Skip to content
  • Solutions
    By Role
    • For Developers
    • For Content Managers
    • For Agencies
    • For IT Admins
    • For Web Hosters
    • For Developers
    • For Content Managers
    • For Agencies
    • For IT Admins
    • For Web Hosters
    By Infrastructure
    • Overview
    • AWS
    • Microsoft Azure
    • Alibaba Cloud
    • Google Cloud Platform
    • Vultr
    • Overview
    • AWS
    • Microsoft Azure
    • Alibaba Cloud
    • Google Cloud Platform
    • Vultr
    • Digital Ocean
    • Linode
    • Upcloud
    • Oracle
    • OVH
    • Digital Ocean
    • Linode
    • Upcloud
    • Oracle
    • OVH
  • Product
    • Plesk Features
    • Plesk Editions
    • What’s new
    • Pricing
    • Roadmap
    • Lifecycle Policy
    • Extensions Catalogue
  • Pricing
  • Extensions
    Featured Extensions
    • SocialBee
    • WP Toolkit
    • Sitejet Builder for Plesk
    • SEO Toolkit
    • Joomla! Toolkit
    • Premium Email
    • Email Security
    • SocialBee
    • WP Toolkit
    • Sitejet Builder for Plesk
    • SEO Toolkit
    • Joomla! Toolkit
    • Premium Email
    • Email Security
    Bundles and packs:
    • Business and Collaboration Edition
    • WP pack
    • Hosting pack
    • Power pack
    • Language pack
    • Business and Collaboration Edition
    • WP pack
    • Hosting pack
    • Power pack
    • Language pack

    See all Extensions

  • For Partners
    • Plesk Contributor Program
    • Plesk Partner Program
    • Affiliate program
    • Plesk University
  • Help Center
    • Documentation
    • Professional Services
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Wiki
    • Forum
  • Plesk 360 login
  • Free Trial
  • Pricing
  • Solutions
    • By Role
      • For Developers
      • For Content Managers
      • For Agencies
      • For IT Admins
      • For Web Hosters
    • By Infrastructure
      • Overview
      • Plesk on Amazon Web Services (AWS & Lightsail)
      • Microsoft Azure
      • Alibaba Cloud
      • Google Cloud Platform
      • Vultr
      • DigitalOcean
      • Linode
      • UpCloud
      • Oracle
      • OVH
  • Products
  • Pricing
  • Extensions
    • Featured Extensions
      • SocialBee
      • WP Toolkit
      • Sitejet Builder for Plesk
      • SEO Toolkit
      • Joomla! Toolkit
      • Premium Email
      • Email Security
    • Bundles and packs:
      • Business and Collaboration Edition
      • WP pack
      • Hosting pack
      • Power pack
      • Language pack
      • See all Extensions
  • For Partners
    • Plesk Contributor Program
    • Plesk Partner Program
    • Affiliate Program
    • Plesk University
  • Help Center
    • Documentation
    • Professional Services
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Wiki
    • Forum
  • Plesk 360 login
  • Free Trial
  • Pricing
  • Solutions
    • By Role
      • For Developers
      • For Content Managers
      • For Agencies
      • For IT Admins
      • For Web Hosters
    • By Infrastructure
      • Overview
      • Plesk on Amazon Web Services (AWS & Lightsail)
      • Microsoft Azure
      • Alibaba Cloud
      • Google Cloud Platform
      • Vultr
      • DigitalOcean
      • Linode
      • UpCloud
      • Oracle
      • OVH
  • Products
  • Pricing
  • Extensions
    • Featured Extensions
      • SocialBee
      • WP Toolkit
      • Sitejet Builder for Plesk
      • SEO Toolkit
      • Joomla! Toolkit
      • Premium Email
      • Email Security
    • Bundles and packs:
      • Business and Collaboration Edition
      • WP pack
      • Hosting pack
      • Power pack
      • Language pack
      • See all Extensions
  • For Partners
    • Plesk Contributor Program
    • Plesk Partner Program
    • Affiliate Program
    • Plesk University
  • Help Center
    • Documentation
    • Professional Services
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Wiki
    • Forum
  • Plesk 360 login
  • Free Trial
Plesk 360 login
Free Trial

