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 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 > 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 >
Add/Remove Components.

Database Server Software in Plesk for Windows

Plesk for Windows supports the following
database servers: MariaDB, Microsoft SQL, and MySQL.

MariaDB is installed by default and is used
for the Plesk database and for customers’ websites.

Various versions of Microsoft SQL Server are
shipped with Plesk by default. To install them,
go to Tools & Settings > Updates > Add/Remove Components.

You can also register external Microsoft SQL, MySQL, and
MariaDB 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).

See the list of supported database server versions in Release
Notes.