Hard Drive Partitioning for Plesk
By default, Plesk for Linux stores user data in the /var directory. To achieve optimal result, we recommend partitioning the server hard disk as follows:
| Partition |
Recommended Size |
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 will be used for the OS and Plesk updates. |
/tmp |
At least 3GB recommended. |
/var |
The rest of the unallocated disk space. This partition will hold all Plesk domains, mail, backups, and databases. |
Pay attention to the following directories - they may hold large amounts of data:
-
/var/www/vhosts - hosted domains content.
-
/var/qmail - mail configuration and content.
-
/var/lib/mysql - MySQL databases.
-
/var/lib/psa/dumps - Plesk client/domain backups.
-
/var/lib/pgsql/data - PostgreSQL databases.
-
/var/tomcat* - Tomcat applications.
-
/var/lib/mailman - Mailman lists.
-
/usr/local/psa/tmp/ and /usr/local/psa/PMM/tmp/ - temporary files created during the backup process.
These directories can be changed by editing the /etc/psa/psa.conf file (for example, if you want to change the location of the directory in which the website data is stored).