Install Plesk Obsidian on CentOS 8

Plesk is a commercial web hosting and server data center automation software. In this article, you will learn how to install Plesk Obsidian on CentOS 8.

 

Table of Contents:

 

What is Plesk?:

Plesk is a commercial web hosting and server data center automation software with a control panel developed for Linux and Windows-based retail hosting service providers. (Source: Wikipedia)

Plesk's user management model is suitable for dedicated and shared hosting, allowing server administrators to set up new websites, reseller accounts, email accounts, and edit and create DNS entries through a web-based interface.

The hosting automation software was initially released by Plesk Inc. and first went live in 2001. In 2003, Plesk was sold to SWSoft, which became Parallels in 2008. In March 2015, Parallels renamed the service provider division to Odin. In December of the same year, Plesk became a separate business entity. And in 2017, Plesk was acquired by British Oakley Capital Limited and has since been a part of WebPros, a global SaaS platform for server management. Currently, WebPros comprises Plesk, cPanel, WHMCS, XOVI, and SolusVM.

Plesk, with latest version Obsidian 18.x, is available in the following license configurations:

• Plesk Web Admin Edition: Up to 10 domains. For basic management of simple websites, without the extended tools and features.
• Plesk Web Pro Edition: To manage up to 30 domains. It also includes Plesk WordPress Toolkit full-featured.
• Plesk Web Host Edition: Unlimited domains. The administrator can also create additional reseller accounts.

The license price also distinguishes whether a license can be used for a dedicated server or a virtualized server. Licenses for dedicated servers are usually slightly more expensive.

Plesk sells all three licenses for a monthly or annual price directly. All three editions can also be obtained from official license resellers. Detailed Plesk pricing is available on their official website.

 

Environment Specification:

We are using a minimal CentOS Stream 8 virtual machine with following specifications.

• CPU - 3.4 Ghz (2 cores)
• Memory - 4 GB
• Storage - 20 GB
• Operating System - CentOS Stream release 8
• Hostname - plesk-server.centlinux.com
• IP Address - 192.168.116.206 /24

 

Upgdate Linux Server Packages:

Connect with plesk-server.centlinux.com server as root user by using a ssh client.

Update your Linux server packages by executing following dnf command.

[root@plesk-server ~]# dnf update -y
Last metadata expiration check: 0:33:11 ago on Sat 23 Jan 2021 05:06:15 PM PKT.
Dependencies resolved.
Nothing to do.
Complete!

Check the Linux Kernel and operating system versions.

[root@plesk-server ~]# uname -r
4.18.0-269.el8.x86_64
[root@plesk-server ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
CentOS Stream release 8

 

Installing Plesk Obsidian on CentOS 8:

Plesk offers different methods to install Obsidian

• 1-click plesk installation - It is a fast and hassle-free way of getting a Plesk server with default configuration up and running.
• Installing Plesk Using Installer Console - You can install Plesk using the Linux interactive CLI console.
• Installing Plesk Using Installer GUI
• Installing Plesk Using ISO-images - Plesk provides ISO-images for CentOS and Ubuntu operating systems configured to automatically install Plesk

Here, We are installing the Plesk Obsidian by using Installer Console.

Use wget command to download Plesk installer.

[root@plesk-server ~]# wget https://autoinstall.plesk.com/plesk-installer
--2021-01-23 18:58:31--  https://autoinstall.plesk.com/plesk-installer
Resolving autoinstall.plesk.com (autoinstall.plesk.com)... 89.187.162.50, 2a02:6ea0:d100::11
Connecting to autoinstall.plesk.com (autoinstall.plesk.com)|89.187.162.50|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 15730 (15K) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: âplesk-installerâ

plesk-installer     100%[===================>]  15.36K  --.-KB/s    in 0s

2021-01-23 18:58:33 (135 MB/s) - âplesk-installerâ saved [15730/15730]

Make the downloaded file executable in Linux Bash.

[root@plesk-server ~]# chmod +x plesk-installer

Execute the Plesk installer script to install and configure Plesk Obsidian and dependent software components in one shot.

[root@plesk-server ~]# ./plesk-installer
The Plesk Installation and Upgrade Wizard will guide you through
the installation or upgrade process.
===============================================================================

------ IMPORTANT ------

* New installation of product(s) should be performed on clean servers only.

* Before upgrading Plesk, be sure to back up your data.

* By using this Wizard you agree to the terms and conditions described at
  http://www.plesk.com/legal/terms/ and those of the Plesk End User
  License Agreement.

Available actions:
(F) Go forward
(Q) Cancel installation

Select an action [F/q]: F
Checking for installed packages...
Downloading file products.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/release.inf3: 100% was finished.
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Downloading file php52.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file pmm.inf3: 100% was finished.


Would you like to help Plesk make better products by sending information
about issues occurred, including installation and upgrade issues? [Y/n]: n
Downloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/plesk-18.0.32-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was Downloading Extensions Catalog feed...
Downloading file https://ext.plesk.com/api/v4/packages?platform=unix&version=18.Downloading file pool/PHP_7.1.33_96/php71-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was finished.  Downloading file pool/PHP_7.2.34_150/php72-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file PHP73_17/php73-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file PHP74_17/php74-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file PHP80_17/php80-cos8-x86_64.inf3: 100% was finished.
Downloading file SITEBUILDER_17.8.12/sitebuilder-17.8.12-rhall-all.inf3: 100% wagpg-pubkey-8483c65d-5ccc5b19 gpg(CentOS (CentOS Official Signing Key) <security@centos.org>)
Last metadata expiration check: 0:00:02 ago on Sat Jan 23 19:08:57 2021.
Detecting installed product components.
Select the installation type for Plesk Obsidian
===============================================================================

Installation types for the product:

 1. (*) Recommended
       Install typically used components. Recommended for general use.

