One of the original players in the Webrnhosting virtualization market that evolved from a private filernmanagement system to a provider of virtual server capabilities, Pleskrnhas two main product lines: Plesk Enterprise (originally branded asrnPlesk Enterprise manager or PEM) and Plesk Server Administrator. Simplyrnput, PE automates the management of Web hosting service plans, whereasrnPSA automates the management of a server farm dedicated to sellingrnhosting services.rnThe underlying philosophy with Plesk’s products is that theyrnmanage “objects” versus specific devices. Managing objects, Pleskrnbelieves, allows customers to manage and track self-configurablerndevices on the network at the protocol level – or the architecturalrnlayers at which these objects interoperate – with minimum intrusionrnusing smart code such as Java that could reside in embedded chips.rnPlesk has grown its business from being a virtual filernmanagement system on one server to managing files on server farms andrnnow, through a recent OEM deal and then acquisition by one-time rivalrnSWsoft, has been able to expand its product line to compete with thernlikes of Sphera and Ensim as a provider of virtual server technology. rnGeneral Introduction to ProductsrnPlesk Server Administrator (PSA) automates the management of up to 50rnservers from a single, secure console. It includes a range ofrnapplications that include Apache Web Server, Qmail Email Server,rnProFTPd FTP Server, MySQL Database, BIND, and a multi-tiered interfacernfor system administration. Using PSA, non-technical personnel canrnperform changes across a large number of hosting plans, like manage andrnadd customers and new services.rnPSA is aimed at ISPs, enterprise Web server managers and Webrnhosts. Through PSA, customers can manage a range of account flavors,rnfrom dedicated server clients to shared hosting resellers. PSA isrnpopular with developers and small to regional size hosting providersrnbecause of its reputation for stability and flexibility when it comesrnto integrating third party applications. rnPlesk’s latest single largest product initiative to date has been anrnOEM partnership with SWsoft to bundle Plesk’s PSA on top of Virtuozzo,rnSWsoft’s virtual server product. Enhanced by SWsoft’s product line,rnPlesk can compete for more business from Web hosts now that it has arnvirtual server product that can compete directly with rivals like Ensimrnand Sphera. The effect of a PSA-Virtuozzo bundle is not only thatrnnon-techies can manipulate Web hosting accounts, but they can alsornmanipulate server resources. This capability enables Web hosts to sellrnmore advanced services off the combined platform.rnPlesk Enterprise (PE) provides an architecture for managingrnthousands of hardware and virtual systems across a vast array ofrnnetwork configurations. It falls into the same taxonomy category asrnPSA, but has the important distinction of being purpose-built to managernlarge installations – server farms, corporate and carrier networks. rnPE centralizes and uniformly manages provisions and interfaces withrnscores of users, hardware types, virtual hosts, and virtualrnenvironments. It also provides ‘soup to nuts’ administration ofrnuniquely distributed hosting systems. Although focused on hosting, PE’srnobject structure makes the platform evolutionary: it can inherentlyrnsupport nearly any device connected to a network including PDAs,rnwireless phones, home-entertainment systems, industrial sensors,rnhealth-care systems, on-board automotive navigation systems and otherrncurrent and nascent technologies. Moreover, PE’s integrated billing canrncharge for services delivered to those devices. PE fits the regional tornlarger ISP, Corporate IT department, and Web-hosting provider. rnAll Plesk products are integrated with MyPlesk.com, a free businessrnportal for administrators and resellers where they can easily findrnvalue-added applications and services auto-integrated with Plesk’srnproducts. rnTechnical Introduction to ProductsrnrnPSArn PSA versions 6.0 and below consist of server side software andrneither a standard or optional master console that gives end users fourrndifferent levels of interaction with the software: master, server,rnreseller and domain. Master level enables end users to manage multiplernup to 50 servers from one console; server level allows high level usersrnto set up their servers and service packs; the reseller level isrnobviously optimized for setting up channel sales; and domain level isrnfor end users – small hosts or power users.rn PSA runs on Linux Red Hat version 7 and above, and requiresrnversions four and higher of Explorer and Netscape browsers. The slowestrnserver required to run PSA has 256 MB of RAM and should have a PentiumrnII chipset. PSA can support