Capacity Planning Guide

This guide provides information for planning the server infrastructure required to run a performant and scalable MediaWiki 1.40 installation. It's intended for system administrators and those responsible for maintaining the MediaWiki environment. Proper capacity planning is crucial to avoid performance bottlenecks and ensure a positive user experience.

Understanding MediaWiki Resource Usage

MediaWiki’s resource demands vary significantly based on several factors, including:

Traffic Volume: The number of concurrent users and page views.
Content Size: The total size of wiki pages, included images (though we won't cover image serving here), and revisions.
Complexity of Pages: The use of templates, extensions, and complex formatting.
Database Size: The total size of the database, which grows with content and history.
Extensions: The number and resource intensity of installed extensions. See Extension Installation for more details.

Ignoring these factors can lead to slow page loads, database lock contention, and ultimately, a degraded user experience. Consider using a Performance Monitoring system to track resource usage once the wiki is live.

Hardware Recommendations

The following tables outline hardware recommendations for different deployment sizes. These are starting points, and specific needs will vary. Always benchmark your actual usage.

Small Wiki (Up to 50 Concurrent Users)

This setup is suitable for small, internal wikis or communities with limited traffic.

Component	Specification
CPU	2 cores, 2.4 GHz or faster
RAM	4 GB
Storage	100 GB SSD
Network	1 Gbps

Medium Wiki (50 - 500 Concurrent Users)

This configuration supports a moderate-sized wiki with a growing user base.

Component	Specification
CPU	4-8 cores, 2.8 GHz or faster
RAM	8-16 GB
Storage	500 GB SSD (RAID 1 recommended)
Network	1 Gbps

Large Wiki (500+ Concurrent Users)

This setup is designed for high-traffic wikis requiring significant performance and scalability.

Component	Specification
CPU	8+ cores, 3.0 GHz or faster (Dual CPU recommended)
RAM	32+ GB
Storage	1 TB+ SSD (RAID 10 recommended)
Network	10 Gbps

Software Configuration

Beyond hardware, the software stack requires careful configuration for optimal performance.

Operating System: Linux distributions like Ubuntu Server, Debian, or CentOS are commonly used. See Server Operating System for details.
Web Server: Apache or Nginx are recommended. Nginx generally performs better under high load. See Web Server Configuration.
Database: MySQL/MariaDB is the standard database backend. PostgreSQL is also supported, but potentially requires more tuning. Refer to Database Setup for configuration instructions.
PHP: MediaWiki 1.40 requires PHP 8.1 or later. Ensure the `php.ini` file is properly configured with sufficient memory limits (`memory_limit`) and execution time (`max_execution_time`). See PHP Configuration.
Caching: Implementing caching is *essential*. Use a combination of:

   *   Opcode Cache: (e.g., OPcache) to cache compiled PHP code.
   *   Object Cache: (e.g., Memcached or Redis) to cache database query results. This dramatically reduces database load. See Caching Configuration.
   *   Page Cache: Configure your web server to cache static content.

Database Considerations

The database is often the biggest bottleneck in a MediaWiki installation.

Database Engine: InnoDB is the recommended storage engine for MySQL/MariaDB.
Database Tuning: Adjust database parameters (e.g., `innodb_buffer_pool_size`, `query_cache_size`) based on your server's RAM and workload. See Database Tuning Guide.
Regular Maintenance: Perform regular database backups, optimization, and index maintenance. Use tools like `mysqldump` or `mariadb-dump`. See Database Maintenance.
Replication: For high availability and read scalability, consider setting up database replication. See Database Replication.

Monitoring and Scaling

Capacity planning is not a one-time task. Continuous monitoring and scaling are crucial.

Monitoring Tools: Use tools like Nagios, Zabbix, or Prometheus to monitor CPU usage, RAM usage, disk I/O, network traffic, and database performance.
Horizontal Scaling: If your wiki grows beyond the capacity of a single server, consider horizontal scaling by adding more web servers and database replicas. A Load Balancer is essential for distributing traffic.
Vertical Scaling: Upgrading the hardware of your existing server (CPU, RAM, storage) is another option, but it has limitations.

Related Pages

Intel-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Core i7-6700K/7700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB	CPU Benchmark: 8046
Core i7-8700 Server	64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 13124
Core i9-9900K Server	128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB	CPU Benchmark: 49969
Core i9-13900 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i9-13900 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (64GB)	64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (128GB)	128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Workstation	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000

AMD-Based Server Configurations

Configuration	Specifications	Benchmark
Ryzen 5 3600 Server	64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 17849
Ryzen 7 7700 Server	64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 35224
Ryzen 9 5950X Server	128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 46045
Ryzen 9 7950X Server	128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 63561
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB)	128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB)	128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB)	128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB)	256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB)	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe	CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 9454P Server	256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe

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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️

Capacity Planning Guide

Contents