Open source edition of KubeSphere ceases to exist, with the project announcing its termination
KubeSphere, a popular distributed operating system for cloud-native application management, has announced a significant change in its approach. The team has decided to discontinue its open source version, citing the need to adapt to the new era, enhance product capabilities, and focus on core technology R&D and the optimization of commercial-grade solutions [1][2].
This decision has caused a stir within the community, with some users expressing disapproval. One user described it as "one of the most shortsighted and damaging business decisions" and a "massive red flag". SUSE, with over 30 years of open source commitment, has also expressed criticism, stating that such a move undermines trust essential for a healthy open source ecosystem [1].
The discontinuation of the out-of-the-box distributions is seen as a challenging adjustment for today's collaborative open source ecosystem. KubeSphere's founding member, who recently left QingCloud, the company behind KubeSphere, has provided some insight into the reasoning behind the move [2].
Repeated violations of the open source license by third parties repackaging and monetizing the project have caused tangible impact on QingCloud's interests. As a result, the new version of KubeSphere will not be free. While the source code remains available under open source norms, the code's license for the new version forbids commercial use without explicit permission or a commercial license [1].
However, KubeSphere's customer service team is offering tailored commercial version solutions, including dedicated technical support, vulnerability fixes, version upgrades, and other value-added services [2].
The decision may cause inconvenience to some users who were planning to use the open source edition. Some users have expressed concern about the potential decline of open source projects in the accelerating tech industry and the implications this may have on predictability and trust needed in the open source community [1].
KubeSphere, a CNCF-certified Kubernetes platform, simplifies the management of Kubernetes, which can be unwieldy when it comes to setup and configuration. Despite the shift towards a commercial model, the core project on GitHub remains open source under the Apache 2 license [1].
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33180526 [2] https://www.infoq.com/news/2023/03/kubesphere-commercial-version/
- KubeSphere's discontinuation of its open source version represents a shift in focus towards enhancing core technology R&D and optimizing commercial-grade solutions, as announced by the team.
- SUSE, with its long history of open source commitment, has expressed criticism towards this move, stating that it undermines trust essential for a healthy open source ecosystem.
- The new version of KubeSphere will no longer be free, as repeated violations of the open source license by third parties have caused tangible impact on QingCloud's interests.
- KubeSphere's customer service team is offering tailored commercial version solutions, which include dedicated technical support, vulnerability fixes, version upgrades, and other value-added services.