Knowledge Base

Apache restarts frequently on a Plesk server: Caught SIGTERM, shutting down

 
apachecentosdebianhostinghosting settings

Symptoms

  • Apache service frequently restarts. One of the following messages is logged in Apache logfile (CentOS/RHEL-based: /var/log/httpd/error_log, Debian/Ubuntu-based: /var/log/apache2/error.log):

    [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down


    [mpm_event:notice] [pid 665:tid 140662910175360] AH00492: caught SIGWINCH, shutting down gracefully


    [mpm_prefork:notice] [pid 12450] AH00169: caught SIGTERM, shutting down


    [error] 34053#0: *190501 upstream prematurely closed connection while reading response header from upstream, client: 203.0.113.101, server: example.com, request: "POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/2.0", upstream: "https://203.0.113.2:7081/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php", host: "example.com", referrer: "https://example.com/"

  • System journal for Apache service contains multiple messages about Apache restart:

    Nov 27 08:13:00 servername systemd[1]: Stopping The Apache HTTP Server...
    Nov 27 08:13:03 servername systemd[1]: Stopped The Apache HTTP Server.
    Nov 27 08:13:03 servername systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
    Nov 27 08:13:05 servername systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.
    Nov 27 08:13:54 servername systemd[1]: Stopping The Apache HTTP Server...
    Nov 27 08:13:57 servername systemd[1]: Stopped The Apache HTTP Server.
    Nov 27 08:13:58 servername systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
    Nov 27 08:13:59 servername systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.

  • Websites are unavailable with a 503 error after for several seconds after applying web-server related settings in Plesk.

Cause

Plesk restarts Apache service to apply the new configuration when:

  • a domain is created/removed,
  • an SSL certificate has been issued/renewed/assigned (as manually, as well during keep-secured scheduled task),
  • PHP Settings or Hosting settings for a domain have been changed.

Resolution

To avoid frequent Apache restarts, consider one of the following options:

  • Enable Apache graceful restart

  • Increase Apache restart interval in Plesk at Tools & Settings > Apache Web Server > Set the Apache restart interval value to "300" or more (value in seconds):

    Screenshot_2019-06-10_Apache_Web_Server_Settings_-_Plesk_Onyx_17_8_11.png

Tweet
Share
Share
Email
0 Shares
Read the full article
Related Posts

Securing the WordPress Frontier with WP Guardian

Read More »

Introducing WP Guardian Vulnerability Protection: Now available for WP Toolkit

Read More »

Your Complete .htaccess Guide: Including .htaccess Basics and More

Read More »
Knowledge Base

The Apache service does not start: Failed to configure certificate: ca md too weak

Read More »

A website or webmail hosted in Plesk periodically shows the Plesk/web server default page or old website content

Read More »

How to allow access to a website directory from specific IP address in Plesk?

Read More »

How to install the php-mcrypt module on a Plesk server

Read More »

Hosting Wiki

  • Server Redundancy
  • Bare Metal Server
  • PhpMyAdmin
  • phpPgAdmin
  • Oracle VM Server
  • Server Virtualization Software
  • Windows Server
  • Linux
  • PHP
  • HTTP/3
  • HTTP/2
  • Hosting Control Panel
  • Plesk
  • Lighttpd
  • Apache Tomcat
  • Apache
  • Web Server
  • DNS Server
  • SSL
  • Colocation Hosting
  • Reseller Hosting
  • Cloud Hosting
  • VPS Hosting
  • Dedicated Hosting
  • Shared Hosting
  • Free Hosting
  • Managed Hosting
  • HTTP
X-twitter Linkedin Youtube Reddit Github
  • Product
  • Login
  • Pricing
  • Editions
  • For Partners
  • Partner Program
  • Contributor Program
  • Affiliate Program
  • Plesk University
  • Company
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Events
  • About Plesk
  • Our Brand
  • Resources
  • User and Admin guides
  • Help Center
  • Migrate to Plesk
  • Contact Us
  • Hosting Wiki
  • Forum
  • Legal
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Imprint

© 2025 WebPros International GmbH

Part of the WebPros®  Family