Question Recommended or "most" used Linux for Plesk Obsidian

[W4ru]

Server operating system version

CentOS Linux 7.9.2009 (Core)

Plesk version and microupdate number

Plesk Obsidian Version 18.0.49 Update #2

Brief history:
Since 20 days I have a new dedicated server (fresh installation) Plesk Obsidian Version 18 on CentOS Linux 7.9.2009 (Core). Until the beginning of the year I had an identical configuration on identical hardware in use for nine months and increasingly (other post later) a frozen system from December onwards, so that a RESET was necessary at ever shorter intervals. Research into the causes of the hardware remained without any success. Finally, the Raid1 collapsed at the beginning of January and took the file system with it into nirvana, so that I am now productive again with a new server and restore of the webs.

The problem: The fresh dedicated server with only a few adjustments and only a restore of the websites (server adjustments were made manually after the IONOS rollout was completed) also had two "hang-ups" in 20 days and needed a RESET, after which the RAID1 was successfully rebuilt in each case (my provider only supports software RAID1).

Since I cannot identify any other activities on the server (and there was neither load nor traffic worth mentioning during the periods), I would like to find out whether the combination of CentOS Linux 7.9.2009 and Obsidian is the "best" choice for planning a pending repeated hardware change.
My previous system was Centos 6 and Plesk 11-12.5 and ran for eight years with no problems... so the many necessary hardware reboots are now not only a hassle, but a major topic for me.

Details of the provider's HW (if any relevance):

• Supermicro H8SCM
• AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 4274 HE / 4228 HE
• 16 GB ECC
• SATA Enterprise HDD RAID1 (SW)

Possible OS variants on the part of the provider:

• CentOS 7
• Debian 10 (Dedicated)
• Debian 11 (vHost)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Alternatively, I am considering switching to VHOST. That would limit me a bit, but would be a reasonable compromise.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Peter Debik]

All Red Hat Enteprise Linux and all forks but CentOS 8 (stream) are a great choice. This still includes CentOS 7, because this has been around for a long while and is proven to work almost flawlessly. Today, when you setup a new server, I'd still opt for Alma Linux 9, because this is where the future of RHEL forks seems to be.

 

[W4ru]

Today, when you setup a new server, I'd still opt for Alma Linux 9, because this is where the future of RHEL forks seems to be.

Many thanks Peter

Alma Linux 9 is (so far) not available for dedicated, but I'll ask for it.

For vhost it is available, so you have given me a very useful advice!

 

[eronardiaras]

All Red Hat Enteprise Linux and all forks but CentOS 8 (stream) are a great choice. This still includes CentOS 7, because this has been around for a long while and is proven to work almost flawlessly. Today, when you setup a new server, I'd still opt for Alma Linux 9, because this is where the future of RHEL forks seems to be.

I have been using centOS 7 for a long time. I just installed a new server and the service provider put centOS stream 9 on it.

You wrote that it is not very lucky because it can be unstable. (Or is only version stream 8 a bad choice?) However, centOS 7's EOL (2024-06-30) is short. What is a good (CentOS) choice? Long-term operation with many websites.

 

[eronardiaras]

All Red Hat Enteprise Linux and all forks but CentOS 8 (stream) are a great choice. This still includes CentOS 7, because this has been around for a long while and is proven to work almost flawlessly. Today, when you setup a new server, I'd still opt for Alma Linux 9, because this is where the future of RHEL forks seems to be.

Or if I definitely prefer the CentOS line, should I switch to AlmaLinux 8 or 9, because it is practically its successor?

 

[scsa20]

CentOS Stream would probably never be supported because of the consent updated state with no control over it could break things very easily.

If I'm going to spin up a new server today to replace my CentOS 7 installation, I would go with AlmaLinux 9 (personally, since a lot of the limitations that's on AlmaLinux 9 does not affect me but if you're looking to use PHP 7.3 or older, watchdog, mailman, and few others, then I would go with AlmaLinux 8) but a lot of people been using AlmaLinux 8 with no issues. The AlmaLinux distro is the successor of CentOS without the whole stream thing.

You can learn more about supported operating systems and such at the following articles:

Software Requirements for Plesk Obsidian

Read all about the software requirements, specifications and other important details to take full advantage of Plesk Obsidian.

docs.plesk.com

Blog

The Plesk Blog AllBusiness and industryEventsFeaturedFun and gamesGuidesLearningPartner NewsPartnersPeople ArticlesPlesk news and announcementsPodcast Season 1Podcast Season 2Podcast Season 3Podcast Season 4Product and technologySecurity alertsTips and easy-readingVarious Plesk Requirements -...

www.plesk.com

 

[eronardiaras]

CentOS Stream would probably never be supported because of the consent updated state with no control over it could break things very easily.

If I'm going to spin up a new server today to replace my CentOS 7 installation, I would go with AlmaLinux 9 (personally, since a lot of the limitations that's on AlmaLinux 9 does not affect me but if you're looking to use PHP 7.3 or older, watchdog, mailman, and few others, then I would go with AlmaLinux 8) but a lot of people been using AlmaLinux 8 with no issues. The AlmaLinux distro is the successor of CentOS without the whole stream thing.