 2. ( ) Full
       Install all available components.

 3. ( ) Custom
       Custom components selection. Recommended only for experienced users.


Available actions:
(F) Go forward
(B) Go back
(Q) Cancel installation

Select an action or a number [F/b/q/1-3]: F
...
+ plesk-php74-gd:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-imagick:x86_64=0:3.4.4-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-imap:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-intl:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-ioncube-loader:x86_64=0:10.4.5-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-ldap:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-mbstring:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-mysql:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-odbc:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-opcache:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-pdo:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-pear:noarch=0:1.10.12-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-pgsql:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-process:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-pspell:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-redis:x86_64=0:5.3.2-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-snmp:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-soap:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-sodium:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-tidy:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-xdebug:x86_64=0:3.0.2-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-xml:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
+ plesk-php74-xmlrpc:x86_64=0:7.4.14-1centos.8.210111.1153
Preparing Your System for Product Installation
===============================================================================

There are 362 packages required for the product to function properly which
were not found in your system.

There are 0 packages that need to be upgraded
in order to install the product.


Available actions:
(F) Go forward
(B) Go back
(Q) Cancel installation
(S) Show the list of packages

Select an action [F/b/q/s]: F
...
Installing the package Git
Installing the package Skins and Color Schemes
Installing the package WordPress Toolkit
Installing the package Advisor
Installing the package Let's Encrypt
Installing the package Social Login
Installing the package Domain Connect
Installing the package SEO Toolkit
Installing the package ImunifyAV
Installing the package SSL It!
Installing the package Repair Kit
Installing the package PHP Composer
Installing the package Advanced Monitoring
Launching component and product checkers...
Downloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/examiners/congratulations.sh: 100% was fiDownloading file report-update: 100% was finished.                              Downloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/examiners/py_launcher.sh: 100% was finishDownloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/examiners/save-installation-info.php: 100Downloading file pool/PSA_18.0.32_4963/examiners/php_launcher.sh: 100% was finisComponents and product check results:
Installation is finished

                                   Congratulations!

        The installation has been finished. Plesk is now running on your server.

        To complete the configuration process, browse either of URLs:
          * https://naughty-noyce.39-32-42-147.plesk.page/login?secret=hdE0pXj8zViZZjCiJ6gE_ihQ7s5IRA40MaOs5B0fDEyMrted
          * https://192.168.116.230/login?secret=hdE0pXj8zViZZjCiJ6gE_ihQ7s5IRA40MaOs5B0fDEyMrted

        Use the username 'admin' to log in. To log in as 'admin', use the 'plesk login' command.
        You can also log in as 'root' using your 'root' password.

        Use the 'plesk' command to manage the server. Run 'plesk help' for more info.

        Use the following commands to start and stop the Plesk web interface:
        'service psa start' and 'service psa stop' respectively.

        If you would like to migrate your subscriptions from other hosting panel
        or older Plesk version to this server, please check out our assistance
        options: https://www.plesk.com/professional-services/



The changes were applied successfully.

Note down the URL provided by Plesk installer. This URL will be used to access Plesk Obsidian for the first time.

On our Linux server, the PSA service experiencing problem in startup, so we check the systemd service unit for PSA and found out that the service type is not set properly by the Plesk installer.

Therefore, we edit the PSA systemd unit in vim editor.

[root@plesk-server ~]# vi /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/psa.service

and change type from one-shot to simple.

[Unit]
Description=Plesk Panel
Wants=sw-cp-server.service sw-engine.service
Wants=mariadb.service mysql.service
After=network.target mariadb.service mysql.service

[Service]
Type=simple
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/bin/true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start PSA service now.

[root@plesk-server ~]# systemctl daemon-reload
[root@plesk-server ~]# systemctl start psa.service

Check the status of PSA service.

[root@plesk-server ~]# systemctl status psa.service
â psa.service - Plesk Panel
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/psa.service; enabled; vendor preset:>
  Drop-In: /usr/lib/systemd/system/psa.service.d
           âârespawn.conf
   Active: active (exited) since Sat 2021-01-23 20:24:47 PKT; 3s ago
  Process: 36347 ExecStart=/bin/true (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
 Main PID: 36347 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Tasks: 0 (limit: 5804)
   Memory: 0B
   CGroup: /system.slice/psa.service

Jan 23 20:24:47 plesk-server.centlinux.com systemd[1]: Started Plesk Panel.

PSA service has been started successfully.

 

Configure Linux Firewall for Plesk:

Plesk Obsidian runs on default HTTP port. Therefore, you need to allow it in Linux firewall.

[root@plesk-server ~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
success
[root@plesk-server ~]# firewall-cmd --reload
success

 

Accessing Plesk Obsidian:

Use the URL provided by Plesk installer to access Obsidian web interface.

Provide contact details, set the password for admin user and select license type.

Plesk is initializing configurations for you.

After successful configuration the Plesk Obsidian will take you to Introduction page.

You can always configure your required website later from Plesk Obsidian. Therefore, Click on "Skip Introduction" to move forward to Obsidian dashboard.

 

Conclusion:

In this article, you have successfully installed Plesk Obsidian on CentOS 8. If you feel difficulty understanding the commands and terminologies that were used in this article, then you should read CentOS 8 Essentials: Learn to install, administer and deploy CentOS 8 systems by Neil Smyth.