Adminstrators may need to move a Confluence instance from one server to another for upgrades or downtime.

Transferring Confluence Standalone To Another Server Using The Same Operating System

If you are using Confluence Standalone and the operating systems on both servers are the same, then the home and install folders can be copied straight into an identical external database and user management setup.

1. On the original server, create zips of the Confleunce install and home directories. Copy the zips to the new server.
   
   
2. On the new server, unzip the install and home directories. Windows users should avoid unzipping with the Windows built-in extractor, instead use Winzip or the free 7Zip. If you are changing the location of the home directory, open the Confluence install\confluence\WEB-INF\classes directory and edit confluence-init.properties by changing the line starting with 'confluence.home='.
   
   
3. This next step is dependent on your database:
   
   
   • For users of the internal database, the content is stored inside the home directory. You should consider switching to an external database after the transfer is successful.
     
     
   • For databases stored on another server, change the user account or datasource permissions so that the new server has the same network access permissions as the original. Then confirm from the new server that the hostname can be resolved and is listening for database connections on the expected port.
     
     
   • For external databases stored locally:
     A. On the original server, create a manual database backup.
     B. Copy the database backup to the new server.
     C. On the new server, install or upgrade the database version to match the original server.
     D. Import the database backup.
     E. Add a database user account with the same username and password as the original.
     F. Provide the user with the full access to the imported mdatabase.
     G. Use a database administration tool to confirm that the user can login from the localhost.
     
     
4. If you are using internal user management, skip this step. For users who have JIRA or LDAP integration, provide the new server with network or local access to the same hosts as the original.
   
   
5. If you configured Confluence as a Windows service, repeat those instructions.

All Other Transfers

Create a backup and import into the new server.

1. Create a backup from Confluence by going to 'Administration' -> 'Backup & Restore', checking the 'Backup Attachments' and selecting 'Backup'.
   
   
2. Identify the current version of Confluence your are using, displayed at the bottom of each Confluence page.
   
   
3. Download the same version as you are currently using to the new server, which may be the current Confluence release, or an older version.
   
   
4. Using the same version, follow the Upgrading Confluence guide.