Applies to: VisualSVN Server 4.0 and later
Before version 4.0, VisualSVN Server was available in two editions: Standard Edition (free license) and Enterprise Edition (paid license with a fixed price). A paid Enterprise Edition license was required to activate the enterprise features of the product. VisualSVN Server Enterprise Edition was licensed per server instance and allowed an unlimited number of users to access the server.
Starting with version 4.0, the concept of an "edition" is no longer used. VisualSVN Server can now run under one of the three types of licenses: Community, Essential or Enterprise. The license type determines which features are available for the server. The licenses also have a size that determines the maximum allowed number of users and distributed VDFS repositories on the server. Note that it is possible to purchase the Enterprise license with an unlimited size.
You can find more information about the licensing in VisualSVN Server 4.0 in the KB146: VisualSVN Server 4.0 Licensing Overview.
Upgrading from VisualSVN Server Standard Edition
If you are running VisualSVN Server Standard Edition, an upgrade to version 4.0 will automatically activate almost functionally equivalent Community license. However, there are two exceptions:
- When there are more than 15 Subversion user accounts, you will need to purchase a paid Essential or Enterprise license with a corresponding maximum number of users. The Community license allows using up to 15 Subversion user accounts.
- When you use Windows authentication, you will need to purchase a paid Enterprise license. Starting from version 4.0, Windows authentication is only available with the Enterprise license.
Note that VisualSVN Server's installer will offer to generate a free Evaluation license (no registration required) when you upgrade from VisualSVN Server Standard Edition, but the configuration of your VisualSVN Server exceeds the limits of the free Community license. The Evaluation license allows to use all VisualSVN Server features and has a time limit of 45 days. When the evaluation ends, you need to apply a sufficient license that meets your usage requirements. You can also request an evaluation extension after 45 days via the evaluation request form.
Upgrading from VisualSVN Server Enterprise Edition
The pre-4.0 Enterprise Edition licenses with an active maintenance subscription are treated as new Enterprise licenses with an unlimited number of users and VDFS repositories. Therefore, the upgrade to VisualSVN Server 4.0 is fully transparent for VisualSVN Server Enterprise Edition installations that have a license key with an active maintenance subscription.
Please note that you will need to choose a number of users and VDFS repositories when you purchase a maintenance renewal for pre-4.0 Enterprise Edition licenses.
See also
KB146: VisualSVN Server 4.0 Licensing Overview
KB148: How VisualSVN Server calculates the number of active users
KB158: Enterprise Multinode license overview