There might be cases when a Plesk server is located in a private network and it has only one internal IP address. In such cases, website visitors can access the hosted sites via the NAT technology. NAT translates public IP addresses into internal IP addresses and encapsulates this information in network packets.
Plesk uses one and the same IP address for various purposes. For example, an IP address is used for web hosting (Apache + nginx configuration files) and for DNS zone definitions. And here is a problem. In the former case, an internal IP address should be used, and in the latter case, an external IP address. Plesk UI shows only one IP address, but it does not let you configure the mapping (translation) of IP addresses.
In Plesk 12, there is an option to define both private and public IP addresses. The option is not present in the UI, only in API-RPC. To provide users with an interface for managing NAT, a new extension, called NAT Manager, was created by means of Plesk Extensions SDK. You can download it either from
https://www.plesk.com/extensions/nat-manager/
or from a Plesk 12 installation (Administrator’s panel > Extensions > Extensions Catalog).
Here is a brief instruction on how to use this extension. Let’s assume your internal IP address is 10.0.0.1 and external IP is 8.8.8.8. You need to go to Extensions > NAT Manager, select the required IP address (10.0.0.1 in our example), and then specify a public IP address in the corresponding field.
If you already have domains, then you need to apply the changes to existing DNS zones. To do this, go to Administrator’s panel > Tools & Settings > DNS Template > Apply DNS Template Changes.
Alternatively, you can apply changes only to specific domain DNS zones. To do this, go to Hosting Panel > Websites & Domains > DNS Settings > Apply DNS Template Changes.
After that, DNS zones will have A records that will point at external IP addresses. At the same time, internal IP addresses will still be used for web hosting.
All newly created domains will use internal IP for web hosting purposes and external IP for DNS zones.
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18 Comments
I would like use on plesk 11.5.30. How can i find supported version.
http://kb.sp.parallels.com/en/122684
New solution was implemented since Plesk 11.5.30.
It’s a misprint in KB article. NAT extension requires Plesk 12.0+
I cant update domain template name .Can you help me
Please use our forum for such requests.
The Plesk NAT Manager is a really nice extension to use when you have plesk behind a firewall. I had it running but now it says “No items found”. And it does’nt work with subdomains, I don’t know if this is related at the moment but i can’t seem to get the NAT Manager working again?
NAT manager page is saying that “no items found”? Check Tools & Settings > IP Addresses list. NAT manager uses the same list of IPs and looks like you have problems w/ your Plesk instance.
As for subdomains. I can confirm that it’s a bug, that subdomain has incorrect IP in DNS zone after creation. Hope will be fixed in the future.
Dear Alexei,
We have just updated the NAT Manager to 1.1 but the error with the subdomains still exists, is that correct?
Any idea how to fix this?
Thanks
It’s a bug inside Plesk, not inside NAT extension. So one need to wait for microupdate for the product itself. Hope it will be fixed in the nearest microupdate or two.
I Cant see “Apply DNS Template Changes.” button on Dns Settings and domain dns settings.
Are you sure that you’re using Plesk 12.0 for Linux?
Yes, i have upgraded to 12. But Windows Server.
Unfortunately there is no such functionality (ability to sync all DNS zones with the template) in Windows version. One need to go to particular domain -> DNS Settings and click “Restore Defaults” button (and repeat it for every earlier created domain).
Thank you Alexei.
Yes, i have upgraded to 12. But Windows Server.
i have a problem with slave dns extension the nat private ip address goes as master to the slave. any one had the same problem and any knowledge how to fix it ?
https://github.com/plesk/ext-slave-dns-manager/issues/1
Is this extension useful in Plesk 12.1.26 or later?
From the changelog:
“Instead of private IP addresses, Plesk behind NAT now displays the corresponding public IP addresses in its interface.”
Since Plesk 12.1.26+ there is no reason for additional installation of NAT extension. Such functionality was integrated and available out of the box.