Knowledge Base
Understanding the logs : Linux Plesk Panel (Logs locations)
Plesk
The sw-engine* is essentially a handler that generates the Panel web pages. It is also used for many internal periodic tasks. It is usually spawned dynamically by sw-cp-server, which serves them (i.e. is a web server).
Common Log Files
Error log: /var/log/sw-cp-server/error_log and /var/log/sw-cp-server/sw-engine.log
Access log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/httpsd_access_log ; this log records all HTTP requests processed by the Apache webserver.
Panel log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/panel.log ; User actions logging: Keeps track of actions performed by various users in the system.
All actions will be recorded in a log file that you will be able to download for viewing from Tools & Settings > Action log
Plesk Installer
Plesk autoinstaller is a utility that installs Plesk and its components. Additionally, it is used to install Plesk updates and upgrades.
To verify the Plesk is upgraded or installed successfully, you can check
/var/log/plesk/installer/autoinstaller3.log
/tmp/autoinstaller3.log
Single Sign-On (SSO):
Single sign-on (SSO) is a session and user authentication service that permits a user to use one set of login credentials to access multiple applications. The service authenticates the end-user for all the applications the user has been given rights to and eliminates further prompts when the user switches applications during the same session.
SSO Error log: /var/log/sw-cp-server/error_log
SSO log: /var/log/sso/sso.log
Important NOTE: The service name is apache2 on SuSE, Debian, and Ubuntu. The path to its logs is /var/log/apache2 and the path to the configs is /etc/apache2
Plesk Backup Manager
This utility provides an option to take backups and restore the accounts for the customers from the Plesk panel.
Plesk Backup logs: /usr/local/psa/PMM/logs/backup-<datetime>
Plesk Restore logs: /usr/local/psa/PMM/logs/restore-<datetime>
Web Presence Builder
Presence Builder is a great tool for creating professionally looking websites without any HTML knowledge or graphic design skills.
Error log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/sitebuilder.log
Install/upgrade logs: /usr/local/sb/tmp/
Plesk Migrator
Plesk Migrator is a tool that Plesk provides for migration to the latest Plesk versions. It has pre- and post-migration checks, error reporting features, allows to re-sync data between an old and a new server after migration to make migration to Plesk an easy process.
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/panel-migrator/logs/
Website Import
It helps to import content from a different website that belongs to you but is hosted elsewhere into Plesk. You can import content from servers running both Linux and Windows and even from servers that do not have Plesk installed.
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/site-import/sessions/
Let’s Encrypt
Let's Encrypt is a certificate authority (CA) that allows you to create a free SSL certificate for your domains. Let's Encrypt extension for Plesk gives all Plesk users the power to get a free Let's Encrypt certificate with just a couple of clicks.
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/panel.log
Acronis Backup
The Acronis Backup extension for Plesk enables reliable cloud backup for Plesk web hosting servers, as well as granular, self-service recovery for web professionals.
/var/log/plesk/panel.log
/var/log/trueimage-setup.log
/opt/psa/var/modules/acronis-backup/srv/log/
Plesk Premium Antivirus
It provides reliable, effective, and lightweight protection for your mailboxes from viruses, trojans, worms, and other malware.
/usr/local/psa/var/log/maillog
/var/drweb/log/*
Health Monitor Manager
Health Monitor helps you keep your Plesk installation running smoothly by keeping track of the system resources’ usage on the server and notifying you when one or more resources’ usage reaches a pre-defined threshold.
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/health-alarm.log
Apache
Global Access and Error logs: /var/log/httpd/
Domain logs: /var/www/vhosts/ /logs
Important NOTE: The service name is apache2 on SuSE, Debian, and Ubuntu. The path to its logs is /var/log/apache2 and the path to the configs is /etc/apache2
NGINX
NGINX is open-source software for web serving, reverse proxying, caching, load balancing, media streaming, and more. It started out as a web server designed for maximum performance and stability. In addition to its HTTP server capabilities, NGINX can also function as a proxy server for email (IMAP, POP3, and SMTP) and a reverse proxy and load balancer for HTTP, TCP, and UDP servers.
To disable Nginx, go to “Tools & Settings >> Services Management” and stop Nginx from there.
Error log: /var/log/nginx/error.log
Access log: /var/log/nginx/access.log
Domain logs: /var/www/vhosts//logs/proxy_access*_log
Tomcat
Tomcat is an application server from the Apache Software Foundation that executes Java servlets and renders Web pages that include Java Server Page coding.
