Plan your Cloud migration
Documents to help you prepare to migrate your Atlassian Server products.
Differences administering Confluence Data Center and Cloud
This page outlines the differences you can expect as a Confluence Data Center or Server administrator when moving to Confluence Cloud. Some of the capabilities listed below apply to more than one product.
If you want to explore how Cloud is different for your users, check out the Cloud adoption toolkit.
Administrator roles
Administrator global permissions
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
In Confluence Data Center and Server, there were two levels of global administrator permissions, ‘Confluence administrator’, and ‘System administrator’. In Cloud, you assign roles to people and groups. Roles include User, Product admin (which is equivalent to the ‘Confluence administrator’ global permission), and Organization admin, which is similar to the ‘System administrator’ global permission but has rights to manage user directories, security settings, billing details, and other configurations for all the products in your organization, not just Confluence.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence
Apps and integrations
Install apps from a file
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
You can only install apps from the Atlassian Marketplace. You can’t install an app by uploading a file. This includes apps you’ve built yourself or those designed for Server or Data Center. If you want to develop your own app, you can use the Forge or Connect platforms to build the app. You can list the app publicly, so others can use it, or use a secret token to list it privately.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Team Calendars
Available in Cloud, on selected plans.
What’s different
Team Calendars was available as a paid app for Confluence Server, and bundled with Confluence Data Center. In Cloud, Team Calendars is included with Confluence Premium and Enterprise plans. Calendar data is not included when you migrate your Confluence content. You will need to export any calendars you want to keep to .ics format and re-import them.
How it works in Cloud
Use Team Calendars for Confluence
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
Auditing and governance
Audit logs
Works differently in Cloud, and may require an additional subscription.
What’s different
An audit log is available with all paid Confluence plans, and is similar to the audit log provided with Confluence Server. However, the Cloud audit log doesn’t provide the ability to configure granular coverage areas and levels as in Confluence Data Center. An additional audit log for user management and organization-level events is available with an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
People directory
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
The people directory lists all the people in your organization, and allows people to be grouped into teams for the purpose of sharing or mentioning people. You can’t hide or restrict access to the people directory in Cloud.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Email and mail servers
Outgoing mail server
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
In Confluence Data Center and Server, you connected your own mail server. Your Cloud application includes an internal SMTP server configured to send notifications. The internal SMTP server is not configurable.
How it works in Cloud
N/A
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence
General administration
Attachment storage
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
The maximum file size for attached files defaults to 100 MB. This limit can be configured. Storage limits may apply, depending on your plan.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
Backups
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
Backups are managed for you in Cloud. You can still create XML exports of your data if you require them.
How it works in Cloud
Track storage and move data across products
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Base URL
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
Your Cloud site will be accessible at example.atlassian.net, where example is a unique identifier that you specify when signing up. If you’re on a paid plan, you can change this identifier, but you can’t change the atlassian.net domain.
How it works in Cloud
Update a product URL to a new URL
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Content index administration
Not necessary in Cloud.
What’s different
Indexing works differently in Cloud, and there should be no need to administer your index manually. If you do notice a problem with search results, Atlassian Support can investigate, and if necessary, reindex your site.
How it works in Cloud
N/A
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence
External user directories
Available in Cloud, but may require an additional subscription.
What’s different
You can't use another Cloud or Server / Data Center instance for user management. There are a wide range of options for managing your users, including provisioning users from an identity provider or LDAP directory, or connecting with a service like G Suite. Some of these capabilities may require an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.
How it works in Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin
Bitbucket, Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Mobile apps and app management
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
You can’t use a server app to connect to a Cloud product. Users will need to install the Cloud-specific mobile app. The functionality available in the app will be similar to the Server and Data Center apps. Mobile App Management (MAM) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) integrations are available but may require an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.
How it works in Cloud
Mobile App Management (MAM) for Atlassian mobile apps
Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Atlassian mobile apps
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin, Users
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Read-only mode
Not necessary in Cloud.
What’s different
Read-only mode allowed you to make your Confluence Data Center site read-only, for troubleshooting or when preparing for an upgrade or other maintenance. In Cloud, we perform all required maintenance and upgrades for you during scheduled maintenance windows.
How it works in Cloud
Manage product changes from an Atlassian organization
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
Single sign-on
Available in Cloud, but may require an additional subscription.
What’s different
Single sign-on is available but requires an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access. The process of connecting your Identity Provider (IdP) will be similar to the process you followed in Data Center.
