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Best practices for hostname setup on a Plesk server

kb: how-to Plesk for Linux

Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Linux
  • Plesk for Windows

Question

  • How to change or get a server hostname on the Plesk server?
  • What is the recommended way of setting up a server hostname on a Plesk server?

Answer

Ideally, a Plesk server hostname should be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that is registered with a domain registrar under your name or your company name. It can be a subdomain of a domain that you own as well. 

The hostname structure server.example.com is often used for a such a purpose.

Warning: Some server providers might deny hostname changes. In such cases you should contact them directly for further assistance.

Once you've registered a domain name, made sure that it's pointed towards your Plesk server and decided what exact domain or subdomain you want to use as a server hostname for your Plesk server, you should do the following:

1. Set the hostname in the Plesk GUI

    1. Log into Plesk

    2. Go to the menu Tools & Settings > Server Settings, specify the new hostname in the field Full hostname:

    Note: You should be logged in as the Plesk administrator to be able to see or change the hostname.

    3. Press Save at the bottom of the page to apply the changes
2. Set an SSL for the hostname

In order to make sure that the Plesk GUI is accessible via the Plesk server hostname on port 443 and port 8443, you should generate a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for it, which can be done by using these steps:

1. Log into Plesk

2. Go to Tools & Settings > SSL/TLS Certificates (under Security).

3. Click Let's Encrypt.

4. Make sure the Domain name and Email address fields contain a valid information:

  • Domain name can be a server hostname (preferable) or any other (sub)domain name hosted on the server. It will be used as an entry point to Plesk interface (for example, https://server.example.com:8443) for all Plesk users (customers, resellers, etc.) who have access to Plesk.

    Note: The hostname/domain name must be resolvable to a public IP address of the Plesk server from the Internet. If in doubt, check your hostname/domain name availability using DNS Lookup by MxToolBox.

    If a domain, e.g. example.com, is using permanent www. redirection, specify www.example.com as Domain name.

  • Email address will be used to receive important notifications and warnings.



 

5. Press Install

At this stage, an SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt is generated and set to secure Plesk on port 8443. This certificate will be auto-renewed. Here is the final look:
Screenshot_2019-03-26_SSL_TLS_Certificates_-_Plesk_Onyx_17_8_11_1___1_.png
 

Once this process is finalized, you would be able to access the Plesk GUI via the hostname at a URL that would be similar to https://server.example.com:8443
 

3. (Optional) Customize the conditions under which the Plesk GUI is accessible

1. Log into Plesk

2. Go to Tools & Settings > Customize Plesk URL.

3. Specify the domain that will be used as an entry point to Plesk

Note: Domains with hosting type No Web Hosting cannot be used.

4. Save the changes

 

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