This guide covers the process of migrating from Confluence Server to Confluence Data Center, which is a clustered solution. 

If you are installing Confluence for the first time (you do not have any existing Confluence data to migrate), see Installing Confluence Data Center. 

Moving from Server to Data Center

Clustering requirements and terminology

To run Confluence in a cluster you must:

  • have a clustered license
  • use an external database
  • use a load balancer with session affinity in front of the cluster
  • have a shared directory that is accessible by the same path to all cluster nodes (this will be your shared home directory)
  • use OAth authentication if you have application links to other Atlassian products (such as JIRA). 

If you need a Confluence Data Center evaluation license please contact us.  

On this page:

In this guide we'll use the following terminology:
  • installation directory - this is the directory where Confluence is installed.
  • local home directory - this is the home or data directory on each node (in non-clustered Confluence this is simply known as the home directory).
  • shared home directory - is is the directory you created that is accessible to all nodes in the cluster via the same path.

At the end of the installation process you will have an installation directory and local home directory on each node and a single shared home directory (for example in a two node cluster you would have a total of 5 directories). 

1. Upgrade Confluence Server 

You cannot upgrade your version of Confluence and switch Confluence Data Center at the same time.  For example if you have Confluence 5.4 you'll need to upgrade to Confluence Server 5.6 before you migrate to Confluence Data Center 5.6. 

If you are upgrading from an older version of Confluence as part of your migration to Confluence Data Center you will need to follow the normal procedure for backing up and upgrading Confluence to the same version first. See upgrading Confluence for information on upgrading and choosing the best upgrade path.

Once you have ensured the upgrade was successful and your instance is working correctly, shut down Confluence. 

2. Create a shared home directory 

  1. Create a directory that is accessible to all cluster nodes via the same path. This will be your shared home directory. 
  2. In your existing Confluence home directory move contents of <confluence home>/shared-home to the new shared home directory you just created.
    To prevent confusion, we recommend deleting the empty <confluence home>/shared-home directory once you've moved its contents.
  3. Move your attachments directory to the new shared home directory (skip this step if you currently store attachments in the database). 

3. Upgrade to Data Center 

  1. Download the Clustered edition of Confluence (for the version you just upgraded to).
  2. Upgrade to the Data Center version of Confluence. 
    Note: your home directory (configured in confluence\WEB-INF\classes\confluence-init.properties) should still be pointing to your existing (local) home directory.
  3. Start Confluence Data Center (run start-confluence.sh or start-confluence.bat)
  4. The setup wizard will guide you through setting up the first node.  You'll be prompted to enter:
    • your cluster license
    • a name for your cluster
    • the path to the shared home directory you created earlier. 
    • a multicast address (this is automatically generated, or you can choose to enter your own).
    • the network interface Confluence will use to communicate between nodes.

Your first node is now up and running.  

Moving from Data Center to Server

These instructions cover how to move from Data Center (clustered) to Server (non-clustered). In these instructions we'll assume that you will use one of your existing cluster nodes as your new non-clustered installation. 

You'll need a Confluence Server license to switch back to Server. 

1. Stop the cluster

You must stop all the nodes in the cluster before proceeding. 

We recommend configuring your load balancer to redirect traffic away from Confluence.

2. Move items in the cluster shared home back to local home

  1. Create a directory called /shared-home in the <local home> directory on one node (if you removed this directory when installing Data Center).
  2. Move the entire config directory from your <shared home> directory to the <local home>/shared-home directory.
  3. Move the remaining contents of your <shared home> directory to the root of your <local home> directory. 

Your cluster's shared home directory should now be empty. 

3. Upgrade to Confluence server

  1. Download the Server (non-clustered) edition of Confluence (you must use the same version as is currently installed).
  2. Upgrade to the Server version of Confluence. 
    Note: your home directory (configured in confluence\WEB-INF\classes\confluence-init.properties) should point to your local home directory.
  3. Start Confluence Server (run  start-confluence.sh or start-confluence.bat)
  4. The setup wizard will guide you through applying your Confluence Server license and complete the migration process. 

To confirm you are now running the non-clustered edition, go to . The Cluster Configuration page should not appear.