EMQX 5.9 adopts Business Source License (BSL)

[id]

With version 5.9, we've merged our Community and Enterprise Editions and adopted Business Source License (BSL). All previous Enterprise features are now free for developers and community users to use. For more details, please read the official announcement

https://www.emqx.com/en/content/license-faq
https://www.emqx.com/en/news/emqx-adopts-business-source-license

[matthewGEA]

As asked also in #15212 @id Please clarify the intention of the BSL Additional Use Grant:

You may make production use of a single node of the Licensed Work, provided your use does not include offering the Licensed Work to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis.

Which of the two options is the correct interpretation?

A) an enterprise may deploy the product to production an unlimited number of times, as long as each deployment is a standalone node (not clustered)

or

B) an enterprise may have one instance of the product deployed into production

[id]

I'll bring this up with our folks.

[matthewGEA]

Thank you. The ambiguous part is:

You may make production use of a single node

If the "you" is interpreted as a enterprise/corporation, then the restriction reads very severe compared to what you actually intend.

Maybe instead of "a single node" you use terms like "one or many standalone deployments" or "one or many non-clustered deployments"

[Frtrillo]

@id its still not clear to me if we can deploy a production emqx cluster formed of several nodes. we could before with community edition and now apparently we cant with enterprise BSL. how can we have high availability if we cant make a cluster of it behind a load balancer, withouth a cluster they wouldnt be communicated

[id]

@Frtrillo it's not possible to create a cluster with community edition since 5.9.0. You will need to purchase an Enterprise license, or apply for non-profit/education license.

[nosovk]

Have you an option to allow update of existing deployments to 5.9+ versions? The license change itself is ok, but for people who have already built something on top of EMQX, now stubbed in a back by those changes, without a way to update to new releases?
Could you allow minimum cluster mode, like 3 nodes, or at least allow updating existing installations?

[matthewGEA]

Also, the Licensing FAQ has the same ambiguity:

What does the Additional Use Grant allow?
Single‑node production: You may run one EMQX server (any size) in production for free, as long as you do not offer EMQX itself “as‑a‑service” or embed it in a product sold to third parties.

https://www.emqx.com/en/content/license-faq

[id]

Thanks for the feedback @matthewGEA, we have updated https://www.emqx.com/en/content/license-faq.

4. What does the Additional Use Grant allow?

• Single‑node production: You may run single-node (any size) instances of EMQX in production for free, as long as you do not offer EMQX itself “as‑a‑service” or embed it in a product sold to third parties.

9. How does this affect me if I use the current Apache 2.0 open-source version?

• <...>
• For production use, the "Additional Use Grant" allows you to run single-node instances of EMQX v5.9.0+ for free.

[tkeksa]

What exactly mean the "Embedded redistribution"?
If I deploy to customers server consisting of few Docker containers and one of them is single node EMQX server, do I "embed it"?

[id]

If EMQX is not part of a bundle that you sell as a single entity, then it's not "embedded".

[nosovk]

Reconsidering a Path for Free Cluster Mode

Hello EMQX Team and Community,

First off, I want to express my genuine appreciation for the EMQX project. We have been running EMQX as our core message broker in a clustered production environment for several years, and it has been an incredibly reliable and powerful tool. We are grateful for the years of development and the robust open-source offering you've maintained.

We have carefully read the recent announcements regarding the transition to the Business Source License (BSL) for version 5.9 and beyond. Furthermore, we understand the reasoning behind this strategic decision—the need for sustainability and the desire to unify the codebase.

However, we are deeply concerned about one specific consequence of this change: the removal of the free cluster mode.

For years, the ability to run a multi-node cluster was a cornerstone of the open-source version of EMQX. This feature wasn't just for massive-scale deployments; it was a fundamental requirement for any user who needed high availability and resilience in production, regardless of their size. For us, and likely for many other long-time users, this was a key reason for choosing and trusting EMQX.

This change puts us in a very difficult position. We are now faced with a choice:

Remain on an older, Apache 2.0 licensed version, which means we will no longer receive critical security updates, bug fixes, or any of the new features you are developing.

Pay for a commercial license to regain a feature that has been freely available for years and is integral to our architecture.

While we respect your need to monetize, this change feels like it penalizes the very community that has supported and grown alongside EMQX. The promise of a single powerful node for free under the "Additional Use Grant" is generous, but it doesn't address the critical need for high availability that a cluster provides.

Therefore, we would like to open a discussion and respectfully ask you to consider one of the following paths forward:

1. Restore a "Minimal" Free Cluster: Would it be possible to allow a small, free cluster of 3 nodes under the BSL's "Additional Use Grant"? This would be a fair compromise, allowing small-to-medium-sized users to maintain a high-availability setup while ensuring that large-scale, enterprise-level clusters remain a commercial feature.

2. Provide a Transition Path for Existing Users: Could you offer a "grandfathering" license or a special consideration for established community users who have built their production systems around the clustering feature? This would acknowledge the reliance that your community has placed on this long-standing feature.

We believe that providing a viable path for high availability to your community users will ultimately strengthen the EMQX ecosystem and foster goodwill. We want to continue our journey with EMQX, benefit from the unified codebase, and keep our systems secure and up-to-date.

Thank you for your consideration and for building a great product. We look forward to a constructive discussion.

[siegerhansma]

@id internally debating the enterprise license, but it's dependent on the adjusted pricing model. Do you have any updates with regards to timeline?

[id]

@siegerhansma sales team is now working with adjusted pricing model as far as I know.

[siegerhansma]

@id Thanks for the response. I've received pricing, not sure how it compares to before, but still think it's relatively steep for smaller companies. Hopefully I can work something out with sales.

[jbermejo-ied]

Having HA in EMQX was the principal reason that led my company to use it. Now we can't. Having HA is essential for us, and we are not willing to pay another licence for being able to have it in HA, we are a small company.

[wwlsecure-dev]

actually the same case. We have pinned latest free version, and after latest supported OSS version EOL will look for some other solution if nothing changes. Unfortunately old non paying users are usually not in a priority.

[mikekelly]

FYI - I've created a new fork based on the Apache licensed branch https://github.com/mikekelly/LibreMQ