Member Avatar for Jean-Luc

I am currently searching for a new Windows VPS. I am calculating how much disk space I need so my question is how many Gb are required by the OS, either Windows 2012 or 2016 to run the IIS and Plesk ? Any idea ?

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Short answer: Microsoft documents the system-partition minimum as 32 GB for Windows Server (the number shown in the Windows Server system-requirements pages), and Plesk for Windows also lists a 32 GB minimum — but those are absolute minima for installation, not safe production sizes. IIS is a built‑in Windows server role (installable from Server Manager or PowerShell) and does not require a separate OS package. (learn.microsoft.com)

Why that minimum is usually too small: the component store (WinSxS), Windows Updates, paging/dump files (servers with lots of RAM need more room), event logs, Plesk backups/mailboxes/databases and site content all eat space fast. Microsoft notes Server Core is roughly 4 GB smaller than the full GUI install; that helps a bit but doesn’t eliminate the need for headroom. For Plesk, the vendor also publishes per-site/hosting recommendations (Plesk’s docs show minimums and suggested per‑site allocation ranges). (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical planning (quick rules you can apply right away): for a throwaway test VPS a 40–60 GB C: is workable; for a real Plesk+IIS VPS plan 80–120 GB for the OS/Apps and put web/data/mail on a separate data volume. If you host many sites or keep local backups/mail, size the data volume to match Plesk’s per‑site guidance (and multiply by the number of sites) — many providers run production Windows/Plesk VPS with 100–200+ GB. Keep backups off the OS disk (or use remote/object storage), and separate logs/databases onto their own disks where possible. ()

Practical next steps (quick workflow): follow ’s idea and do a clean install in a sized test VM, install IIS+Plesk, then measure used C: after updates and one typical site import. Check free space quickly with PowerShell:

Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem

Also run component cleanup (DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup) and move Plesk backups off C: before going live. These steps give a reliable, empirical number to match your provider’s VPS plans. (learn.microsoft.com)

References: Microsoft — System requirements for Windows Server / TechNet (system partition minimum 32 GB). Plesk — Software requirements (Windows).

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Most folk just install it clean and then see where they stand. I guess you could google it too.

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