Preparing for Work with Plesk Expand

Before starting to work with Plesk Expand:

Install the Plesk Expand software. The ways of installation and installation instructions are described in the Plesk Expand Installation Guide here.
When Plesk Expand is installed, make sure:
- You have at least two Plesk servers of compatible versions that you wish to manage.
  For compatibility list, refer to Plesk Expand Installation Guide.
- You have PSA API RPC installed on those Plesk servers to enable communication between them and Plesk Expand.
  For detailed information on PSA API RPC and its installation instructions, see the Plesk Expand Installation Guide.
- You have all the services necessary for the operation of Plesk Expand started on the machine Plesk Expand is installed on.
  The following table lists the necessary services and describes the problems that may occur if they are not started:

Service Name	If Service Is Not Started
httpd -or- psa (if Plesk Expand is installed over the Plesk server)	The control panel does not open.
mysqld	You cannot work in the Plesk Expand control panel: neither log in, nor open any page in it.
expandtm	You cannot change any data in Plesk Expand. Plesk Expand opens in a sort of a read-only mode.
expandom	You cannot change any data in Plesk Expand. Plesk Expand opens in a sort of a read-only mode.
sendmail	All e-mail notifications are disabled in Plesk Expand. The password retrieval option on the login screen is unavailable.

Tip: You may check the status of these services in the console of the machine Plesk Expand is installed on, by using the following command:
service <service_name> {status|stop|start}
-or-
/etc/init.d/<service_name> {status|stop|start}

You have properly configured the DNS zones for all your hosts, including Plesk servers, Centralized Mail servers, Centralized DNS servers, and the Plesk Expand host. Plesk Expand might use DNS lookup to resolve hostname to IP, and reverse lookup to resolve IP to hostname.
Note: Special attention should be paid to the DNS zones configuration on the Centralized Mail server. If the PTR record for this server's IP points to the wrong host name, you won't be able to manage the Centralized Mail server.
You have the firewall properly configured.
If the firewall is blocking port #8442, you cannot open the Plesk Expand control panel. For detailed instructions on adjusting firewall settings, see Configuring Plesk Expand servers to run behind a firewall further in this section.

After all the above preparations are made, you may log in to Plesk Expand.

In This Section

Configuring Plesk Expand to Run Behind a Firewall