Ddos 
In March 2024, the widely adopted database caching solution Redis announced its transition to the Server Side Public License (SSPL)—a license that, while offering source code access, is not recognized as open source. The SSPL imposes restrictions on usage by large-scale cloud computing platforms. Despite this change, the Redis Community Edition remains free to use and continues to provide access to its source code, though it still does not meet the criteria for true open-source software.
At the main of the SSPL lies Redis’s view that cloud giants like Amazon AWS and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) have long benefited from the free use of open-source software such as Redis without offering any form of compensation. In response, the new license explicitly excludes AWS and GCP from using the open version of Redis.
In reaction to the SSPL, both Amazon and Google began maintaining their own forked versions of Redis. As a result, multiple Redis variants now exist, each with distinct features and levels of compatibility—creating significant challenges for the broader Redis ecosystem.
This week, Redis announced via its official blog that it would once again adopt the AGPLv3 open-source license. Recognized by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), the AGPLv3 license officially brings Redis back into the open-source domain. However, it is offered as an optional licensing model—Redis has not relinquished the SSPL, meaning the company still intends to curb unlicensed commercial use by large cloud providers.
According to the blog post, Redis’s motivations include:
- The dual maintenance of Redis Community Edition and Redis Stack had fragmented developer focus, stalling innovation.
- The Open Source Initiative clarified that the SSPL does not qualify as an open-source license, thus rendering Redis non-open-source under that model—even though smaller enterprises could still use it for free.
- Adding AGPLv3 is expected to foster broader community involvement, particularly enhancing contributions across the Redis client ecosystem.
The AGPLv3 license will take effect beginning with Redis 8, scheduled for release in August 2024. This version marks the first major release since Redis’s initial switch to the SSPL, and it now reintroduces an open-source licensing path. Consequently, both legacy versions and future releases will be available under an OSI-approved open-source framework.
To help resolve the confusion and fragmentation of the past year, Redis has also included several key Redis Stack features under the AGPLv3 license in Redis 8. These include support for JSON, time series, probabilistic data types, and the Redis Query Engine—along with more than 30 performance enhancements aimed at boosting command execution speed and overall throughput.
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