Database Servers

Plesk needs database servers for storing its own databases, databases used by its components (for example, databases for the webmail service), and databases created by hosting customers' websites and APS applications (for example, a WordPress database).

Plesk supports the most popular database engines and is shipped with corresponding database management tools. Plesk can work with database servers located on the same server with Plesk or on a remote machine.

By default, on Linux servers, database engines are installed on the same server with Plesk from the repository of your OS vendor (Linux) or your custom repository. On Windows servers, database engines are packaged with Plesk and installed on the same server with Plesk.

Database Server Software in Plesk for Linux

Plesk Onyx for Linux supports MySQL and PostgreSQL database servers. Plesk uses MySQL and PostgreSQL packages from the repository of your operating system. The exception is MySQL 5.5, which is packaged with Plesk and supported on a limited number of operating systems.

MySQL is installed during Plesk installation. You can additionally install PostgreSQL through Tools & Settings > Updates and Upgrades > Add/Remove Components > PostgreSQL server.

You can also register external MySQL and PostgreSQL database servers in Plesk. For details, see Adding and Removing Database Servers. The list of supported database server versions is provided in Release Notes.

On CloudLinux Plesk installations, you can use MySQL 5.5. It is packaged with Plesk and can be installed through Updates and Upgrades > Add/Remove Components.

Database Server Software in Plesk for Windows

Plesk Onyx for Windows supports Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 and 2012, and MySQL 5.1. By default, MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 are installed during Plesk installation. You can additionally install Microsoft SQL Server 2012 through Tools & Settings > Updates and Upgrades > Add/Remove Components.

You can also register external Microsoft SQL Servers and MySQL servers in Plesk. For details, see Adding and Removing Database Servers.

To work with other database engines, Plesk for Windows uses ODBC. For details, see Connecting to External Databases (Windows).

The list of supported database server versions is provided in Release Notes.

Note: For instructions on managing databases in Plesk, refer to Website Databases.