Image Handling

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Image Handling: A Server Configuration Guide

This article details the server-side configuration necessary for robust image handling within a MediaWiki 1.40 installation. Proper configuration is vital for performance, storage management, and user experience. This guide is aimed at system administrators and server engineers responsible for maintaining a MediaWiki instance.

1. Storage Locations and File System Considerations

MediaWiki stores uploaded images in a designated directory. Understanding this location and the underlying file system is crucial. The location is defined by the `$wgUploadDirectory` variable in `LocalSettings.php`.

Parameter Description Default Value
`$wgUploadDirectory` Specifies the base directory for uploaded files. "images"
`$wgUploadPath` Defines the URL path to the upload directory. "/images"
File System Recommended file system for uploads. ext4 (or XFS for large installations)

It is *strongly* recommended that the upload directory reside on a dedicated file system or partition. This isolates image storage from the core MediaWiki installation, preventing potential performance issues and simplifying backups. Consider using a file system optimized for large files, such as ext4 or XFS. Ensure sufficient disk space is allocated based on anticipated upload volume. Regular monitoring of disk usage is essential. See Manual:Configuration settings for more details on configuration variables.

2. Image Processing Libraries

MediaWiki leverages external image processing libraries for tasks like thumbnail generation and image conversion. The most commonly used libraries are ImageMagick and GD. The preferred library is ImageMagick due to its superior feature set and performance.

Library Supported Operations Configuration
ImageMagick Thumbnail generation, image conversion, resizing, watermarking. Verify installation and configure `$wgImageMagickToolPath` in `LocalSettings.php`.
GD Thumbnail generation, basic image conversion. Verify installation and configure `$wgGDVersion` in `LocalSettings.php`. (Generally not recommended unless ImageMagick is unavailable)
Ghostscript Required for converting some vector formats (e.g., SVG, EPS). Verify installation and configure `$wgGhostscriptTranscoder` in `LocalSettings.php`.

To verify ImageMagick installation, use the command `convert -version` on the server. If GD is being used, ensure it’s a recent version with support for the required image formats. The Extension:ImageMagick extension provides enhanced ImageMagick integration. If you encounter issues with image processing, check the MediaWiki troubleshooting guide for common solutions.

3. Thumbnail Configuration

Thumbnails are crucial for efficient browsing and presentation of images. MediaWiki offers extensive configuration options for thumbnail generation.

Parameter Description Default Value
`$wgThumbCacheDirectory` Directory to store generated thumbnails. "thumb" (within `$wgUploadDirectory`)
`$wgThumbWidth` Maximum width of a generated thumbnail. 120
`$wgThumbHeight` Maximum height of a generated thumbnail. 120
`$wgUseImageMagick` Enables/disables ImageMagick for thumbnail generation. true

Adjusting `$wgThumbWidth` and `$wgThumbHeight` impacts thumbnail quality and storage space. Caching thumbnails in `$wgThumbCacheDirectory` significantly improves performance. Consider enabling thumbnail caching if it is not already enabled. The Manual:Images and upload page details thumbnail generation options. The Extension:ThumbnailCache extension can further improve thumbnail caching performance. Remember to clear the thumbnail cache after making changes to these settings. See Help:Images for user-level information about images.

4. Security Considerations

Security is paramount when handling user-uploaded content. Implement the following measures:

  • **File Type Restrictions:** Configure `$wgFileExtensions` in `LocalSettings.php` to allow only safe file types (e.g., jpg, png, gif, svg). Disallow potentially harmful extensions like php, exe, or sh. Refer to Manual:Configuring file types for details.
  • **Virus Scanning:** Integrate a virus scanner (e.g., ClamAV) into the upload process to detect and prevent malicious files.
  • **Permissions:** Ensure the upload directory has appropriate permissions, preventing web server write access to execute files.
  • **File Size Limits:** Set `$wgMaxFileSize` to limit the maximum upload size, preventing denial-of-service attacks and conserving storage space.
  • **Regular Backups:** Implement a robust backup strategy to protect against data loss.

5. Performance Tuning

Optimizing image handling is critical for maintaining a responsive MediaWiki instance.

  • **Caching:** Leverage caching mechanisms (e.g., Varnish, Memcached) to cache frequently accessed images and thumbnails. See Help:Performance for more details.
  • **Content Delivery Network (CDN):** Utilize a CDN to distribute images geographically, reducing latency for users worldwide.
  • **Image Optimization:** Optimize images before uploading them to MediaWiki to reduce file size without significant quality loss. Tools like ImageOptim or TinyPNG can be used.
  • **Database Indexing:** Ensure the `image` table in the MediaWiki database is properly indexed.

6. Monitoring & Logging

Regularly monitor disk space usage in the upload directory and the thumbnail cache. Analyze MediaWiki logs for errors related to image processing or uploads. Consider using monitoring tools like Nagios or Zabbix to track key metrics. Check the MediaWiki error logs for troubleshooting.


Manual:Configuration settings Manual:Images and upload Extension:ImageMagick MediaWiki troubleshooting guide Help:Images Extension:ThumbnailCache Manual:Configuring file types Help:Performance MediaWiki error logs Manual:Backups Manual:Upgrading Manual:Maintenance Extension:VirusScanner Help:Contents Special:Statistics Special:Upload


Intel-Based Server Configurations

Configuration Specifications Benchmark
Core i7-6700K/7700 Server 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB CPU Benchmark: 8046
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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
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