How it works in Cloud
Configure single sign-on for your organization’s users
Who it affects
Organization admin
Bitbucket, Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Spam prevention
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
CAPTCHA is disabled by default in Confluence Cloud. If your site is public and you intend to allow anonymous users to comment or create content, Atlassian Support can enable CAPTCHA for you.
How it works in Cloud
Configure Captcha for spam prevention
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
Upgrades
Not necessary in Cloud.
What’s different
We perform all required maintenance and upgrades for you during scheduled maintenance windows. You can choose the release track that best suits your needs, and create a sandbox instance that gets changes before your production instance.
How it works in Cloud
Keep track of maintenance windows
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management
Look and feel
Layouts and CSS
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
You can’t change the appearance of your site by editing CSS or layout files in the way you might have done in Confluence Server or Data Center. You can install theme apps that allow you to significantly change the appearance of your site, or even develop your own theme app.
How it works in Cloud
Change the look and feel of Confluence Cloud
Who it affects
Organization admin
Confluence
Pages and spaces
Create pages by importing files from disk
Not available in Cloud.
What’s different
In Confluence Data Center and Server, space administrators could create pages from text files stored in the home directory. As you don’t have access to the server in Confluence Cloud, this option is not available. You can still create a page by importing a Word document through the browser.
How it works in Cloud
Import content into Confluence Cloud
Who it affects
Product admin, Space admin
Confluence
User macros
Not available in Cloud.
What’s different
You can’t create user macros in Confluence Cloud. This is because user macros allow HTML and JavaScript to run, which can affect performance and security. If you want to develop your own macros, you can use the Forge or Connect platforms to build an app, then list it on the Marketplace. You can list the app publicly, so others can use it, or use a secret token to list it privately.
How it works in Cloud
Creating a dynamic content macro
Who it affects
Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence
View restricted pages
Works differently in Cloud, and may require an additional subscription.
What’s different
In Confluence Data Center and Server, members of the confluence-administrators super group could view pages and spaces that were restricted. With Confluence Cloud Premium and Enterprise plans, you can use an admin key to request to view restricted content. The author will be notified, and the action logged in the audit log.
How it works in Cloud
Bypass access restrictions on a page with admin key
Who it affects
Product admin
Confluence
User-facing differences
This page is designed to highlight the significant differences that affect administrators. However, there are other differences that affect users, that you may want to factor in when planning the change management and onboarding activities for your team.
For more information about what’s different in Cloud for your end-users and how you can set them up for success, check out the Cloud adoption toolkit.
Editor
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
The editor in Confluence Cloud is significantly more modern and user-friendly than the editor in Confluence Data Center and Server, known as the legacy editor. New pages are created using the new editor unless you specifically select the legacy editor template. When you migrate to Confluence Cloud, existing pages will use the legacy editor, and you’ll have the option to convert them to the new editor on a page-by-page basis, to avoid losing any formatting or macro data that isn't available in the new editor.
How it works in Cloud
Create, edit, and publish a page
Confluence Cloud editor roadmap
Who it affects
Users
Confluence
Macros
Works differently in Cloud.
What’s different
The way macros work in Confluence Cloud is significantly more user-friendly than in Confluence Data Center and Server. Macros are added using slash / commands, and many render visually in the editor, rather than as a placeholder. Some macros have been combined, others are not available. Another significant difference is that macros can’t be nested (for example, you can’t put a code macro inside a panel macro). Many of the Confluence Data Center and Server macros are still available in the legacy editor template, and in your migrated content.
How it works in Cloud
Learn which macros are being removed
Who it affects
Users
Confluence
Edit files using Companion
Not available in Cloud.
What’s different
In Confluence Data Center and Server, users could edit an attached file in any compatible application using the Companion app. This is not available in Confluence Cloud. To edit an attached file, you need to download the file, edit it in a compatible application, then manually re-upload it to the page.
How it works in Cloud
N/A
Who it affects
Users
Confluence
Delete page and child pages
Not available in Cloud.
What’s different
In Confluence Server or Data Center, users could delete the current page, or the current page and any child pages. This feature is not available in Confluence Cloud. Users will need to send pages to the trash one-by-one. You can, however, archive a page and all its child pages on particular plans.
How it works in Cloud
Delete, restore, or purge a page
Who it affects
Users
Confluence
Need help choosing?
Still deciding whether cloud or Data Center is right for your organization? Head to our comparison page to explore the benefits of each.
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