Confluence Data Center

Basic information

• Model: Confluence Data Center
• Version: Confluence Data Center 9.2. Documentation for version 10.1 is also available.
• Release Date: Confluence Data Center is an enterprise-grade offering designed for high availability and performance at scale.
• Minimum Requirements: Requires a supported external database, operating system, and Java version.
• Supported Operating Systems: Supports a wide range of operating systems, including various Linux distributions and Windows Server versions.
• Latest Stable Version: Confluence Data Center 9.2.
• End of Support Date: Atlassian will end support for its Data Center products on March 28, 2029.
• End of Life Date: March 28, 2029. After this date, Atlassian will no longer provide product updates, security patches, or official support for Data Center editions.
• Auto-update Expiration Date: Not applicable; the platform itself reaches End of Life in March 2029.
• License Type: Per-user licensing model.
• Deployment Model: On-premises, virtualized servers, Kubernetes, AWS, and Azure. It can run as a standalone installation or in a cluster.

Technical Requirements

• RAM: Minimum 6GB for Confluence, with 10GB recommended per Confluence node for optimal performance. Additional RAM is required for the operating system and other applications.
• Processor: Quad-core 2GHz+ CPU. Atlassian officially supports Confluence running on x86 hardware and 64-bit derivatives.
• Storage: Minimum 10GB for the database. Requires a shared file system accessible to all cluster nodes for attachments and other shared files.
• Display: Not directly applicable for server software.
• Ports:
  • Default Confluence connector port: 8090.
  • Tomcat control port: 8000.
  • Hazelcast ports for Confluence: 5801.
  • Hazelcast ports for Synchrony: 5701.
  • Synchrony cluster base port: 25500.
  • Multicast port for Synchrony: 54327 (if using multicast for cluster discovery).
  • External database ports and LDAP ports are also required depending on configuration.
• Operating System: Supports a wide range of operating systems, including various Linux distributions (e.g., Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu) and Windows Server (e.g., Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022).

Analysis of Technical Requirements: Confluence Data Center is designed for enterprise-level deployments, emphasizing scalability and high availability. The hardware requirements are substantial, reflecting its role in supporting large user bases and critical operations. It requires dedicated resources, and Atlassian advises against running other applications on the same servers as Confluence for optimal performance. The clustered architecture necessitates a shared file system and an external database, allowing for horizontal scaling by adding more application nodes.

Support & Compatibility

• Latest Version: Confluence Data Center 9.2.
• OS Support: Compatible with a broad range of operating systems, including major Linux distributions and Windows Server versions.
• End of Support Date: March 28, 2029, for all Data Center products.
• Localization: Supports multiple languages to cater to a global user base.
• Available Drivers: Requires supported JDBC drivers for external databases.

Analysis of Overall Support & Compatibility Status: Atlassian Confluence Data Center offers robust compatibility with various enterprise-grade operating systems and databases. However, the most significant factor impacting its support status is Atlassian's announced End of Life (EOL) for all Data Center products by March 28, 2029. This strategic shift by Atlassian focuses future development and innovation exclusively on its Cloud platform. While Data Center continues to receive updates and security patches until 2026, feature updates will slow down, and no support will be available after the EOL date. This necessitates a planned migration strategy for current Data Center users to either Atlassian Cloud or alternative solutions.

Security Status

• Security Features: Includes rate limiting for instance stability, advanced auditing for compliance and risk management, and self-protection capabilities. It supports granular permissions and security best practices.
• Known Vulnerabilities: Several critical vulnerabilities have been reported, including:
  • CVE-2023-22515: Privilege Escalation / Broken Access Control, allowing unauthorized administrator accounts.
  • CVE-2023-22518: Data loss vulnerability.
  • CVE-2022-26134: Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability.
  • CVE-2023-28709: Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerability.
  • CVE-2024-21683: High-severity RCE vulnerability allowing authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code.
  Atlassian regularly releases security advisories and bulletins.
• Blacklist Status: Not applicable.
• Certifications: While specific certifications for Confluence Data Center are not explicitly listed in the snippets, Atlassian's broader security page mentions certifications like SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27018, and GDPR for its Cloud offerings. Data Center customers are responsible for demonstrating compliance within their own infrastructure.
• Encryption Support:
  • Data in transit: Atlassian strongly recommends implementing SSL/TLS (TLS 1.2+) for communication between Confluence and users, databases, and LDAP.
  • Data at rest: Confluence does not provide native data encryption for data stored in the database or filesystem. However, from Confluence Data Center 9.1 and later, database passwords are encrypted by default using 256-bit AES keys. Full disk encryption on servers is recommended.
  • Communication between Confluence nodes and Synchrony clusters is unencrypted by default and requires SSL termination at the load balancer.
• Authentication Methods: Supports OAuth, OAuth (impersonation) for application links, and integration with external user directories like LDAP and SAML (implied for enterprise use cases).
• General Recommendations: Implement SSL/HTTPS, secure infrastructure, configure antivirus software to ignore Confluence directories, and promptly apply security updates and patches.

