FAQ for Plesk Onyx

General Questions

  • Is Plesk GDPR compliant?

    Please read detailed article regarding Plesk GDPR compliance.

  • What is the difference between versions of Plesk Onyx, like 17.0 and 17.5?

    These are minor releases within Plesk Onyx, which is a major version:

    • Plesk Onyx 17.0 was released in November 2016 and became stable on March 15, 2017.
    • Plesk Onyx 17.5 was released on March 23, 2017 and became stable on July 3, 2017.
    • Plesk Onyx 17.8 was released on March 6, 2018.
    Changes in all minor releases of Plesk Onyx are published in a single change log.

  • Can I update Plesk Onyx Preview to the RTM release?

    Yes you can! Updating both from one public preview to another and from public preview to RTM is supported.

  • I have been trying out Plesk Onyx public preview without hosting live websites on the server. Should I update to the RTM release and go to production?

    In this scenario, Plesk recommends installing a clean server using the RTM build.

  • How can I install Multi Server?

    Plesk Multi Server has been officially released and can be installed according to the installation instructions. Note that Plesk Multi Server only supports Plesk Onyx 17.0 and Plesk Onyx 17.5. You cannot install Plesk Multi Server on a Plesk Onyx 17.8 server, and you cannot upgrade a Plesk server with Plesk Multi Server installed to Plesk Onyx 17.8.

  • Will license names change to include Onyx?

    There are two ways the license names will change:

    • If removing the version number from a license name is possible without creating conflict with another type of license, then it will be removed, e.g., "Plesk 12 Web Host Edition" will become "Plesk Web Host Edition".
    • Where it is not possible to remove the version number without clashing with another license type, "Onyx" will be added, e.g., "Plesk 12.x/Onyx".
  • Which new add-ons / features have been added to the new Plesk edition?

    Here are the new paid / limited features of Plesk Onyx:

    • Remote SmarterMail Support - available as an extension
    • Plesk Cgroups Manager - available as an extension. It requires an additional license and can be purchased either separately or as a part of the Hosting Pack.
    • Remote Docker management - available as an extension.
    • DNSSEC - available as an extension.
    • Plesk Multi Server - available as an extension.

  • Is it possible to get the Plesk admin password in plain text?

    To improve security, the ability to retrieve the Plesk administrator password was removed in Plesk Onyx. Instead, run the plesk login command in the command line to generate a temporary token link.

  • Is it still possible to login to Plesk as root / Administrator?

    Yes.

  • How long does the URL provided by the "plesk login" command work?

    24 hours.

  • Is it possible to generate multiple URLs with "plesk login" and provide them to different agents?

    Yes. But every URL will be valid for 24 hours only.

  • When will Plesk Onyx support Windows Server 2016?

    Plesk already supports Windows Server 2016. You can find the whole list of supported operating systems here.

  • Can I secure Plesk with Let's Encrypt?

    Yes you can! In most cases, the Let's Encrypt extension will automatically secure Plesk with a free Let's Encrypt certificate. In some situations (for example, if the server's hostname has not been set), the extension may be unable to secure Plesk automatically. In this case, you can secure Plesk and the mail server in "Tools & Settings" > "TLS/SSL Certificates".

  • What OSes are supported by the integrated Repair Kit?

    All supported Windows OSes, and also Debian 8 and 9, Ubuntu 16, CentOS/Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, and CloudLinux 7.

  • The CAA resource record is only supported in Plesk Onyx 17.8. Will I have trouble requesting certificates for hosted domains if I am running an earlier Plesk version?

    No. You can request that certificates be issued for your domains just fine without specifying a CAA resource record. Having a CAA record merely improves security, but its absence is not critical.

  • What is the recommended configuration of nginx caching?

    This very much depends on your server configuration. Start with the default values and then discuss your case on our forum.

  • How can I configure all my websites to use up-to-date PHP versions?

    This very much depends on your server configuration. Start with the default values and then discuss your case on our forum.

DNSSEC

  • DNSSEC rolls over Key-Signing Keys (KSK), which requires updating DS records on a registrar's side. Without this update, DNS zone will stop resolving. Is there some grace period after key rollover when a user should update DS records?

