If you are planning to offer Linux-based hosting services, you need to add a Linux-based service node to CloudBlue Commerce. Nodes are added based on the role Apache web server / MySQL database server. After selecting the role, all the necessary software is automatically installed and configured on the nodes. In addition to the web servers and database management systems, mail server software is installed as well. For a complete list of software components installed on hosting service nodes, see the section Setting Up Services on Hosting Service Nodes.
Note: For the web and mail services to operate properly, ensure that the incoming and outgoing web and mail traffic is not blocked by firewalls. Refer to Configuring Firewalls for more information.
Each web hosting service node is managed by the Plesk control panel software. For this reason, you need to obtain licenses for Plesk from www.plesk.com (one license per node) and install them on service nodes. Only licenses for Web Pro and Web Host editions of Plesk are suitable. If you do not install a license key, the provisioning of websites will not be possible.
Important: Do not attempt to install a Plesk Web Admin license as it is incompatible with the WebHosting Plesk module. If you install it, the WebHosting Plesk module will not be able to manage the nodes.
Shared database hosting nodes do not need a Plesk license.
To add a hosting service node:
- Clean up the YUM repository cache on Linux-based service nodes before attaching them to WebHosting Plesk. Log in over SSH to the node that you want to attach and issue the
yum clean all --enablerepo=*command in the console. - Log in to CloudBlue Commerce as the admin user.
- Go to Infrastructure > Service Nodes > Add New Node.
- Select the role Apache web server / MySQL database server.
- Specify the node's host name or an IP address, and the root user's password. Click Next.
- Select the Show extended parameters check box.
- Specify the following:
- The maximum number of websites that can be hosted on the node. We recommend leaving the default value of 1000: hosting more than 1000 websites might significantly reduce the performance of the service node. When the specified number of sites on the node is reached, new websites can no longer be added.
- When to notify you about reaching the hosting capacity. You will receive a notification by email and will have a chance to deploy an additional service node in advance.
- Whether to install Plesk mail components. If you do not plan to use Plesk-managed mail servers, and you want to provide your users with Hosted Exchange or Microsoft Office 365 accounts, type false in the Install Plesk mail components field.
- Click Next, and then click Finish.
- Install a license key: Go to Services > WebHosting Plesk > Service Nodes tab > License (in the Actions column) > Install Key.
- If you want to allocate dedicated IP addresses to user subscriptions or if you want to accommodate resellers, configure IP pools as described in Allocating Dedicated IP Addresses to Service Nodes.
After all service nodes were added, configure hosting templates and service plans, as described in Getting Ready for Selling Hosting Services to Customers and Getting Ready for Onboarding Resellers.