels_installer --source
http://updates.example.com/ --target /tmp/panel --select-release-id
PLESK_10_0_0 --install-component base --install-component postgresql -
-install-component spamassassin --notify-email admin@example.com'
done
(Advanced) Installation to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers
Parallels Virtuozzo Containers is a container-based virtualization solution that is
employed by a large number of service providers. Each Virtuozzo container is a
separate virtual server that acts exactly like a stand-alone one. Parallels Virtuozzo
Containers exist in both Linux and Windows versions.
If you want to deploy Panel on Virtuozzo containers, we recommend that you use the
following procedure:
1. Create a container.
2. Install Panel into the container.
Though you can perform a typical manual or automated installation, we recommend
that you use PVC templates for this purpose. A PVC app template is a package
containing everything an app needs to be installed to a server. The main benefit of
PVC templates is that you install an app template to your physical server just once
and then add the app from the template to a number of containers simultaneously.
3. Clone the container as many times as you need.
This step is optional. If you have a number of already created containers where
Panel should be installed, the best option is to deploy Panel there using a Panel
PVC template.
4. Perform post-installation setup.
The post-installation setup for Panel in a Virtuozzo container is absolutely the same
as for other types of installation. It includes Panel initialization, installation of a
license key, and so on. You can either perform it manually or automate the process
using the Panel API. Learn more in the section Post-Installation Setup (on page 38).
Details on how to perform these operations are provided next in this section.
Installing Panel 29
Linux PVC Templates
PVC application templates are RPM packages which, when installed on a node, allow
easy deployment of an application in as many Containers as required, saving a lot of
critical system resources like disk space. You may obtain the Panel templates at the
Parallels website (http://www.parallels.com), or download them using the PVC
command-line utility call "vzup2date -z" (PVC 4 and later).
Major-version and version-free templates
Starting with Parallels Plesk Panel 10.4, Parallels ships two sets of EZ templates for
each Panel release: major-version templates, and version-free templates. Both provide
the same software components, the only difference between them is that template
updates are installed when a Container is updated:
Major-version templates get all the latest updates and upgrades released for the
major version of the Panel.
For example, if the major-version base template of the Panel 10 (pp10) is installed
in a Container, the vzpkg update <CT_ID> command will update it to the latest
released version of the Panel 10.x.x, be it 10.0.1 or 10.1.0.
More specifically, major-version templates perform upgrades allowed by a typical
Panel license. This license allows you to perform upgrades within the second major
version number. For example, from 10.1 to 10.2, but not from 10.4 to 11.0.
Version-free templates get all updates and upgrades regardless of the Panel
license key. In other words, such templates update to the last available Panel
version regardless of its number. For example, this can be an upgrade from 10.3 to
10.4 or from 10.4 to 11.0. Note that if your Panel license does not allow complex
upgrades, you will need to obtain a new license key after each such upgrade.
For example, if the version-free base template of the Panel (pp) is installed in a
Container (for example, 10.x.x), the vzpkg update <CT_ID> command will
update it to the latest released version of the Panel x.x.x, be it 10.x.x or 11.x.x.
You can tell major-version templates and version-free ones apart from their names:
The name prefix of the first type contains the major version (pp10), while the latter
does not contain any version numbers (pp).
Toggling auto detection of EZ templates
PVC 4.0 and later versions can discover EZ templates in a container and perform
automatic actions depending on the templates. This feature provides opportunities for
business automation software (like PBAs) to automatically find products installed in a
container and start billing the container owner.
The discovery algorithm is straightforward: If the system finds all packages included in
an EZ template, it considers the template to be installed. The major drawback of this
approach is that Panel 9.x and SMB are very close to each other in terms of packages,
so the auto-detection engine can make incorrect decisions. For example, if only one of
the applications is present in a container, the system considers that both templates are
installed. The most noticeable outcome of this detection problem is that the system fails
to update both applications and set proper billing for them.
30 Installing Panel
It is possible to stop the auto-detection if you use the billing automation software or if
pp11
The Panel core template. Contains base components, backup
manager, and Web Presence Builder.
pp11-antivirus
Parallels Premium Antivirus 5.
pp11-billing
Customer and Business Manager, and SSO (single sign-on)
components.
pp11-cf-support
ColdFusion support: libraries necessary to run ColdFusion with
the Panel.
pp11-gameservers
The Panel game server extensions: Counter-Strike and Battlefield
2.
pp11-kav
Kaspersky Antivirus extension.
pp11-mailman
Mailman mailing list manager.
pp11-migration
The Panel Migration & Transfer Manager, allows transferring
hosting data from other Panels and migrating from other hosting
platforms.
pp11-panel-addons
The Panel extensions: Firewall, VPN and File Server.
pp11-postfix
Postfix mail server. Alternate to Qmail.
pp11-qmail
Qmail mail server. Alternate to Postfix.
pp11-spamassassin
SpamAssassin spam filtering tool.
pp11-tomcat
Tomcat support.
you want to install tightly bound Parallels products. To do this, modify the
/etc/vztt/vztt.conf file by setting APP_TEMPLATE_AUTODETECTION=no.
Shipped templates
Since both major-version and version-free sets of templates provide the same
components, we will list only the major-version ones for the simplicity sake.
The following EZ templates are shipped for Parallels Plesk Panel 11:
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