Provided product configurations

See Plesk configurations available on IBM Cloud.

Plesk provides virtual server images for IBM Cloud VPC. Create a virtual server instance from the image you want, and Plesk comes ready to use. You do not need to install anything.

The following configurations are available in the IBM Cloud catalog:

The Web Admin, Web Pro, and Web Host Edition images include a Plesk license in the instance price. BYOL stands for «bring your own license», which means that you supply a Plesk license that you bought separately. To choose between them, see Choosing Between Plesk WebHost and BYOL.

Before you begin

The Plesk images use the IBM Cloud vsi-image delivery method. This method cannot pre-configure infrastructure for you, so create the following resources in your IBM Cloud account first:

• A VPC.

• A subnet in the zone where you want to run the instance.

• An SSH key.

• A security group.

Installing Plesk on IBM Cloud

To install Plesk on IBM Cloud:

1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.

2. Go to the IBM Cloud catalog, search for Plesk, and then click the image you want to deploy.

3. Select the region and the zone for your instance. To host business websites, choose the zone closest to their visitors. This reduces page load times.

4. Select the instance profile.

   Pay close attention to the amount of RAM the profile includes. The more websites you host, and the more traffic they get, the more RAM you need. To estimate the amount of RAM your setup requires, see Plesk System Requirements.

   If you are not sure which profile to choose, start with the bx2-2x8 profile. You can resize it later.

5. Specify the boot volume size. The images use 20 GB by default, and you can resize the volume after deployment.

6. Select the SSH key you created in the «Before you begin» section.

7. Select the VPC, the subnet, and the security group you created earlier.

8. Create the instance.

Your instance now runs Plesk. Three steps remain before you can use it.

ibmcloud is instance-update <instance-name> --metadata-service true

Primo accesso a Plesk

To log in to Plesk for the first time, generate a one-time login link:

1. Use SSH to connect to the instance. Log in as the ubuntu user, with the private key that matches the SSH key you selected during deployment. For example:

   ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 ubuntu@<floating-ip>
   

   Nota

   You can grant the root user access to the instance later from the console.

2. Esegui il seguente comando:

   sudo plesk login
   

   Plesk generates a one-time login link that uses the private IP address of your instance. That address does not resolve from the internet, so build the login URL yourself in the next step.

3. Copy the value of the secret parameter from the output, and then go to the following address in your browser. Replace <floating-ip> with the floating IP address of your instance, and <secret> with the value you copied:

   https://<floating-ip>:8443/login?secret=<secret>
   

   Plesk opens and logs you in as the administrator.

4. On the Plesk welcome screen, provide your contact name and email address, read and accept the End-User License Agreement, and then set an administrator password.

   Nota

   To log in to Plesk next time, use the admin user name and that password.

5. Clicca su Enter Plesk (Accedi a Plesk).

Post-install configuration on an IBM Cloud instance

Plesk on an IBM Cloud instance works the same way as Plesk on any other server, with two additions.

IP addresses. Plesk maps the private IP address of your instance to its floating IP address automatically, using the IBM Cloud instance metadata service. To check the map, run the following command:

plesk bin ipmanage --ip_list

The PublicIP column shows the floating IP address that corresponds to the private IP address of your instance.

If the map is empty, confirm that you enabled the instance metadata service. To set the addresses yourself instead, see Running Plesk Behind a Router with NAT.

To host multiple customers on your Plesk server, set the IP address as shared.

Hostname. IBM Cloud uses the name of your virtual server instance as the hostname. That name is not a fully qualified domain name, so spam filters treat mail from your server with suspicion, and the default Plesk greylisting behaves the same way. Use a registered domain name that you control as the hostname instead.

For detailed instructions on configuring Plesk after installation, see Post-install Configuration on a Single Server.

Configuring email sending

IBM Cloud restricts outbound connections on TCP port 25, so you cannot send mail directly to external domains on that port. Your instance still receives mail normally. For details on the restriction, see the IBM Cloud email delivery FAQ.

To send mail from your Plesk server, configure a smarthost. A smarthost is an SMTP relay service that accepts your mail on a submission port, such as 587 or 465, and then forwards it to the recipient. A reputable relay service also improves deliverability, because your mail then comes from an address with an established sending reputation.

Configure the smarthost in Plesk at Tools & Settings > Smarthost. For the full procedure, including the DNS records you update afterward, see Configuring a Smarthost or Relayhost.

Backing up your data

IBM Cloud VPC offers no full server snapshots. You can create block storage snapshots, but restoring one creates a new volume instead of restoring the original volume in place.

For this reason, use Plesk backups and store them in remote storage.

IBM Cloud Object Storage uses an API compatible with Amazon S3 so you can store Plesk backups there with the Amazon S3 Backup extension. For details, see Configuring Remote Storage.

DNS

Plesk does not integrate with the DNS products that IBM Cloud offers. Manage your server’s DNS in Plesk. To learn how, see DNS Server Settings.

Billing and licensing

IBM Cloud bills your instance based on usage, at an hourly rate for every hour the instance runs.

For the Web Admin, Web Pro, and Web Host Edition instances, that rate includes the price of the Plesk license. Plesk installs the license automatically when the instance first starts, and the charge appears as a software expense on the Usage page of your IBM Cloud account.

For a BYOL instance, buy and install your own Plesk license. BYOL instances on IBM Cloud work the same way as any other Plesk installation.

Getting support

For questions about Plesk, contact Plesk support. Plesk supports the software in the virtual server image.

For questions about IBM Cloud itself, such as provisioning, networking, or billing, contact IBM Cloud support.