Manage your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise licenses authorize the use of the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise software and apply to a single cluster. Licenses are primarily based on the number of CPUs InfluxDB can use, but there are other limitations depending on the license type.

• License feature comparison
• CPU limit
  • CPU accounting
• Activate a license
  • Activate a trial or at-home license
  • Activate a commercial license
• Renew a license
• Expiration behavior

License feature comparison

The following InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license types are available:

• Trial: 30-day trial license with full access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.
• At-Home: For at-home hobbyist use with limited access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.
• Commercial: Commercial license with full access to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise capabilities.

CPU limit

Each InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license limits the number of CPUs InfluxDB can use. The CPU limit is per cluster, not per machine. A cluster may consist of multiple nodes that share the available CPU limit.

For example, you can purchase a 32-CPU Commercial license and set up an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster with the following:

• 3 × writer nodes, each with 4 CPUs (12 total)
• 1 × compactor node with 8 CPUs
• 3 × query nodes, each with 4 CPUs (12 total)

With the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license, CPU cores are purchased in batches of 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 cores.

CPU accounting

CPU cores are determined by whatever the operating system of the host machine reports as its core count. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise does not differentiate between physical and virtual CPU cores.

Activate a license

Each InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license must be activated when you start the server, but the process of activating the license depends on the license type:

• Activate a trial or at-home license
• Activate a commercial license

Activate a trial or at-home license

1. Use the influxdb3 serve command to start the server. If the server doesn’t find a license file or email address, the server prompts you to enter your email address. If you’re activating a trial or home license with Docker, include options to skip the email prompt.
2. The server prompts you to select a license type. Select trial or home.
3. In the verification email from InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, click the button to verify your email address.

After you verify your email address, InfluxDB 3 Enterprise auto-generates a license (associated with your cluster and email address) and stores the license file in your object store. The license file is a JWT file that contains the license information.

Skip the email prompt

To skip the email prompt when starting the server, you can provide your email address using one of the following methods:

• Use the --license-email option with the influxdb3 serve command
• Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable

If the server finds a valid license file in your object store, it ignores the license email option.

See examples to start the server with your license email.

Use an existing trial or at-home license

When you activate a trial or at-home license, InfluxDB registers your email address with the license server. To use your existing license–for example, if you deleted your license file–provide your email address using one of the following methods:

• Use the --license-email option with the influxdb3 serve command
• Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable

InfluxDB validates your email address with the license server and uses your existing license if it’s still valid.

Activate a commercial license

1. Contact InfluxData Sales to obtain an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license. Provide the following:

   • Cluster UUID
   • Object Store Info

   This information is provided in the output of the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server if you try to start the server without a valid license.

   InfluxData will provide you with a commercial license file. The license file is a JWT file that contains the license information.

2. When starting the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server, provide the license file path using one of the following methods:

   • Use the --license-file option with the influxdb3 serve command
   • Set the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

License detection

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise checks for a license file in the following order:

1. The license file path provided with the --license-file option

2. The license file path provided with the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE environment variable

3. The default license path:

   /<OBJECT_STORE>/<CLUSTER_ID>/commercial_license
   

4. A trial or at-home license stored in the default location

   /<OBJECT_STORE>/<CLUSTER_ID>/trial_or_home_license
   

5. The license email provided with the --license-email option

6. The license email provided with the INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL environment variable

7. If no license is found, the server won’t start

Start the server with your license email

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
--license-email example@email.com \
# ...

INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL=example@email.com

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
# ...

# compose.yaml
name: data-crunching-stack
services:
  influxdb3-enterprise:
    container_name: influxdb3-enterprise
    image: influxdb:3-enterprise
    ports:
      - 8181:8181
    # In the following command, replace INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL with your email address.
    # Alternatively, pass the `INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL` environment variable or
    # store the email address in a compose CLI .env file.
    command:
      - influxdb3
      - serve
      - --node-id=node0
      - --cluster-id=cluster0
      - --object-store=file
      - --data-dir=/var/lib/influxdb3/data
      - --plugin-dir=/var/lib/influxdb3/plugins
    environment:
      - INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL=${EMAIL_ADDRESS}
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        # Path to store data on your host system
        source: ~/.influxdb3/data
        # Path to store data in the container
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/data
      - type: bind
        # Path to store plugins on your host system
        source: ~/.influxdb3/plugins
        # Path to store plugins in the container
        target: /var/lib/influxdb3/plugins

Start the server with your license file

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
--license-file /path/to/license-file.jwt \
# ...

INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/license-file.jwt

influxdb3 serve \
--cluster-id cluster01 \
--node-id node01 \
# ...

For more information about influxdb3 serve options, see the CLI reference.

Renew a license

To renew an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Commercial license, contact InfluxData Sales.

Expiration behavior

When your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license expires, the following occurs:

• Write requests continue to be accepted and processed.
• Compactions continue to optimize persisted data.
• Query requests return an error.
• If the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server stops, it will not restart without a valid, non-expired license.