Scheduled tasks do not start automatically on Plesk for Linux server

Symptoms

• On a Plesk for Linux server, scheduled tasks do not start automatically, including scheduled backup or statistics tasks.

• If a scheduled task is started manually from Plesk, it works correctly.

• cron service is stopped:

  # systemctl status cron.service | grep "Active:"
  Active: inactive (dead) since Thu 2019-10-17 13:17:27 +07; 1s ago

  OR

  # service crond status
  crond is stopped

Cause

cron service is stopped on the server.

Resolution

1. Connect to the server using SSH.

2. Enable and start cron:

   • On CentOS/RHEL/CloudLinux 7 and newer:

     # systemctl enable crond
     # systemctl start crond

   • On CentOS/RHEL/CloudLinux 6:

     # chkconfig crond on
     # service crond start

   • On Debian and Ubuntu:

     # systemctl enable cron
     # systemctl start cron