Configuring the Panel to Run Behind Router with NAT

Every time you set up a new website in the Panel, the domain name used by your website is associated with the IP address of your Panel-managed server in the DNS zone of this domain. If you are running the Panel behind a routing device with NAT (network address translation), this IP address will be an internal network address like 192.168.1.10. As the 192.168.x.x IP addresses are reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use by private networks, this website will not be accessible to the Internet users. To work around this, you have to associate this domain name with the public IP address of the routing device in the DNS zone of this domain.

If you are using the Panel as a part of hosting package sold to you by your hosting provider (as opposed to having your own server), then in most cases, your hosting provider has already configured the routing device and the DNS zone template used for creation of your websites. If so, you can proceed directly to Making Your Website Accessible When the Panel Is Running Behind Router with NAT for instructions on how to make your websites accessible to the Internet users.

To check if proper modifications of the DNS zone template were made by your hosting provider:

1. Go to Settings > DNS Template Settings (in the DNS group).
2. Locate all resource records of A type. By default these records look like this:
   • <domain>. A <ip>
   • mail.<domain>. A <ip>
   • ns.<domain>. A <ip>
   • webmail.<domain>. A <ip>

If you see real IP address instead of <ip> there, it means that your hosting provider has modified the DNS zone template used for creation of your websites. Write down this IP address and go to Making Your Website Accessible When the Panel Is Running Behind Router with NAT for further instructions on how to make your websites accessible to the Internet users.

However, if you see the records as they are displayed in the example above (with <ip> instead of real IP address), it means that either the Panel provided to you as a part of your hosting package is not running behind a router with NAT, or you have to modify the DNS zone template manually.

To modify the DNS zone template used for creation of your websites:

1. Go to Settings > DNS Template Settings (in the DNS group).
2. Locate all resource records of A type. These records look like the following:
   • <domain>. A <ip>
   • mail.<domain>. A <ip>
   • ns.<domain>. A <ip>
   • webmail.<domain>. A <ip>
3. Edit all of these A type records:
   1. Click the corresponding links in the Host column.
   2. In the Enter IP address input box, delete the <ip> templates, and type the public IP address allocated to you by your hosting provider. If you have forgotten the public IP address allocated to you, contact your hosting provider for assistance.
4. Click OK.

If you are running your own Parallels Plesk Panel server behind a router with NAT, you need to manually configure the routing device and modify the DNS zone template used for creation of your websites.

If you are running your own server with the Panel behind a router with NAT:

1. Configure your routing device so as to ensure the proper address translation. Refer to the documentation of your routing device for detailed instructions.
2. Log in to the Panel and go to Settings > DNS Template Settings (in the DNS group).
3. Locate all resource records of A type. These records look like the following:
   • <domain>. A <ip>
   • mail.<domain>. A <ip>
   • ns.<domain>. A <ip>
   • webmail.<domain>. A <ip>
4. Edit all of these A type records:
   1. Click the corresponding links in the Host column.
   2. In the Enter IP address input box, delete the <ip> templates, and type the public IP address of the routing device.
   3. Click OK.
   4. Go to Making Your Website Accessible When the Panel Is Running Behind Router with NAT for further instructions on how to make your websites accessible to the Internet users.