Plesk IP address is not removed: Cannot remove the IP address because it is the primary IP address of a network interface

Symptoms

Plesk IP address cannot be removed:

PLESK_ERROR: Error: Cannot remove the IP address 203.0.113.2 because it is the primary IP address of a network interface.

PLESK_ERROR: ifmng failed: cannot delete main IP on interface

Cause

Primary IP address of network interface cannot be removed by design.

Resolution

Note: This solution is applicable only if there are at least 2 IP addresses on a server. To add a new IP address, see this KB article.

1. Connect to a Plesk server via SSH.

2. Create a backup of Plesk database:

   # plesk db dump psa > /root/psa_backup.sql

3. Connect to the Plesk database:

   # plesk db

4. Modify the IP_Addresses table:

   Note: In the following example:
   
   203.0.113.2 - the current main (primary) IP address
   203.0.113.3 - the new main (primary) IP address that is going to replace 203.0.113.2

   • Change the value of the main field to true for the new IP address:

     MYSQL_LIN: mysql> UPDATE IP_Addresses SET main='true' WHERE ip_address='203.0.113.3';

   • Change the value of the main field to false for the old IP address:

     MYSQL_LIN: mysql> UPDATE IP_Addresses SET main='false' WHERE ip_address='203.0.113.2';