    Each DNS zone has two KSKs with overlapping roll-over periods. So, while one key is expired and rolled over, the second key is still active until the next roll-over period. This gives the domain owner enough time to update DS records on the registrar's side without experiencing any problems.

  • Will the domain owner receive a notification about the key rollover? Can the Plesk administrator customize the notification's text?

    The DNSSEC extension will send a notification to the domain owner. The text of the notification cannot be customized.

  • On what operating systems is the DNSSEC feature available?

    DNSSEC is available on Debian 8, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, CentOS 7, RedHat Enterprise Linux 7, CloudLinux 7, Virtuozzo Linux 7.

DKIM, SRS

  • What mail servers support DKIM and SRS?

    On Linux: DKIM is supported by all mail servers supported by Plesk, and SRS is supported by Postfix only. On Windows: DKIM is supported by all mail servers supported by Plesk except MailEnable versions earlier than 9.16, and SRS is supported by SmarterMail and IceWarp Mail Servers.

GIT

  • Can Plesk Onyx access private Git repositories on GitHub?

    Yes, it is possible, but you must authenticate with an SSH key. HTTP/HTTPS authentication is not supported.

  • Currently, Plesk-hosted Git repositories are protected with the FTP user's password. Is it possible to provide anonymous access to a Git repository, a-la GitHub?

    No, only private repositories are supported. The main purpose of Git support is website and web application deployment, with the developer pushing specific repository branches to the git server and Plesk deploying them to the website. However, if you are interested in such a feature, please share your opinion on plesk.uservoice.com.

  • Is it possible to change files in httpdocs/ and commit them as changes to a Git repository?

    No. This is due to how Git deployment works. The contents of the httpdocs/ directory are not a part of a repository, but an export of a specific branch.

  • Are there any plans to add support for other version control systems (VCS) like SVN, Mercurial, Bazaar etc.?

    At the moment, there are no plans to add support for other version control systems.

DOCKER

  • What operating systems have Docker support?

    CentOS 7, RedHat Enterprise Linux 7, Debian 8, Debian 9, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 16.04.

  • Does Plesk count the disk space used by Docker containers connected via Proxy Rules to a website towards the website's disk space usage?

    No. Since only the Plesk administrator can create Docker containers, and Docker containers are very loosely connected to websites, they are not counted towards the subscription's disk space usage. An exception to this would be when a website directory is mounted to a Docker container as a volume, as in this case all files located in the container will be counted towards the disk space usage of the website.

  • Is it possible to limit CPU and Disk I/O for Docker containers?

    Currently, only RAM limit is implemented via native Docker functionality (which relies on Linux cgroups on the low level). Feel free to provide your opinion at plesk.uservoice.com.

  • Do subscription-level cgroup limits (CPU, RAM, Disk I/O) apply to Docker containers?

    No. Docker containers are administrator-level objects, they are running under a separate system user, and are not controlled by subscription limits.

    Note: currently, Docker containers can be managed only by the Plesk administrator, and not by Plesk customers or resellers.

  • Can I run Docker in Virtuozzo containers?

    Docker is supported in Virtuozzo containers starting with Virtuozzo 7 Update 1 Hotfix 1 (7.0.1-686). Running the Docker service in Virtuozzo 6 containers is possible, but is neither recommended nor officially supported.

  • What will happen if I install the Docker extension on a server where Docker service is not supported?

    Docker will only allow to connect and manage remote Docker services.

  • Will the Docker proxy rules work if the Plesk server is behind NAT?

    Proxy rules are implemented in the web server configuration, e.g., in the website's nginx.conf (in /var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/conf/):

    #extension docker begin
    location ~ ^/.* {
        proxy_pass http://0.0.0.0:9080;
        proxy_set_header Host             $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP        $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For  $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }
    #extension docker end
    

    Proxy rules should work fine on servers behind NAT.

  • For remote Docker, must Docker service also run on a Plesk VM?

    No. Docker service can work stand-alone, on a server without Plesk Onyx.

  • Will the Plesk Firewall extension respect Docker firewall rules?

    No.

RUBY and NODE.JS

  • When Ruby is installed, Phusion Passenger is installed as well, but not Bundler. Why?

    Bundler brings a compiler, which is why this should be an explicit decision of a server administrator.

  • Is it possible to attach a custom build/version of Ruby?