You can learn more about supported operating systems and such at the following articles:

Software Requirements for Plesk Obsidian

Read all about the software requirements, specifications and other important details to take full advantage of Plesk Obsidian.

docs.plesk.com

Blog

The Plesk Blog AllBusiness and industryEventsFeaturedFun and gamesGuidesLearningPartner NewsPartnersPeople ArticlesPlesk news and announcementsPodcast Season 1Podcast Season 2Podcast Season 3Podcast Season 4Product and technologySecurity alertsTips and easy-readingVarious Plesk Requirements -...

www.plesk.com

In the meantime I installed the AlmaLinux. However, there is a problem with the partitions. Can you help me with this?

 

[agaitan]

so best option will be Almalinux 9?

 

[ChristophRo]

If you are familiar with rpm/RedHat environments, then it most likely is.
But who knows what the future brings, now that RedHat initiated their source repository lockdown...

But really, there is no single best option...it depends on what you know and like to work with, what your requirements are and where your focus lies

I like CloudLinux for their superb options to jail and resource/rate limit single websites and their built-in support for old PHP versions.
I like Debian for their stability/continuity and the availability of old/outdated but still maintained PHP versions down to v5.6 (incl. current bugfixes that get backported from newer versions) that you can easily install and use alongside of the Plesk provided PHP versions.
Same goes for Ubuntu, but why use it over Debian if you're not into the "Snap" ecosystem?

 

[agaitan]

If you are familiar with rpm/RedHat environments, then it most likely is.
But who knows what the future brings, now that RedHat initiated their source repository lockdown...

But really, there is no single best option...it depends on what you know and like to work with, what your requirements are and where your focus lies

I like CloudLinux for their superb options to jail and resource/rate limit single websites and their built-in support for old PHP versions.
I like Debian for their stability/continuity and the availability of old/outdated but still maintained PHP versions down to v5.6 (incl. current bugfixes that get backported from newer versions) that you can easily install and use alongside of the Plesk provided PHP versions.
Same goes for Ubuntu, but why use it over Debian if you're not into the "Snap" ecosystem?

so i can install directly plesk to a cloudlinux OS? which version you like?

 

[ChristophRo]

I would use CloudLinux OS Solo 8.8 as of this writing, as it's the most recent one and it's supported by Plesk.

Me personally, I prefer Debian because it's my primary playground and I'm all familiar with it since version 3.0
But I do also manage some Redhat/CentOS/CloudLinux servers from time to time and the later are used with custom/self-written webhosting control panels and mechanism.
So, let's just say I have some (limited) experience with what CloudLinux provides in that regard and you really get some nice features that have no rivals in any other Linux distribution.
If you can and wanna use them, or of they even provide any measurable benefit to you, that you must decide on your own.

 

[MarkM]

If you do end up going with Alma, I would review the limitations for Alma9 at https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/12376955168919-Does-Plesk-support-RHEL9-AlmaLinux-9- before deciding between Alma8 or 9.

 

[nmdpa3]

We went from CentOS7 servers to Ubuntu 22.04 and find the Ubuntu servers work without issue. Our main decision in doing that was being able to update them in place from say 22.02 to 22.04, etc.

 

[danami]

AlmaLinux 9.2 or Ubuntu 22.04. With AlmaLinux 9 you have the benefit of SELinux support and a 10 year lifespan. With Ubuntu 22.04 you have both ARM64 support and an easier dist upgrade path between LTS versions (Packages can get outdated as you near the end of that 10 year lifespan). As a long time Centos/AlmaLinux user I must say that I've been really impressed with the price to performance of ARM64 and Ubuntu 22.04. The big providers usually give you double the memory / cores for the same price as x86.

 

[jlocana]

All Red Hat Enteprise Linux and all forks but CentOS 8 (stream) are a great choice. This still includes CentOS 7, because this has been around for a long while and is proven to work almost flawlessly. Today, when you setup a new server, I'd still opt for Alma Linux 9, because this is where the future of RHEL forks seems t

 

[jlocana]

Hello Everyone:

Plesk are not doing this attach security automatically for Ubuntu. That i need to do this manually or I need to change to Red hat Linux for Plesk compatibility.

Thanks☺

Jose

 

[Peter Debik]

Not all operating system related updates are managed by Plesk. This is the same on RHEL operating systems. Some of such updates require reboots. Some might not be "safe", e.g. could lead to dependency issues. So it is best for an admin to interactively do them.

 

[pschneider1968]

I realize I'm posting to an old thread, but I would nevertheless like to point out that Debian 12 (currently 12.5 to be precise) is rock-solid, and has been for years for me. I'm running it with current Plesk Obsidian on a small dedicated AMD 6 core server (AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T Processor) from IONOS Server Power Deals. They sell it still with Debian 10, but I followed the upgrade instructions I found here on the Plesk site, and the upgrade from 10 to 11 and then from 11 to 12 (Bookworm) worked without any problem.

I would recommend to consider Debian. Its software and tools are much closer to being "up to date" than those of any RH/EL clone distro like Alma or Rocky. And to be frank: CentOS is dead. RedHat just killed it with "Stream". You cannot seriously consider to use a rolling release distro on an important server, IMHO.