Question
How should hard drive be partitioned for Plesk Linux installation?
Answer
Plesk for Linux OS stores user data in the directory /var, by default, so the partitioning should be set up as follows:
SWAP -> Refer to the OS vendor recommendation (usually at least the amount of RAM on the server times two).
/ -> 20GB minimum, 50GB recommended. This partition is used for the OS and Plesk updates.
/tmp -> At least 3GB recommended.
/var -> the rest of the space (domains, mail, backups, and databases are stored there)
Note: it may vary. The /usr/local/psa/tmp/ directory (for domains backups) as well as the /usr/local/psa/PMM/tmp/ one (for full server backups) are used as a temporary placeholder for backups. For instance, when downloading a backup file via Plesk GUI, a temporary file with the same size is created in those locations.
Directories, that usually contain large amounts of data, include:
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/var/www/vhosts- domains content -
/var/qmail- mail configuration/content -
/var/lib/mysql- MySQL databases -
/var/lib/psa/dumps- Plesk client/domain backups -
/var/lib/pgsql/data- PostgreSQL databases -
/var/lib/mailman- Mailman lists
The file /etc/psa/psa.conf defines other directories used by Plesk.
On Debian and Ubuntu, Plesk files are located in /opt/psa directory.
More information about partitioning can be found through the following links:
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Debian-based OSes: https://askubuntu.com/questions/343268/how-to-use-manual-partitioning-during-installation
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RHEL-based Oses: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/installation_guide/s2-diskpartrecommend-x86