/var/log/tomcat5/*
ModSecurity Service
ModSecurity is an open-source web-based firewall application (or WAF) supported by different web servers: Apache, Nginx, and IIS.
/var/log/httpd/modsec_audit.log
/var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/logs/error_log
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL supports several methods for logging server messages, including stderr, csvlog and Syslog. If you face any issues with starting up the service, you should look at startup logs so that you can find the error message.
The sw-engine* is essentially a handler that generates the Panel web pages. It is also used for many internal periodic tasks. It is usually spawned dynamically by sw-cp-server, which serves them (i.e. is a web server).
Common Log Files
Error log: /var/log/sw-cp-server/error_log and /var/log/sw-cp-server/sw-engine.log
Access log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/httpsd_access_log ; this log records all HTTP requests processed by the Apache webserver.
Panel log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/panel.log ; User actions logging: Keeps track of actions performed by various users in the system.
All actions will be recorded in a log file that you will be able to download for viewing from Tools & Settings > Action log
Plesk Installer
Plesk autoinstaller is a utility that installs Plesk and its components. Additionally, it is used to install Plesk updates and upgrades.
To verify the Plesk is upgraded or installed successfully, you can check
/var/log/plesk/installer/autoinstaller3.log
/tmp/autoinstaller3.log
Single Sign-On (SSO):
Single sign-on (SSO) is a session and user authentication service that permits a user to use one set of login credentials to access multiple applications. The service authenticates the end-user for all the applications the user has been given rights to and eliminates further prompts when the user switches applications during the same session.
SSO Error log: /var/log/sw-cp-server/error_log
SSO log: /var/log/sso/sso.log
Important NOTE: The service name is apache2 on SuSE, Debian, and Ubuntu. The path to its logs is /var/log/apache2 and the path to the configs is /etc/apache2
Plesk Backup Manager
This utility provides an option to take backups and restore the accounts for the customers from the Plesk panel.
Plesk Backup logs: /usr/local/psa/PMM/logs/backup-<datetime>
Plesk Restore logs: /usr/local/psa/PMM/logs/restore-<datetime>
Web Presence Builder
Presence Builder is a great tool for creating professionally looking websites without any HTML knowledge or graphic design skills.
Error log: /usr/local/psa/admin/logs/sitebuilder.log
Install/upgrade logs: /usr/local/sb/tmp/
Plesk Migrator
Plesk Migrator is a tool that Plesk provides for migration to the latest Plesk versions. It has pre- and post-migration checks, error reporting features, allows to re-sync data between an old and a new server after migration to make migration to Plesk an easy process.
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/panel-migrator/logs/
Website Import
It helps to import content from a different website that belongs to you but is hosted elsewhere into Plesk. You can import content from servers running both Linux and Windows and even from servers that do not have Plesk installed.
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/site-import/sessions/
Let’s Encrypt
Let's Encrypt is a certificate authority (CA) that allows you to create a free SSL certificate for your domains. Let's Encrypt extension for Plesk gives all Plesk users the power to get a free Let's Encrypt certificate with just a couple of clicks.
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/panel.log
Acronis Backup
The Acronis Backup extension for Plesk enables reliable cloud backup for Plesk web hosting servers, as well as granular, self-service recovery for web professionals.
/var/log/plesk/panel.log
/var/log/trueimage-setup.log
/opt/psa/var/modules/acronis-backup/srv/log/
Plesk Premium Antivirus
It provides reliable, effective, and lightweight protection for your mailboxes from viruses, trojans, worms, and other malware.
/usr/local/psa/var/log/maillog
/var/drweb/log/*
Health Monitor Manager
Health Monitor helps you keep your Plesk installation running smoothly by keeping track of the system resources’ usage on the server and notifying you when one or more resources’ usage reaches a pre-defined threshold.
/usr/local/psa/admin/logs/health-alarm.log
Apache
Global Access and Error logs: /var/log/httpd/
Domain logs: /var/www/vhosts/ /logs
Important NOTE: The service name is apache2 on SuSE, Debian, and Ubuntu. The path to its logs is /var/log/apache2 and the path to the configs is /etc/apache2
NGINX
NGINX is open-source software for web serving, reverse proxying, caching, load balancing, media streaming, and more. It started out as a web server designed for maximum performance and stability. In addition to its HTTP server capabilities, NGINX can also function as a proxy server for email (IMAP, POP3, and SMTP) and a reverse proxy and load balancer for HTTP, TCP, and UDP servers.
