• Developer / Consultant

  • XQuery / XSLT / Schema / RelaxNG

  • Scala / Java / C++

  • Concurrency and Scalability

• Creator of FusionDB multi-model database (4 yrs.)

• Contributor to Facebook's RocksDB (4 yrs.)

• Core contributor to eXist-db XML Database (14 yrs.)

• Founder of EXQuery, and creator of RESTXQ

• W3C XQuery WG Invited expert

• Me: www.adamretter.org.uk

• Personal Concerns

  • Open Source NXDs problems/limitations are not being addresed

  • Commercial NXDs are Expensive and not Open Source

  • New NoSQL (JSON) document db are out-innovating us

  • 10 Years invested in Open Source NXD, unhappy with progress

• Commercial Concerns from Customers

  • Help! Our Open Source NXD sometimes:

    • Crashes and Corrupts the database

    • Stops responding

    • Won't Scale with new servers/users

• Primary Focus on Correctness and Stability

  • Never become unresponsive

  • Never crash

  • Never lose data or corrupt the database

• Don't reinvent wheels!

  • Developers know eXist-db... Fork it!

  • Reuse - adopt Facebook's RocksDB for storage

• Build it first!

• ...Should become Open Source

  • Should be appealing to Commercial enterprises

  • Open Source license choice(s)
    vs. Revenue opportunities

• ACID Transactions

• Improved Concurrency

• Instant Snapshots

• 100% eXist-db API Compatible

  • Drop-in replacement.

  • Just restore your eXist-db backup!

• Crash Safe

• Multi-Model

• Metadata Storage

https://fusiondb.com

• We would like to Open Source it

• We don't want to: git-and-run

  • Need a revenue model to ensure future

• Experienced in 2011: Support model is unsustainable

• Originally we envisaged...

  • Dual License:

    • AGPLv3 - Gives us our "Open Source" and Freedom

    • Commercial License - Indemnity for companies that can't swallow AGPL

  • Would like to avoid "Open Core"

• Things have changed...

• CockroachDB

  • Switched core from Apache to BSL 1.1 (04/06/19)

  • Enterprise components are Source Available

• Dgraph

  • From Apache to AGPL (26/03/2017)

  • ... then to Apache + Commons Clause (03/04/18)

  • ... then back to Apache (11/10/18)

• Elastic

  • Originally Apache licensed

  • Elastic NV mixes Apache and Elastic Licence code in repository and builds (06/18)

  • AWS (+Netflix +Expedia) launch "Open Distro for Elasticsearch" - Apache v2 - (11/03/19)

• InfluxDB

  • Clustering - From MIT to Enterprise License (05/04/16)

• Kafka (Confluent)

  • From Apache to Confuent Community License (14/12/2018)

• MariaDB

  • MaxScale etc - From GPL to BSL 1.0 (16/08/2016)

• MongoDB

  • From APGL to SSPL (06/10/2018)

• Neo4j (Enterprise)

  • From Commercial/AGPL to Commercial/AGPL+Commons Clause (13/05/2018)

  • ... then to Neo4j Commercial License (15/11/2018)

• Redis (Modules)

  • From AGPL to Apache + Commons Clause (22/08/2018)

  • ... then to Redis Source Available Licence (22/02/2019)

  • NOTE: Core is still BSD. Redis Enterprise is entrierly proprietary

• RocksDB

  • from BSD3 + Patent Grant, to dual Apache 2.0 or GPLv2 (16/07/17)

• Vendors

  • Trying to find a viable business model

  • Several squarely blaming large Cloud Vendors

  • Now misusing the label "Open Source"

• Cloud Vendors

  • Blaming Open Source Vendors for Closing/Mixing Licenses

  • AWS - You will be Assimilated!

  • Google Cloud - Partnering with Open Source Vendors

• Users

  • Where are they?

  • How can they be heard?

  • Vote with feet?

• Open Source databases are dead?!?

  • Commercially - Mostly

    • Open Source License != Business Model

  • Hobby/Non-Profit/Foundation - Nope!

• Commons Clause / Source Available

  • Almost, but... Not Open Source!!!

  • What are your rights?

• Open Core

  • Open Source Core

  • Closed or Source Available addons/features/management.

    • Maybe you need these too?

• Open Source is only part of the picture

  • Not everyone is a developer

  • Is having the code enough?

  • How do you support yourselves?

• Who owns the community?

  • Is there a Gate Keeper?

  • What happens if the code is forked?

  • What happens if company X disappears?

• Community is Everything!

fusiondb.com