Cloud Giants Back Valkey Fork of Redis: A New Chapter in Open Source Licensing
April 5, 2024, 9:44 pm
Location: United States, Washington, Seattle
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The recent licensing change of Redis has sparked a flurry of activity in the open-source community. Redis Labs' switch from a permissive BSD license to the more restrictive Server Side Public License (SSPL) has led to the birth of Valkey, a fork of the popular in-memory data store, backed by tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Oracle, Ericsson, and Snap. This move has raised questions about the future of open-source projects and the relationships between commercial entities and the open-source community.
The history of Redis is marked by licensing disputes, with founder Salvatore Sanfilippo initially choosing the BSD license to allow for commercial forks. Over the years, Redis evolved, facing challenges from service providers like Garantia, which later rebranded to Redis Labs. The recent licensing change by Redis Labs, which requires commercial agreements for Redis-as-a-service, prompted the creation of Valkey under the Linux Foundation's umbrella.
The rapid formation of Valkey, spearheaded by AWS and longtime Redis maintainer Madelyn Olson, highlights the complexities of open-source licensing and commercial interests. While AWS expressed disappointment in Redis' decision, it acknowledged the company's right to make the change. The support for Valkey from major cloud vendors underscores the shifting dynamics in the open-source landscape.
As Valkey gains momentum, the community is focused on enhancing compatibility with existing Redis deployments and improving performance. The divergence between Redis and Valkey's capabilities suggests a new direction for in-memory data storage solutions. Redis' acquisition of Speedb to explore flash storage options hints at future innovations in the space.
The licensing saga surrounding Redis and Valkey reflects broader tensions in the open-source ecosystem. While legalities govern these developments, the impact on developers and users remains a key concern. The emergence of Valkey as a viable alternative to Redis signals a new chapter in open-source licensing and collaboration. The community's response to these changes will shape the future of open-source projects and the relationships between stakeholders.
The history of Redis is marked by licensing disputes, with founder Salvatore Sanfilippo initially choosing the BSD license to allow for commercial forks. Over the years, Redis evolved, facing challenges from service providers like Garantia, which later rebranded to Redis Labs. The recent licensing change by Redis Labs, which requires commercial agreements for Redis-as-a-service, prompted the creation of Valkey under the Linux Foundation's umbrella.
The rapid formation of Valkey, spearheaded by AWS and longtime Redis maintainer Madelyn Olson, highlights the complexities of open-source licensing and commercial interests. While AWS expressed disappointment in Redis' decision, it acknowledged the company's right to make the change. The support for Valkey from major cloud vendors underscores the shifting dynamics in the open-source landscape.
As Valkey gains momentum, the community is focused on enhancing compatibility with existing Redis deployments and improving performance. The divergence between Redis and Valkey's capabilities suggests a new direction for in-memory data storage solutions. Redis' acquisition of Speedb to explore flash storage options hints at future innovations in the space.
The licensing saga surrounding Redis and Valkey reflects broader tensions in the open-source ecosystem. While legalities govern these developments, the impact on developers and users remains a key concern. The emergence of Valkey as a viable alternative to Redis signals a new chapter in open-source licensing and collaboration. The community's response to these changes will shape the future of open-source projects and the relationships between stakeholders.