Plesk VPS and Server Management Made Easy

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Plesk makes it easy to manage your VPS and server with a user-friendly interface that simplifies even the most complex tasks.

With Plesk, you can manage multiple servers and VPS from a single interface, streamlining your workflow and saving you time.

Plesk's intuitive interface allows you to quickly and easily configure and manage your server settings, including DNS, mail, and database configurations.

Plesk's built-in tools also help you monitor and troubleshoot your server, making it easier to identify and resolve issues before they become major problems.

What Is Plesk?

Plesk is a web hosting control panel designed to simplify the management of websites, domains, and email accounts. It's a popular choice among web developers and hosting providers.

Plesk was first released in 2001 by SWsoft, a company that later became part of Parallels Group. The control panel has since become a widely used tool for managing web servers and hosting services.

Plesk offers a user-friendly interface that allows users to manage multiple websites and domains from a single dashboard. This makes it easier to perform tasks such as website backups, updates, and security checks.

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Plesk supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows and Linux. This flexibility is one of the reasons why Plesk has become a popular choice among web hosting providers.

Plesk also includes a range of tools and features that make it easy to manage email accounts, databases, and file systems.

Key Features

Plesk's user-friendly interface is a major plus, with all menus and submenus easily accessible on the left side. This makes it easy to find the information you need.

The platform is feature-rich, with a variety of functionalities that deserve special attention. For instance, the Domains section allows you to manage domains, add parked and subdomains, configure domain aliases, and more.

Here are some of the key features of Plesk:

  • Domains: manage domains, add parked and subdomains, configure domain aliases
  • Mail: create/edit/delete mailboxes, set up resource quotas, configure spam filters
  • File Manager: import/export, directory creation, file migration
  • Security: firewall customization options, Let's Encrypt SSL solutions, AI-powered antivirus and malware monitoring tool
  • Application: software installations, management options, Featured CMS Applications

Plesk also offers valuable statistics and analytics to help you see the bigger picture around your online project.

Why Use

Plesk's user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to manage your domains, databases, and email accounts with a single tool.

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With Plesk, you can easily manage multiple virtual hosts with a single control panel, making it a great option for web hosting companies, resellers, or users with many websites.

Plesk's automation feature enables you to manage your websites or web applications more efficiently by scheduling command execution, PHP script runtime, and URL fetching.

This saves time and effort, especially for automating recurrent tasks like updating.

Plesk offers many extensions, such as a built-in HTML code editor, that can help simplify various tasks.

Plesk's flexibility in managing computing resources makes it scalable for high traffic.

It also has a built-in NGINX caching feature that improves your website performance.

Here are some of the key features that make Plesk a great choice:

  • Domains management, including adding parked and subdomains, configuring domain aliases, and more
  • Email management, including creating/editing/deleting mailboxes, setting up resource quotas, and configuring spam filters
  • File Manager, which allows you to import/export files, create directories, and migrate files without using FTP
  • Security features, including firewall customization options, Let's Encrypt SSL solutions, and an AI-powered antivirus and malware monitoring tool
  • Application management, including software installations and management options

Integrating Advanced Features

Plesk's extensions catalog offers over a hundred add-ons that enable users to expand the control panel's functionality.

These add-ons come in different categories, including web development, security, server tools, and site editing.

You can install these add-ons by navigating to Extensions on the sidebar, searching for the tool you need, and clicking Get it Free for free ones or purchasing them directly from the Plesk dashboard for paid ones.

Credit: youtube.com, Integration of technologically advanced features for better user experience

The Plesk extensions catalog is a treasure trove of features that can take your online project to the next level.

Here are some of the categories you can find in the Plesk extensions catalog:

Plesk also includes a command-line interface (CLI) for integrating and managing third-party applications.

To use the CLI, connect to your Plesk server using SSH and execute the command utility using the following syntax:

Domain and Email Management

With Plesk, managing your domains and emails is a breeze. You can add, remove, or move domains to another web hosting platform on a single screen.

One of the standout features of Plesk is its email autodiscovery feature, which lets you automatically configure your email clients to speed up the setup process.

You can easily purchase a new domain from Hostinger, as they are also an ICANN-accredited registrar.

Before buying, you can check the domain name availability using the tool provided by Hostinger.

Managing Websites

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Managing websites in Plesk is a straightforward process. You can create a new WordPress website on a Plesk server by following a few simple steps.

First, select the domain name you want to create the website on from the Websites & Domains menu. Next, click PHP settings and check the PHP support box. This will enable PHP support for your website.

