How does Confluence interact with database?

[vishnu soman]

Hi All,

I have just used atlasian sdk to install a confluence environemnt. I have used the plugin tutorials to try out a few plugins actions like 'Adding Draft Labels' to the pages by customizing the menu bar etc. Now one thing which i did not need to follow or maintain till now is DATABASE. There was not even the mention of database during the installation details. It just needed "atlas-run" and we saw the site up!. I am sure for a production environment running confluence, there will be dealings with database.

It would be realy helpful if you could guide me to understand how the databases function in the Confluence ecosystem:

1. Is there a default database that is being used in my current scenario i.e. using SDK and the atlas-run command?

2. Can i connect Confluence to any database?

3. Is there any write up of example that can provide some details regarding the databases?

Thanks

V

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

1. The sdk uses an embedded HSQL database (a file and memory based system - quick, cheap, easy and not stable or reliable enough for a production system). It should be warning you not to use it for real data in your admin screens.
2. In theory, yes. In practice, Atlassian recommends PostGreSQL most highly, MySQL second, and they support Oracle and MS SQL Server. Personally, I've run into so many stupid problems with MS-SQL, I can only recommend the first three. There is nothing to stop you hooking it up to other databases though, just that they're not supported and you'll struggle to find documentation or help with others.
3. Finally, as you should expect a gentle reminder to "RTM" before spending a lot of time writing questions with standard answers - see https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Database+Configuration

[vishnu soman]

Thanks Nic for the inputs! Will surely go through them and come up with more questions.

[Matthew J. Horn]

This page is also useful for knowing which versions are supported:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/End+of+Support+Announcements+for+Confluence