Installing Plesk (Linux VPS and migrated Cloud Servers)
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Valid for Linux VPS and migrated Cloud Servers that are managed in the Cloud Panel.
In this article you will learn how to install Plesk on a VPS or a migrated Cloud Server with Linux.
Note
In this context, please also note the system requirements for Plesk Obsidian. These are listed in the following article:
Hardware Requirements for Plesk Obsidian
An overview of the software requirements can be found in the following article:
Please Note
There are some limitations for AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 9. These are mentioned in the following Plesk article: Does Plesk support RHEL9/AlmaLinux 9?
Operating systems with Plesk pre-installed
The following distributions are available as images for Linux VPS in combination with a pre-installed version of Plesk:
- AlmaLinux 9
- Debian 12
- Rocky Linux 8
- Ubuntu 24.04
After installing these images, you must generate the Plesk license key in the Cloud Panel, and then enter it in Plesk. The required steps are listed in the following sections:
To set up Plesk on a Linux VPS that does not have Plesk preinstalled, complete the following:
Enable required ports in the Cloud Panel
To install Plesk, inbound traffic must be allowed for TCP ports 8443 and 8447. These ports are enabled by default in the firewall if you purchase a VPS or ###VPS+###, or use a migrated Cloud Server. If you want to use other Plesk services, you must create additional rules in the firewall to enable these ports.
A list of ports and protocols used by Plesk can be found in the following Plesk article:
To create a new rule in the firewall, complete the following:
- Log in to your IONOS account.
Click on Menu > Servers & Cloud in the title bar.
Optional: Select the desired Servers & Cloud contract.
The Cloud Panel opens.Click on Network > Firewall policies in the navigation bar on the left of the Cloud Panel.
Select the policy that is assigned to your server.
Create a new rule in the Configuration area. To do this, enter the desired port.
Click on the green tick to add the rule.
Generate Plesk license key
To be able to use Plesk after installation, you will need a license key from your contract.
Open the Cloud Panel.
Click on the desired server in the Infrastructure > Servers area.
Scroll to the Plesk section.
In the Plesk license key field, click on Generate Plesk License Key.
Click on Generate license.
Make a note of the license key.
Establish a connection to the server
To carry out the next steps, you must connect to your server with your local computer via SSH. The following articles explain how to do this:
Install cURL
The cURL program is usually installed by default. If it is not installed on your server, you can install cURL with the following commands:
For Debian 12/13 and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04:
First, to update your repositories, enter the following command:
apt-get update
To install cURL, enter the following command:
apt-get install curl -y
To check whether cURL has been successfully installed, enter the following command:
dpkg -l | grep curl
For AlmaLinux 8/9/10 and Rocky Linux 8:
To install cURL, enter the following command:
dnf install curl -y
Enter y in the query that then appears.
Install Plesk
To install Plesk with the default configuration, complete the following:
Log in to the desired server with the root user account.
Enter the following command to install Plesk:
sh <(curl https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer || wget -O - https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer)
After entering the command, the latest, stable Plesk version is downloaded. This is installed together with the standard components and functions. In addition, all available patches and updates are installed. The installation may take some time.
You can then add or remove additional Plesk components if necessary.
The first Plesk login
Open the following URL in your browser:
https://<SERVER_NAME_OR_IP_ADDRESS>:8443Since Plesk initially uses a self-signed SSL certificate, your browser will display a warning.
Chrome: Click on Advanced, and then on the Continue to YOUR-SERVER-IP-ADDRESS (insecure) link.
Example:
Continue to 123.456.78.912 (unsafe)Mozilla Firefox: Click on Advanced..., and then on Accept risk and continue.
Log in with the root user account and the corresponding password.
Enter your email address in the Email field.
Enter the desired password in the Password field.
Make a note of the login data.
Enter the license key in the Select your license type field.
Accept the end user license agreement.
Click on Enter Plesk.
The Plesk user interface opens.
Activate Plesk license
You can find instructions on how to activate the Plesk license in the following article:
Activating the Plesk license (###VPS+###, VPS, and migrated Cloud Servers)