You can install WordPress directly from the Plesk control panel by clicking Install Application → WordPress. Enter the required information and click Install. After the installation process is complete, you will be redirected to the WordPress configuration page.

The Plesk WordPress toolkit simplifies various tasks of managing CMS-based websites, including installation, staging, securing, and updating. This means you can easily manage your WordPress website's databases, plugins, themes, and SSL certificates from the WordPress icon on your domain name.

Plesk offers a File Manager that allows you to easily modify your website's files without an FTP client. This is a convenient feature that saves you time and effort.

Security and Best Practices

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Plesk offers a range of security features to protect your virtual private server (VPS) from security and performance issues. Plesk comes pre-configured with various security features, including SSL It!, Firewall management, Self-repair tools, Server Name Identification (SNI), and Advanced server monitoring.

To ensure optimal VPS security, Plesk also provides features like Server Name Indication (SNI) to secure your email conversations and prevent unauthorized parties from spying. Additionally, Plesk's automation features can be used to schedule cron jobs, update and back up data, and automate tasks like updating WordPress plugins and themes.

To keep your Plesk installation up to date, ensure it's running the latest version, which includes security patches and features. You can also use Plesk's automation features to automatically update other software in your VPS, including WordPress plugins and themes.

Security Best Practices

To keep your virtual private server (VPS) secure, it's essential to stay updated on the latest Plesk advisories. Any zero-day Plesk vulnerabilities could affect thousands of sites across multiple servers, so administrators should prioritize updating their software.

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Plesk offers various security features to protect your server from security and performance issues, including SSL It! for purchasing and configuring Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates, firewall management, self-repair tools, Server Name Identification (SNI), and advanced server monitoring.

A compromised Plesk server can have devastating consequences, including site hijacking, malware uploads, and data eavesdropping. In 2012, a vulnerability in the hosting platform allowed attackers to extract the master password used by hoster administrators to manage all websites on the server.

To avoid such issues, it's crucial to keep your Plesk installation up to date, as newer versions often include security patches and features. Plesk releases patches and features regularly, so ensure your installation is current.

Some of the benefits of using the latest version of Plesk include:

  • You don’t need to upgrade to the latest major release every year.
  • New features, tools, and improvements are immediately accessible.
  • Security vulnerabilities are always patched in the newest version.
  • Speed and performance improvements.
  • User data protection.

Automating tasks like updating and backing up data with Plesk's automation feature can also help ensure you have the latest security patch and data reserves in case of cyber attacks.

Filter the Logs

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Filtering logs is a crucial step in troubleshooting and identifying security threats. You can filter logs by Date, visitor IP address, HTTP status code, or HTTP message.

To filter by date, click the down arrow at the right of the From field and use the date and time controls to select the oldest date that you want to appear in the results. Click Apply when you're done.

Filtering by date can help you focus on specific time periods, such as entries from 2017 or later. In the example shown below, only entries from 2017 or later will be shown.

To remove date filtering, click the Clear button.

You can also filter by visitor IP address by typing all or part of an IP address in the IP text box. This will show log entries if any part of the IP address matches the entry.

For example, typing "10." will match both 10.1.1.1 and 192.168.210.1.

Credit: youtube.com, Filtering .log files, with cat, grep, cut, sort, and uniq

Filtering by HTTP status code is similar, where you type all or part of a status code in the Code text box. This will show log entries if any part of the status code matches the entry.

For instance, typing "5" will match all of the 5xx Server Error codes, but also codes 305 and 405.

You can also filter by HTTP message by typing all or part of a message in the Message text box. This will show log entries if any part of the message matches the entry.

For example, typing "POST " will limit the filtered entries to POST messages.

You can combine any of these filter criteria to achieve the exact results you want.

Here are the different filter options summarized:

  • Date: click the down arrow at the right of the From field and use the date and time controls
  • Visitor IP address: type all or part of an IP address in the IP text box
  • HTTP status code: type all or part of a status code in the Code text box
  • HTTP message: type all or part of a message in the Message text box

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Plesk better than cPanel?

Plesk is a better option for small to medium-sized websites, while cPanel is more affordable for large websites with many sites to manage. The choice between Plesk and cPanel ultimately depends on your specific hosting needs and website count.

Beatrice Giannetti

Senior Writer

Beatrice Giannetti is a seasoned blogger and writer with over a decade of experience in the industry. Her writing style is engaging and relatable, making her posts widely read and shared across social media platforms. She has a passion for travel, food, and fashion, which she often incorporates into her writing.

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