between 100 and 4,000 domains, based on thernserver capabilities. rnrnPSA-Virtuozzorn The PSA-Virtuozzo OEM product adds Virtuozzo functionalitiesrnto the menu of services managed through the entire stack of PSArninterfaces. The short for Virtuozzo’s functionalities is bringingrnmainframe capabilities to x86 server hardware. The software supportsrndynamic partitioning, management of server resources (CPU, memory, diskrnI/O, with values set per virtual server), OS virtualization andrnsoftware update distributions throughout the application. Virtuozzo hasrnits own management console. A standard Virtuozzo deployment supportsrn2,500 virtual servers per physical machine.rn rnPErn Plesk Enterprise means more users, more resellers and morern“objects”, which typically means more servers under management. Managedrnby a switchboard of “Cores”, PE’s Common Object Request BrokerrnArchitecture (CORBA) facilitates the integration of applicationsrnthrough a series of APIs. These APIs, integrated with a series ofrnseamless modules, are run by a Web based interface. These managed modules include the Plesk Package Managerrn(PPM) technology, whereby a user is given the ability to install,rnupgrade or remove packages on servers with different Operating Systems.rnA system repository provides a centralized interface to globallyrnfacilitate updates and fast application deployment to a network. Arnbilling system module provides tiers of value additions as well asrnautomated account and user creation throughout the system user levels.rnCommunication service controllers and Plesk daemons allow applicationrnand service components to be highly distributed creating a limitlessrnenvironment of flexibility for hosting infrastructure design.rnMonitoring modules available to all users that can be combined with arnsubscription based Event Notification Management module to facilitate arnproactive service and support approach, even fixing problemsrnautomatically without human interaction. The Plesk Enterprisernarchitecture includes the ability to manage VPS or Virtual Environmentsrncontiguous with physical hosts in the same interface.rn rnrnFeatures rnrnPSA features include:rnrn

rnrnrnPlesk Enterprise features include:rnrn

rnrnrnControlsrnPSA and PE come with multiple administration consoles for technical andrnnon-technical users. A single interface console can offer four levelsrnof control over a PSA system, each dependent on system administrator’srnneeds. Both products console controls interface with other vendors’rnoriginal interfaces to facilitate seamless migration between platformsrnand Plesk products. The Virtuozzo OEM product comes with a threernseparate console interfaces.rnrnPricingrnrnPlesk Server AdministratorPSA is licensed per server withrnfive levels of domain management. PSA retail pricing starts at $99 forrna 10 domain license and provides a path to upgrade any license tornadditional domains at 30, 100, 300 and unlimited. Volume discounts forrnresellers apply. rnPSA-VirtuozzornPSA-Virtuozzo is a discounted bundle package that includes both Pleskrnand SWsoft components. The bundle includes the Virtuozzo serverrntechnology with provisioning capability for 10 virtual environments atrnup to two GHz. It also includes the Virtuozzo Management Consolern(VZMC), ten 10-domain licenses of PSA 5.0.5, 10 server Masterrnadministration console for PSA, 1 year of 24 x 7 email support on bothrnPSA and Virtuozzo and installation of the system for $4,900. rnRetail list price of the package is $6,479. Plesk will discount thernpackage to $3,900 for those customers that already have the VZMCrnsoftware. This package is also available at partner discounted rates,rnwhich bring the total cost as low as $1,950.rnrnPlesk EnterprisePE systems are customized solutions based onrnthe individual users’ integration and package template needs. Typicallyrnonsite needs analysis is performed at $1,500 per day, which is creditedrntoward the overall cost of the installation and customization. Analysisrncan be done over the phone at no charge depending on customers’rnsolutions needs. rnPlatforms SupportedrnrnPSA:rnRed Hat 7.2, 7.3, and 9.0rnFreeBSD 4.7rnrnPSA-Virtuozzo:rnRed Hat 7.2, 7.3, and 9.0rnFreeBSD 4.7rnDebian rnrnPlesk Enterprise:rnRed Hat 7.2, 7.3, and 9.0rnFreeBSD 4.7rnWindows Server 2000rnrnrnGood For:rnrnPSArnFor service providers and enterprises interested in ramping up theirrnreseller business and managing Web servers, and who are interested inrnmanaging hardware through the same interface in the future.rnrnPSA-VirtuozzoFor resellers that don’t own a data center butrndo own their own servers and are trying to get more value out ofrnexisting platforms.rnrnPlesk EnterprisernLarger resellers owning their own data centers, with thousands of devices under management.