--- title: Manage your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license description: > {{< product-name >}} licenses authorize the use of the {{< product-name >}} software. Learn how licenses work, how to activate and renew licenses, and more. menu: influxdb3_enterprise: name: Manage your license parent: Administer InfluxDB weight: 101 related: - /influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/serve/ --- {{< product-name >}} licenses authorize the use of the {{< product-name >}} 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](#license-feature-comparison) - [CPU limit](#cpu-limit) - [CPU accounting](#cpu-accounting) - [Activate a license](#activate-a-license) - [Activate a trial or at-home license](#activate-a-trial-or-at-home-license) - [Activate a commercial license](#activate-a-commercial-license) - [Renew a license](#renew-a-license) - [Expiration behavior](#expiration-behavior) ## License feature comparison The following {{< product-name >}} license types are available: - **Trial**: 30-day trial license with full access to {{< product-name >}} capabilities. - **At-Home**: For at-home hobbyist use with limited access to {{< product-name >}} capabilities. - **Commercial**: Commercial license with full access to {{< product-name >}} capabilities. | Features | Trial | At-Home | Commercial | | :------------- | :-----------------------: | :-----: | :-----------------------: | | CPU Core Limit | 256 | 2 | _Per contract_ | | Expiration | 30 days | _Never_ | _Per contract_ | | Multi-node | {{% icon "check" "v2" %}} | | {{% icon "check" "v2" %}} | | Commercial use | {{% icon "check" "v2" %}} | | {{% icon "check" "v2" %}} | {{% caption %}} All other {{< product-name >}} features are available to all licenses. {{% /caption %}} ## CPU limit Each {{< product-name >}} 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 {{< product-name >}} 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 {{< product-name >}} 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. {{< product-name >}} does not differentiate between physical and virtual CPU cores. > [!Note] > If using Linux, InfluxDB uses whatever cgroup CPU accounting is active--for > example: `cpuset` or `cpu.shares`. ## Activate a license Each {{< product-name >}} license must be activated, but the process of activating the license depends on the license type: - [Activate a trial or at-home license](#activate-a-trial-or-at-home-license) - [Activate a commercial license](#activate-a-commercial-license) ### Activate a trial or at-home license When starting the {{< product-name >}} server, it asks what type of license you would like to use. Select `trial` or `home` and provide your email address. The server auto-generates and stores your license. The license file is a JWT file that contains the license information. #### 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`](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/serve/) 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](https://influxdata.com/contact-sales/) to obtain an {{< product-name >}} Commercial license. Provide the following: - Cluster UUID - Object Store Info > [!Note] > This information is provided in the output of the {{< product-name >}} > 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 {{< product-name >}} server, provide the license file path using one of the following methods: - Use the the [`--license-file`](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#license-file) option with the `influxdb3 serve` command - Set the `INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE` environment variable. ### License detection {{% product-name %}} checks for a license file in the following order: 1. The license file path provided with the [`--license-file`](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#license-file) option 2. The license file path provided with the `INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE` environment variable 3. The default license path: ``` ///commercial_license ``` 4. A trial or at-home license stored in the default location ``` ///trial_or_home_license ``` 5. The license email provided with the [`--license-email`](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#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 #### Example: Start the {{< product-name >}} server with your license email: {{< code-tabs-wrapper >}} {{% code-tabs %}} [influxdb3 options](#) [Environment variables](#) {{% /code-tabs %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```bash influxdb3 serve \ --cluster-id cluster01 \ --node-id node01 \ --license-email example@email.com \ # ... ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```bash INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_EMAIL=example@email.com influxdb3 serve \ --cluster-id cluster01 \ --node-id node01 \ # ... ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{< /code-tabs-wrapper >}} #### Example: Start the {{< product-name >}} server with your license file: {{< code-tabs-wrapper >}} {{% code-tabs %}} [influxdb3 options](#) [Environment variables](#) {{% /code-tabs %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```bash influxdb3 serve \ --cluster-id cluster01 \ --node-id node01 \ --license-file /path/to/license-file.jwt \ # ... ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{% code-tab-content %}} ```bash INFLUXDB3_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/license-file.jwt influxdb3 serve \ --cluster-id cluster01 \ --node-id node01 \ # ... ``` {{% /code-tab-content %}} {{< /code-tabs-wrapper >}} For more information about `influxdb3 serve` options, see the [CLI reference](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/serve/). ## Renew a license To renew an {{< product-name >}} Commercial license, contact [InfluxData Sales](https://influxdata.com/contact-sales/). ## Expiration behavior When your {{< product-name >}} 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 {{< product-name >}} server stops, it will not restart without a valid, non-expired license.