There's lots of situations where you'd want to use a bulk IP change in Plesk:
- Server is moving and needs to change IP's
- An IP is the destination for some type of DDOS attack
- An IP needs to be removed from the server
So how do you shift tons of domains from one IP to another without spending hours in Plesk clicking and clicking? Do the following instead:
Get into MySQL and find out which IP you're moving from and to:
mysql -u admin -p`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow`
mysql> select * from IP_Addresses;
You should see a printout of all of the available IP's on the server. Make a note of the "id" of the IP you're moving from and to. In this example, here's what we're doing:
Moving FROM "192.168.1.192" (id = 2)
Moving TO "192.168.1.209" (id =3)
Now we can start shifting the physically hosted domains over in the database:
mysql> update hosting set ip_address_id=3 where ip_address_id=2;
We also need to change the domains that are set up for standard or frame forwarding:
mysql> update forwarding set ip_address_id=3 where ip_address_id=2;
Now we're stuck with the arduous task of updating DNS records. Plesk is kind enough to store this data in four different ways:
mysql> update dns_recs set displayHost='192.168.1.209' where displayHost='192.168.1.192';
mysql> update dns_recs set host='192.168.1.209' where host='192.168.1.192';
mysql> update dns_recs set displayVal='192.168.1.209' where displayVal='192.168.1.192';
mysql> update dns_recs set val='192.168.1.209' where val='192.168.1.192';
Everything domain related is now moved, but the clients that the domains belong to might not have this new IP address in their IP pool. First, we need to find out our component ID's from the repository table (which generally should be the same as the IP_Addresses.id column, but not always)
mysql> SELECT clients.login, IP_Addresses.ip_address,Repository.* FROM clients LEFT JOIN Repository ON clients.pool_id = Repository.rep_id LEFT JOIN IP_Addresses ON Repository.component_id = IP_Addresses.id;
For this example, we'll pretend that the output consists of 2's for these clients. We can flip the IP's in the clients' IP pools by running the following:
mysql> update Repository set component_id=3 where component_id=2;
Now that everything is changed in Plesk's database, it's time to change up the Apache and BIND configuration files. Luckily, this can be done pretty easily with Plesk's command line tools:
# /usr/local/psa/admin/bin/websrvmng -av
# mysql -Ns -uadmin -p`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` -D psa -e 'select name from domains' | awk '{print "/usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/dnsmng update " $1 }' | sh
All that is left is to force Apache and BIND to pick up the new configuration:
# /etc/init.d/httpd reload
# /etc/init.d/named reload
Just wait for the DNS records to propagate and you should be all set! The instructions are cumbersome, I know, but it's easier than clicking for-ev-er.
Hi, just want to comment that your tips are great! I used the mysql command to recover all mail accounts and passwords on my plesk vps.
I'm just wondering if you know which plesk (psa) tables would need modifications in order to bulk insert domains under one client account. I do it by hand but when I need to add many domains takes ages to: add domain, add ftp user, add database, etc, etc.
Mister Major, sorry if this post-question does not correspond to your plesk repository.
Very useful web site, thanks for helping out all of other webmasters!
I'm not sure of a reliable way to add domains in a bulk fashion outside of Plesk. You can certainly make the database adjustments manually, but you'd need to run quite a few command line applications before the changes would be made on the filesystem, in Apache, qmail, etc.
For updating IPs in bulk, I just use:
/usr/local/psa/bin/domain --update domain.com -ip 000.000.000.000
I just use a shell script to loop through the domains as required. Then run websrvmng to make sure everything is update.
I have a reason to reset all of the FTP passwords, is there a way to do this using a similar method?
I can make the changes in the DB, the thing I'm not sure about would be what to run from the command line to update things on the system.
Thanks,
JAKE
This article totally saved my ass. Thanks.
In version 8.6 you will also need to run:
mysql -Ns -uadmin -p`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` -D psa -e 'select name from domainaliases' | awk '{print "/usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/dnsmng update " $1 }' | sh
so that the domain aliases get updated as well. Run that command directly after the similar one above
Honestly, I feel there is a lot of good info here but is a bit over my head. I am interested in IP Changer Software that allows anonymous surfing. I am sure you technical advice is great for server adminstrators.
This was incredibly helpful, as is a lot of your site. Thanks for providing the information so us Admins aren't constantly having to reinvent the wheel.
Great doc, thanks for that.
Also Wayne's comment is helpful