Help:Cloud Services Introduction
 | wmflabs.org and wmcloud.org redirect here. You might be looking for the Lists of Toolforge tools or the List of Cloud VPS projects. |
WMCS project overview
What is Wikimedia Cloud Services (WMCS)?
Wikimedia Cloud Services (WMCS) provides tools, services, and support for technical collaborators who want to contribute to Wikimedia software projects. WMCS is a computing ecosystem built on OpenStack, GridEngine, and Kubernetes.
WMCS products and services are available for use by anyone connected with the Wikimedia movement without charge. Support and administration of the WMCS resources is provided by a Wikimedia Foundation Cloud Services team and Wikimedia movement volunteers. We maintain a Glossary of related terminology.
🎬 Video: Wikimedia Cloud Services introduction
WMCS history
From 2011 until early 2017, WMCS was known as "Wikimedia Labs." The term 'Labs' was used to refer to a number of different components, and clarification was required. In 2017, the project was reorganized. The former Wikimedia Foundation Labs team and the Tool Labs Support team joined together to create the Wikimedia Cloud Services team.
WMCS products and services
| Service | Product | Description | Use | Support Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPS | Cloud VPS | Provides collaboratively owned collections of virtual private servers where users develop and maintain software projects that help the Wikimedia movement. | Use this to run full virtual instances. | You are willing to administer instances on your own. We can provide quota to do so. |
| PaaS | Toolforge | Provides a shared hosting/platform-as-a-service environment for running bots, webservices, scheduled jobs, and data analysis. | Run a specific webservice, scheduled job, or perform analysis. | You do not want to or are not able to manage a full virtual environment. |
| DaaS | Data Services | A collection of products including private-information-redacted copies of Wikimedia's production wiki databases and access to Wikimedia Dumps. | Create replicas of the production databases and other data for analysis and experimentation. | The Quarry service provides database access via a web interface. Some DaaS resources may need to be requested for specific VPS projects. |
Renaming of products and services
We are in the process of changing the language and branding of the products and services we offer. You may find some outdated titles and names in WMCS documentation. Edits are welcome!
Participating with WMCS
Sign up for services
To access and contribute to Cloud Services projects and tools, you will need the following accounts:
- Wikimedia account - this account is the single user login or SUL account you use to contribute to Wikipedia and its sister projects.
- Wikimedia developer account - this account is used log into this wiki, Toolforge, Cloud VPS, Gerrit and other protected Wikimedia Services.
- Gerrit- our code review system; where our repositories (repos) live. Note that while Github contains many of our public repos, you can only make pull requests for Cloud Services projects via Gerrit. Other Wiki projects may use Github exclusively.
- Phabricator- our project management system; for opening tickets, suggesting features, and talking about our plans for the next quarter.
- IRC - live chat channels. We have several channels related to our cloud servers, but the main channel is #wikimedia-cloud. Deployment also frequently uses #wikimedia-serviceops.
- The ability to access instances in the WMCS environment.
Review the terms and conditions
Second, make sure to review and agree to our terms and conditions. Account holders who plan to use WMCS resources and products must read and agree to the following:
- Wikimedia Cloud Services Terms of Use
- Code of Conduct for technical spaces
- Agreement to disclosure of personally identifiable information (covers End-Users).
Please pay close attention to the following terms for Toolforge and Cloud VPS:
- Toolforge tools must be open source software licensed under an OSI approved license.
- Toolforge and Cloud VPS projects must not collect, store, or share private data or personally identifiable information, such as user names, passwords, or IP addresses, except when complying with the conditions listed in the Wikimedia Cloud Services Terms of Use.
Communication and support
We communicate and provide support through several primary channels. Please reach out with questions and to join the conversation.
| Connect | Best for | |
|---|---|---|
| Phabricator Workboard | #Cloud-Services | Task tracking and bug reporting |
| IRC Channel | #wikimedia-cloud connect | General discussion and support |
| Mailing List | cloud@ | Information about ongoing initiatives, general discussion and support |
| Announcement emails | cloud-announce@ | Information about critical changes (all messages mirrored to cloud@) |
| News wiki page | News | Information about major near-term plans |
| Cloud Services Blog | Clouds & Unicorns | Learning more details about some of our work |
| Wikimedia Technology Blog | techblog.wikimedia.org | News and stories from the Wikimedia technical movement |
Learn more
- Cloud VPS and Toolforge At-A-Glance: This page provides a basic introduction to Cloud VPS and Toolforge.
- Cloud VPS Portal: Information about Cloud VPS and links to help and technical documentation.
- Toolforge Portal: Information about Toolforge and links to help and technical documentation.
- Data Services Portal: Information about Data Services and links to help and technical documentation.