To disable Nginx, go to “Tools & Settings >> Services Management” and stop Nginx from there.
Error log: /var/log/nginx/error.log
Access log: /var/log/nginx/access.log
Domain logs: /var/www/vhosts//logs/proxy_access*_log
Tomcat
Tomcat is an application server from the Apache Software Foundation that executes Java servlets and renders Web pages that include Java Server Page coding.
/var/log/tomcat5/*
ModSecurity Service
ModSecurity is an open-source web-based firewall application (or WAF) supported by different web servers: Apache, Nginx, and IIS.
/var/log/httpd/modsec_audit.log
/var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/logs/error_log
Plesk-PHP
/var/log/plesk-phpxx-fpm/
MySQL
The MySQL service has different name on different Linux distribution.
MySQLD on CentOS/RHEL 5 and 6
MySQL on Debian/Ubuntu
MariaDB on CentOS/RHEL 7
The MySQL service has different name on different Linux distribution.
MySQLD on CentOS/RHEL 5 and 6
MySQL on Debian/Ubuntu
MariaDB on CentOS/RHEL 7
/var/log/mysqld.log
On CentOS/RHEL:
cat /etc/my.cnf | grep log-error
log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log
On Debian/Ubuntu :
cat /etc/mysql/my.cnf | grep log_error
log_error = /var/log/mysql/error.log
On CentOS/RHEL:
cat /etc/my.cnf | grep log-error
log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log
On Debian/Ubuntu :
cat /etc/mysql/my.cnf | grep log_error
log_error = /var/log/mysql/error.log
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL supports several methods for logging server messages, including stderr, csvlog and Syslog. If you face any issues with starting up the service, you should look at startup logs so that you can find the error message.
/var/lib/pgsql/pgstartup.log
FTP
/usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlog
/var/log/plesk/xferlog
/var/log/secure
Named / BIND Service
BIND (Berkely Internet Name Domain) is a popular software for translating domain names into IP addresses and usually found on Linux servers.
FTP
/usr/local/psa/var/log/xferlog
/var/log/plesk/xferlog
/var/log/secure
Named / BIND Service
BIND (Berkely Internet Name Domain) is a popular software for translating domain names into IP addresses and usually found on Linux servers.
/var/log/messages
Postfix, Courier-IMAP, Qmail, SpamAssassin
To check and monitor the Plesk email related logs, you can see the following file.
/usr/local/psa/var/log/maillog
Dovecot
Dovecot is an open-source IMAP and POP3 email server for Linux/UNIX-like systems, written with security primarily in mind. Dovecot is an excellent choice for both small and large installations. It’s fast, simple to set up, requires no special administration and it uses very little memory.
Error logs: /usr/sbin/dovecot/
Horde
Horde Error log : /var/log/psa-horde/psa-horde.log
Roundcube
Roundcube Error log: /var/log/plesk-roundcube/errors
Watchdog (Monit & Rkhunter utilities)
The Watchdog component is a solution that ensures that your server is clean from malware, all services are up and running and there is enough free disk space on the server.
For Monit utility,
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/watchdog/log/wdcollect.log
/var/log/wdcollect.log
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/watchdog/log/monit.log
/var/log/plesk/modules/wdcollect.log
For Rkhunter utility,
/var/log/rkhunter.log
/usr/local/psa/var/log/maillog
Dovecot
Dovecot is an open-source IMAP and POP3 email server for Linux/UNIX-like systems, written with security primarily in mind. Dovecot is an excellent choice for both small and large installations. It’s fast, simple to set up, requires no special administration and it uses very little memory.
Error logs: /usr/sbin/dovecot/
Horde
Horde Error log : /var/log/psa-horde/psa-horde.log
Roundcube
Roundcube Error log: /var/log/plesk-roundcube/errors
Watchdog (Monit & Rkhunter utilities)
The Watchdog component is a solution that ensures that your server is clean from malware, all services are up and running and there is enough free disk space on the server.
For Monit utility,
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/watchdog/log/wdcollect.log
/var/log/wdcollect.log
/usr/local/psa/var/modules/watchdog/log/monit.log
/var/log/plesk/modules/wdcollect.log
For Rkhunter utility,
/var/log/rkhunter.log
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