Overview

You can start with traditional Parallels Plesk Panel on a few servers then expand your infrastructure with Parallels Plesk Automation to dozens of servers with centralized management and dedicated and optimized web, mail, database, and DNS servers.

Offer shared hosting services on Windows, Linux (IIS or Apache web servers) or both from a single management and control panel experience to support the most customer use cases across multiple technologies like PHP, .NET, MySQL, or MSSQL.

Manage your complete hosting infrastructure centrally without switching to different management panels on diverse servers.

Offer resellers complete rebranding of the customer control panel, the ability to set up shared or dedicated service nodes, the possibility to define their own hosting plans, and access to their preferred billing systems with their online stores.

Give your customer rights and access to manage all their services from a single panel -- no matter which servers they've been provisioned to, which technologies they use, and whether they are on Linux hosting, Windows hosting, or both.

Offer your service in multiple geographies with customer and admin views fully localized in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Italian and Dutch.

Parallels Plesk Automation management software is available at no additional charge to Parallels Panel Unlimited/Dedicated lease license holders and can be installed on any server with a valid license. Also, only web hosting and mail hosting service nodes will require licenses. DNS and Database for Parallels Plesk Automation nodes do not require licenses.

Enjoy unlimited access to the Parallels Global Support team at no charge – priority technical support is fully included in your base licensing for Parallels Plesk Automation.

Your customers' experience remains the same after your infrastructure optimization under Parallels Plesk Automation.

Technical Details

Parallels Plesk Automation delivers consolidated hosting on servers under management from a central node. The administration UI provides control over all hosting nodes, including:

• Centralized IP pools and IP addresses management
• Single point of software installation
• Centralized mail servers, including spam and antivirus management
• Full support for single- and dual-configuration IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
• Monitoring of server status and software components running on the nodes
• Asynchronous task management for infrastructure updates and hosting accounts provisioning
• Aggregated resource usage reporting across your environment
• Centralized license management for service nodes and additional software components
• Central user account security management, including passwords, sessions, and permissions
• Continue to use your existing billing/ordering systems via a single point of open API integration

Frequently Asked Questions

Download the Technical Frequently Asked Questions here.

1. Q: What is Parallels Plesk Automation?

   Parallels Plesk Automation is a scalable, multi-server automation solution for shared hosting, giving growing hosters the power, performance, and scale previously only available to hosting giants. Parallels Plesk Automation is designed to centrally manage thousands of customers on multiple servers from a central point – all with a modern design and exceptional usability.

2. Q: Who is Parallels Plesk Automation designed for?

   Parallels Plesk Automation is designed for Shared Hosters looking to for operational efficiency, scale, and performance to rapidly grow their hosting business. The optimal candidate for Parallels Plesk Automation would have:

   • 2 or more servers with shared hosting customers
   • An ambition to acquire customers and grow hosting business

3. Q: What are the benefits of Parallels Plesk Automation for Shared Hosters?

   1. Scale to thousands of customers one server at a time. With Parallels Plesk Automation you can start and  grow your business without change in user or administrative experience by adding just one server at a time.
   2. Sell to the largest audiences with cross-platform Windows/Linux . Offer shared hosting services on Windows, Linux (IIS or Apache web servers) or both from a single management and control panel experience to support the most customer use cases across multiple technologies like PHP, .NET, MySQL, or MSSQL.
   3. Reduce administration tasks with centralized management. Manage your complete hosting infrastructure centrally without switching to different management panels on diverse servers.
   4. Expand your business through building a reseller channel. Offer resellers complete rebranding of the customer control panel, the ability to set up shared or dedicated service nodes, and the possibility to define their own hosting plans.
   5. Give your customers easy access to all services with a single integrated panel. Give your customer rights and access to manage all their services from a single panel -- no matter which servers they've been provisioned to, which technologies they use, and whether they are on Linux hosting, Windows hosting, or both.
   6. Expand globally with multi-language support. Offer your service in multiple geographies with customer and admin views fully localized in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Dutch.
   7. Get free and unlimited support. Enjoy unlimited access to the Parallels Global Support team at no charge – priority technical support is fully included in your base licensing for Parallels Plesk Automation.

