Provisioning of VPSs with Plesk can take significant time. To speed up the process you can prepare OS templates of virtual servers with Plesk.

Do the following:

• Create container (CT) / virtual machine (VM)
• Install Plesk
• Create OS template
• Include OS template in VPS Hosting Service Template

You can perform these actions via SSH or Parallels Virtual Automation (PVA). Below you will see the following solutions: CT solution via SSH, VM solution via PVA.

1. Create a virtual server.

   1. Container solution.
      1. Log in to PCS node as root via SSH.
      2. Create a container, install OS in it, configure network settings, verify that the container has Internet connection, define hardware configuration, specify the descriptive name of the container, start and enter the container. To learn more about managing containers, refer to Parallels Cloud Server User’s Guide >> Managing Virtual machines and Containers.
   2. Virtual machine solution.
      1. Install PVA on PCS node if it wasn’t installed earlier with PCS, for details refer to Parallels Virtual Automation Installation Guide.
      2. Log in to PVA. Create a new virtual machine, install OS in it, configure network settings, and define hardware configuration. Start and enter the virtual machine. For detailed information about managing virtual machines in PVA, refer to Parallels Virtual Automation Administrator’s Guide >> Managing Virtual Environments > Managing Virtual Machines section.

2. Install Plesk.

   For Linux CT/VM

   1. Run Plesk installation:

      a. Download Plesk installer

      wget http://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer

      b. Allow one-click-installer file execution

      chmod +x one-click-installer

      c. Run one-click-installer

      ./one-click-installer

   2. Initialize Plesk.

      PSA_PASSWORD=setup /usr/local/psa/bin/init_conf --init -company "NeverHood" -name admin -passwd '' -phone 1234567890 -fax 1234567890 -email your@email.com -address 'address line 1' -city Novosibisrsk -state 'Novosibisrkaya obl' -zip 630124 -country RU -send_tech_announce true -send_announce true -admin_info_not_required true -license_agreed true -encrypted-password -hostname 'test.tld'

   3. Reset configuration using cloning utility.

      ./usr/local/psa/bin/cloning --update -prepare-public-image true -reset-init-conf true -reset-license true

   4. Exit the container/virtual machine.
   5. Stop the container/virtual machine.

   For Windows VM

   1. Run Plesk installation. To learn how to do it, refer to http://download1.parallels.com/Plesk/PP12/12.0/Doc/en-US/online/plesk-installation-upgrade-migration-guide/65780.htm#

   2. Initialize Plesk.

      "%plesk_dir%bin\init_conf.exe" --init -company "NeverHood" -name admin -passwd "setup1Q" -phone 1234567890 -fax 1234567890 -email your@email.com -address "address line 1" -city Novosibisrsk -state "Novosibisrkaya obl" -zip 630124 -country RU -send_tech_announce true -send_announce true -admin_info_not_required true -license_agreed true -hostname "test.tld"

      %plesk_dir% – the name of system environment variable that Plesk sets up on Windows to simplify access to its directories. It is a path to Plesk installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Parallels\Plesk).

   3. Reset configuration using cloning utility.

      "%plesk_dir%bin\cloning.exe" --update -prepare-public-image true -reset-init-conf true -reset-license true

   4. Exit the virtual machine.
   5. Stop the virtual machine.

3. Create OS template from the virtual server.

   • for container via SSH

     prlctl set <ctid> --template yes

   • for virtual machine in PVA

     For details refer to Parallels Virtual Automation Administrator’s Guide >> Managing Virtual Environments > Managing Virtual Machines > Managing Virtual Machine Templates section.

4. Include OS template in VPS Hosting Service Template.

   1. Discover OS template with installed Plesk.
      1. You need to discover the newly created OS template with installed Plesk in order to use it in PPA. Refer to PPA Administrator’s Guide >> Appendix B. VPS Hosting: Advanced Configuration > Registering OS Templates > Registering OS Templates via the Built-In Discovery Feature section for the instructions.
      2. While configuring OS Template parameters specify the Edition to differentiate it later in Virtual Server Template. For example, CentOS-with-Plesk12.

   2. Create Virtual Server Template.

      Create a new virtual server template on the basis of the newly discovered OS template. Refer to PPA Administrator’s Guide >> VPS Hosting > Virtual Server Templates, UI Policies, Backup Schedules, and Locations > Creating a Virtual Server Template section for the instructions.

   3. Create custom Plesk Configuration.

      Create your own custom Plesk Configuration and set up all the parameters according to Plesk, which was installed in container. To learn more about creating Plesk Configuration, refer to PPA Administrator’s Guide >> VPS Hosting > Plesk in VPS > Creating Plesk Configurations section.

   4. Create VPS Hosting Service Template.

      Include the newly created Virtual Server Template to the VPS Hosting Service Template. Refer to PPA Administrator’s Guide >> VPS Hosting > Creating VPS Hosting Service Template section for instructions.