Cotechnoe SMW — Linked Open Data Wiki Platform

Semantic MediaWiki is an open-source extension to MediaWiki — the software that powers Wikipedia — that transforms a standard wiki into a structured-data platform. Authors annotate wiki pages with typed properties using a simple inline syntax. SMW automatically builds a queryable knowledge graph that any team member can search and query without SQL, scripting, or a dedicated data engineer.

This Azure Marketplace image delivers a fully pre-configured, hardened VM ready to use. Deploy from the Azure portal, complete the first-boot wizard, and your knowledge base is live — in minutes, not days. All data stays within your Azure subscription.

Who benefits

• Universities and research institutions — document research projects, publications, authors, and datasets with structured annotations; query across the entire corpus directly from a wiki page
• Enterprise knowledge teams — centralize internal standards, policies, and glossaries in a living document system where every concept is typed, linked, and queryable
• Compliance and quality teams — track IT assets, software licenses, or regulatory requirements as structured wiki pages; generate live compliance dashboards without exporting to a spreadsheet
• IT and documentation teams — document systems, runbooks, and architecture decisions with semantic links that surface related content automatically across the entire wiki

Key capabilities

• Annotate any wiki page with typed, machine-readable properties — no separate database schema or ETL pipeline required
• Embed live #ask queries on any page: tables, maps, charts, and calendars that update automatically as underlying data changes
• Export your knowledge graph as RDF/OWL or query it via a SPARQL endpoint — ready for integration with external reporting and BI tools
• SemanticResultFormats — render query results as bar charts, pie charts, timelines, or geographic maps out of the box
• Full MediaWiki feature set: revision history, granular access control, file uploads, discussion pages, and a rich extension ecosystem

What is included

• MediaWiki 1.43 — the open-source wiki platform powering Wikipedia and thousands of organizations worldwide
• Semantic MediaWiki 6.0 — structured data, semantic queries, and knowledge-graph capabilities on top of MediaWiki
• SemanticResultFormats — additional output formats: charts, tables, calendars, and timelines for #ask queries
• Maps — geographic data visualization directly on wiki pages using Leaflet
• PHP 8.2 FPM, MySQL 8.0, and Apache 2.4 with automatic HTTP to HTTPS redirect
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS — long-term supported base OS, supported until April 2027 (standard) and 2032 (ESM)
• Self-signed HTTPS certificate auto-provisioned at first boot — replace with a Let's Encrypt or CA-signed certificate at any time

Security posture

• SSH key authentication enforced — password login is disabled at the OS level
• UFW firewall: only ports 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP redirect), and 443 (HTTPS) open by default
• MySQL bound to localhost — the database port is never exposed externally
• PHP-FPM running under a dedicated, non-root system user with minimal privileges
• Automatic HTTP to HTTPS redirect; HSTS header configurable in Apache
• Built and tested against Azure Marketplace certification and CIS benchmark recommendations

Data sovereignty and compliance

All data — wiki pages, user accounts, semantic annotations, and uploaded files — resides exclusively within your Azure subscription and the Azure region you select. Cotechnoe has no access to your data. Choose the Azure region that meets your data residency and sovereignty requirements. Fully compatible with GDPR obligations for EU-based deployments. No telemetry or data is sent to Cotechnoe.

Get started in minutes

Select a VM size — Standard_B2ms or Standard_B4ms for evaluation and small teams, Standard_D2s_v3 (recommended default) or larger for production workloads — deploy from Azure Marketplace, and complete the first-boot wizard to set your domain and administrator credentials. No prior MediaWiki experience is required. Full documentation, a step-by-step getting-started guide, and architecture notes are available at the support link below.