Analysis on the Overall Security Rating: Confluence Data Center offers a range of security features suitable for enterprise environments, including advanced auditing and access controls. However, security is a shared responsibility, requiring customers to implement best practices for their self-managed instances. The platform has experienced several critical vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of timely patching and adherence to Atlassian's security advisories. The lack of native data-at-rest encryption for the main content and unencrypted inter-node communication by default necessitates careful configuration of SSL termination and server-level encryption by administrators.

Performance & Benchmarks

• Benchmark Scores: Specific public benchmark scores are not provided in the search results, but Atlassian offers infrastructure recommendations based on performance tests for different instance sizes.
• Real-world Performance Metrics:
  • High Availability and Failover: Multiple active nodes operate concurrently, ensuring uninterrupted access if one node fails.
  • Performance at Scale: Adding nodes to a cluster increases concurrent user capacity and improves response times under high load.
  • Instant Scalability: New nodes can be added to the cluster without downtime.
  • Disaster Recovery: Supports deployment of offsite disaster recovery systems.
  • Rolling Upgrades: Allows for upgrades to bug fix updates without downtime.
• Power Consumption: Not directly applicable to software; depends on the underlying hardware infrastructure.
• Carbon Footprint: Not directly applicable to software; depends on the underlying hardware and data center efficiency.
• Comparison with Similar Assets: Confluence Data Center is specifically designed to provide high availability, scalability, and performance for large enterprises, distinguishing it from the single-node Confluence Server offering (which reached end of support in February 2024).

Analysis of the Overall Performance Status: Confluence Data Center excels in providing enterprise-grade performance, scalability, and reliability through its clustered architecture. It is built to manage team growth and high user loads, offering benefits like high availability, instant scalability, and improved response times. Features like read-only mode, CDN support, and rate limiting further enhance stability and performance. The ability to add nodes without downtime and perform rolling upgrades ensures continuous operation, which is crucial for mission-critical deployments.

User Reviews & Feedback

User reviews and feedback for Atlassian Confluence Data Center generally highlight its strengths in supporting large, complex organizations with demanding requirements for collaboration and knowledge management.

• Strengths: Users appreciate its high availability, ensuring continuous access to critical information. The scalability features are highly valued, allowing organizations to expand their Confluence instances to accommodate growing user bases and data volumes without significant performance degradation. The ability to deploy on various infrastructures, including cloud providers like AWS and Azure, offers flexibility. Compatibility with a wide range of server apps from the Atlassian Marketplace is also a significant advantage.
• Weaknesses: A primary concern for users is the impending End of Life (EOL) for Data Center products in March 2029. This forces organizations to plan for a potentially complex and costly migration to Atlassian Cloud, which can be a significant undertaking. The responsibility for managing the underlying infrastructure, including security configurations and patching, also represents a considerable operational overhead for IT teams.
• Recommended Use Cases: Confluence Data Center is recommended for enterprises with large user bases, mission-critical operations, and strict requirements for continuous uptime, instant scalability, and performance under high load. It is suitable for organizations that need to maintain self-managed instances due to specific compliance, security, or architectural preferences, although the EOL announcement is shifting this paradigm.

Summary

Atlassian Confluence Data Center is a robust, self-managed enterprise solution designed for large organizations requiring high availability, scalability, and performance for their knowledge management and collaboration needs. Its clustered architecture allows for horizontal scaling, ensuring continuous uptime and improved response times even with a high number of concurrent users. Key strengths include its ability to support mission-critical deployments, offer instant scalability without downtime, and provide features like disaster recovery and rolling upgrades.

However, the platform faces a significant challenge with Atlassian's announced End of Life (EOL) for all Data Center products by March 28, 2029. This strategic shift towards the Cloud means that while Data Center remains a powerful solution until its EOL, organizations must plan for migration. Another aspect is the shared responsibility model for security, where customers bear the burden of implementing and maintaining security best practices, including SSL/TLS configuration, patching against known vulnerabilities (such as recent critical RCE and privilege escalation issues), and managing data-at-rest encryption.

In conclusion, Confluence Data Center is a highly capable asset for large enterprises seeking control over their infrastructure and requiring extreme scalability and reliability. Its performance characteristics are well-suited for demanding environments. However, the impending EOL necessitates a proactive strategy for transition to Atlassian Cloud or alternative platforms. Organizations currently using or considering Confluence Data Center should prioritize developing a comprehensive migration plan and maintaining rigorous security and patching protocols until the EOL date.

Please note: The information provided is based on publicly available data and may vary depending on specific device configurations. For up-to-date information, please consult official manufacturer resources.