4. Q: How is Parallels Plesk Automation licensed?

   Parallels Plesk Automation is licensed the same way Parallels Plesk Panel is licensed. The beauty of single-server hosting systems (such as Parallels Plesk Panel) is that they are priced and sold per server. This is easy for the buyer and easy for the seller – typically a datacenter – because it can be attached to each server sold. Parallels Plesk Automation will continue to follow this model. Any leased Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Dedicated server license can be used for a Parallels Plesk Automation node. Web servers and mail servers in a Parallels Plesk Automation system simply require this same type of Parallels Plesk Panel license – which is sold per server – while dedicated DNS and DB Servers require no license. To make it simple, the Parallels Plesk Automation Management Node software will be a free download from www.parallels.com.

5. Q: How much does Parallels Plesk Automation cost?

   Parallels Plesk Automation is prices per node at exactly same way as Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited-Domain Dedicated server. For more information see above question (How is Parallels Plesk Automation licensed?)

6. Q: How is Parallels Plesk Automation sold?

   A customer can purchase Parallels Plesk Automation in exactly the same way as Parallels Plesk Panel since Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Dedicated license is used to enable Parallels Plesk Automation on a server. These options include:

   1. Purchase Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited-Domain licenses from the Parallels Online Store
   2. Purchase Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited-Domain licenses from a Parallels account manager
   3. Purchase Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited-Domain licenses from a Parallels partner who sells this license as part of the Infrastructure service

   The core “Plesk Automation” license key is available at no charge and simply requires registration on the Parallels Plesk Automation section of Parallels.com. Paid add-ons to the core license – which are Customer & Business Manager or Web Presence Builder - can be added to the core license through the Online Store.

7. Q: Is there a minimum number of Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Domains servers required for Parallels Plesk Automation?

   No. A minimum configuration of Parallels Plesk Automation can run on a single server under a Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Domains license.

8. Q: What’s the difference between Parallels Plesk Panel, Plesk Automation, and PBAS?

   1. Parallels Plesk Panel is a preferred choice for a single server hosting solution - the first step on your business' growth path
   2. Parallels Plesk Automation is a scalable, multi-server operations and provisioning automation solution that will help you grow your hosting business from the first Parallels Plesk Panel instance on the first server to hundreds of servers.
   3. Parallels Business Automation Standard is the most proven and highly customizable billing and hosting automation solution. PBAS automates provisioning and billing of the full range of traditional hosting services, including domain registration, email hosting, shared hosting, VPS, hypervisor-based VMs, dedicated servers, SSL certificates, while also building reseller channels. Starting with version 4.3 PBAS supports and integrates the provisioning of hosting plans to Parallels Plesk Automation.

9. Q: If a hoster deploys Parallels Plesk Automation and, at a later stage, he needs to add more nodes, does he need to buy licenses for these additional nodes?

   Yes. Each node of Parallels Plesk Automation will require a Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Domains license with the exception of DNS and DB Servers that require no Parallels license.

10. Q: How is Parallels Plesk Automation supported?

    The purchase of Parallels Plesk Panel Unlimited Dedicated license for Parallels Plesk Automation means all multi-server Parallels Plesk Automation issues will be supported by Parallels. Single-server Parallels Plesk Panel will continue to have the support of your Service Provider.

Parallels Plesk Automation System Requirements

Parallels Plesk Automation can be deployed on a wide variety of hardware. The Deployment Guide will help you rapidly deploy and quickly realize all the scalability benefits of Parallels Plesk Automation.

Operating Systems:

• CentOS 5
• RedHat Enterprise Linux 5

Memory: 2GB (4GB Recommended)

Disk Space: 10GB free

Operating Systems:

• CentOS 6
• CentOS 5

• RedHat Enterprise Linux 6
• RedHat Enterprise Linux 5

• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2008

Memory: 1GB

Disk Space: 10GB free + space for customer content