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Oracle Java license management

Overview

In 2023, Oracle introduced a new Java SE Universal Subscription model, potentially increasing licensing costs for companies using older Java versions. The release of the Oracle No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC) license in 2021 allows free production use of newer Java LTS versions. This new library pack helps detect and manage Java packages accordingly.

Problem

Since the late 1990s, Oracle Java has had 21 major releases subject to various license agreements that can depend on versioning and security patch level.

Today, managing different Java-dependent applications along with different versions of Oracle and third-party versions of Java, as well as their compatibility and licensing can be a nightmare for organizations. This is due to the difficulty in monitoring Java presence and versioning, the relation of each instance to a particular application (if any) and determining the applicable licensing model (whether an application that depends on Java includes an Oracle Java license, which of the Oracle Java license agreements apply, etc).

Besides the associated difficulty, the change in Oracle’s license pricing model means that unprepared organizations will rapidly face high—and often unnecessary—costs.

Solution

This library pack provides a dashboard to monitor in real-time Java presence, versioning, and their general licensing category across the entire landscape to comply with Oracle Java licensing requirements at scale.

This library pack uses the following Oracle Java licensing decision table:

Java Platform SE 7 U80 or earlier

No

Java Platform SE 7 U85 or later

Yes

Java Platform SE 8 U202 or earlier

No

Java Platform SE 8 U211 or later

Yes

Java Platform SE 9

No

Java Platform SE 10

No

Java Platform SE 11

Yes

Java Platform SE 12

Yes

Java Platform SE 13

Yes

Java Platform SE 14

Yes

Java Platform SE 15

Yes

Java Platform SE 16

Yes

Java Platform SE 17 - 21

No

These two categories are defined in the pack:

  • Oracle Java versions that potentially require a license: This includes non-NFTC, OTN, and other versions of Oracle Java that are likely to require a license for production use. These include the following versions: Java 7 U85 and later; Java 8 U211 and later; and Java 11 - 16.

  • Oracle and non-Oracle/OpenJDK Java versions that are potentially free: This includes NFTC, BCL, and other Oracle Java versions, as well as third-party Java versions that allow free production use under certain circumstances. These include the following versions: Java 7 U80 and earlier; Java 8 U202 and earlier; Java 9 and 10, Java 17 - 21, and non-Oracle/OpenJDK Java versions.

Please note: Oracle Java license agreements take into account not only Java version and availability on devices, but also security patch levels, use of Oracle "commercial features", the purpose of use, and other factors that are technically impossible to track. The dashboard acts as an advisory source of data and should not be used as a software asset management tool.

Key features

  • Immediate detection of Java presence across all endpoints.

  • Visualization of the general licensing classification for each Java version.

  • Monitoring the presence of different versions of Java.

Get started

Configure and start using your packs by following these links:

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