Migrating Confluence cloud to server: which features are missing?
Asked by Julia Giering-Gauch:

Hi,  
we want to migrate our Confluence from cloud to server. For this reason, I would like to know which cloud features are not supported by the latest Confluence server version?

I couldn't find any information in the documentation except of the information that some features are missing in the server version.

Thank you in advance for answering my question!


Answers:
author: Ryan Kearney
body: Cloud is always on the latest version, and the server upgrades have to be manually done. For this reason, there may be features missing when you compare the two. However, server does have additional options for configuration, plugins, and scaling.

comments: author: Julia Giering-Gauch
body: Hi Ryan,

thank you for your answer.

Is there any documentation of all features coming with the current Confluence Cloud and coming with the current latest Confluence server version? I would like to have the chance to compare both versions before migrating our Confluence system from cloud to server.

Can you tell me which additional options for configuration the server version comes with exactly? Is there any documentation?


author: Ryan Kearney
body: Actually, the cloud releases are continuous. So this documentation would have to be constantly changing. The best thing to do is to compare patch notes. Take a look at the version you want to target with server, then take a look at all the release notes that come after that.   

There is a ton of documentation around Confluence server! It is too much to list. But since you are able to access the backend, unlike with cloud, you unlock a bevy of new options.  

I thought this post was decent for understand some differences:  
<https://confluence.atlassian.com/cloudkb/pros-and-cons-of-cloud-vs-server-691011844.html?_ga=2.37978918.486783036.1505145553-1409072718.1490014375>  

I'll also borrow a quote from my Coworker, Nic, who is the #1 answerer on this forum:

"The main reasons I see people choosing Server over Cloud are:

Connect vs Type-2 addons. Cloud has a short, fixed list of type-2 addons you can use, Server lets you install any of them. Connect addons are only available on Cloud. Type-2 addons are vastly more powerful and flexible than Connect ones (but more complex to write, maintain and quite easy to get wrong if you write your own)

Scale - as Oliver mentions, there's a storage limit to Cloud. There's also a user limit, and people wanting thousands of users must use Server (and even its big brother Data Centre for really big installs)

Speed - for some people Cloud is too slow.

Account management - Cloud only supports Cloud accounts and Google accounts. No Active Directory or other user manangement systems can be used.

Data protection - I don't know about other areas of the world, but UK and European data protection laws make it totally illegal to use Cloud for certain purposes (mostly related to the storage of personal data"


author: Julia Giering-Gauch
body: Thank you for your fast answer!


author: Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
body: Oh, oh, an update on the list...

Confluence Cloud has moved to ADG3 for its layout and formatting. This is not coming to Server for a long time (unlikely to arrive before the next US Summit, and possibly even the one after). I'm in two minds about it, because some of it is nice, but some of it an absolute disaster. See <https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Confluence-discussions/What-just-happened-to-Confluence-Cloud/td-p/622890> (my opinion is "give me my page tree back")