    Yes. Use ruby-build and install the new version in a subdirectory inside of /opt/plesk/ruby/. Then, use the following command to register the new version in Plesk:

    # plesk sbin rubymng register my-version /opt/plesk/ruby/my-version
    

  • If some Node.js components/libraries are installed globally, will npm detect them, or will it install them again in the website's node_packages?

    This is an uncommon scenario. Most of the time, only utilities are installed globally, but not packages. In such a scenario, npm will most likely install the component into the node_packages/ directory in the application root.

  • Node.js and Ruby applications can be installed on the same domain, which causes conflict between them. Are there plans to implement some kind of restriction?

    No. We expect those who use these features to have enough competence to avoid such mistakes.

  • Does Ruby in Plesk Onyx support applications written using frameworks other than Rails (e.g., Sinatra, Padrino, etc.)?

    Yes. The Plesk Ruby extension supports all Rake-based applications (i.e., an application that has config.ru and Rakefile).

  • Are there any plans to display the detailed output of the "Bundle Install" command?

    Due to technical limitations, no.

  • Node.js has very little output in the web server logs. Why?

    This is just the way the Passenger works with Node.js. The errors/output can be found in the main web server's log file (/var/log/httpd/error_log for Apache and /var/log/nginx/error.log for nginx).

  • To deploy Ruby/Node.js app, I need to manually change the website's document root to match the application's document root (httpdocs/public). Why can't it be done automatically?

    Changing the document root automatically might not fit every application/scenario. For now, there are no plans to automate this step.

  • Are there Plesk CLI utilities to enable/configure Ruby, Node.js, Docker, Git, etc.?

    Docker has the native docker command-line utility with rich capabilities that cover everything you can do from the Plesk UI (and much more). Git can be managed via Plesk CLI using the git utility (see the CLI guide for details). Node.js can be managed via Plesk CLI using the nodejs utility (see the CLI guide for details).For the rest of the new features, there are currently no CLI utilities.

  • Are there any API calls for new features (Docker, Ruby, Node.js, Git)?

    Git can be managed via API calls with the use of the git operator (see the API Guide for details). Node.js can be managed via API calls with the use of the nodejs operator (see the API Guide for details).For the remaining new features, there is no API at the moment. However, some API calls are planned for Docker.

System Update Tool

  • Why do I not see any updates for the package?

    By default, the System Update Tool operates in the "safe updates" mode. It means that the System Update Tool considers updates only from the same (or compatible) repository from which the package has been installed. Therefore, if an update is available from a different repository, the System Update Tool will not display it.

  • Why have my locked packages been updated?

    Most likely, those packages were required by other packages that had been updated. The System Update Tool tries to check such cases and will warn you when you lock packages. But in rare cases (e.g. when update has different dependencies than the installed package), the situation may still occur.

  • How can I add or remove a package repository?

    This functionality is absent at the moment. But if you have a root access to the server you can register a remote repository as it is usually done for package managers, such as yum or apt.

Power User View by Default

  • Why is Power User view used by default in Plesk Onyx 17.8 Web Admin and Web Pro editions?

    This is so that you can start working with Plesk without having to choose which UI view to use. Based on our research, the Power User mode fits the needs of 75% of Plesk users.

  • Is this only true for commercial license owners?

    This is true both for Plesk users with a commercial license and those with a trial license.

  • Can I use Service Provider view in Plesk Onyx 17.8?

    Service Provider view is used by default in Plesk Onyx 17.8 Web Host edition. You can switch the view at any time by clicking 'Change View' in the bottom left corner of the screen. You can also do it in "Tools & Settings" > "Plesk Appearance" > "Interface Management".

Plesk and GDPR

  • What is GDPR?

    GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the new EU data protection law which replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/EC and appropriate local data protection laws. GDPR is intended to protect the EU citizens' personal data. It regulates how organizations process, store, and erase the data when it's no longer needed, or by individuals' request. It will come in effect in May 2018.

  • Is Plesk GDPR-compliant?

    We do our best to make Plesk as GDPR-compliant as possible and ensure that our customers will not have any issues with this regulation while using our product.

  • When does Plesk collect personal data?

    Plesk collects personal data when you do one of the following:

    • Request a trial license.
    • Subscribe to the Plesk newsletter.
    • Send a technical report to Plesk.