Licenses

Depending on your contract with Exasol and your business requirements, Exasol provides the following license types:

  • Raw data license: This license type specifies the maximum size of the raw data you can store across databases in the cluster. This is the default license type.
  • Database RAM License: This license type specifies the total amount of RAM that can be assigned to the database in the cluster.

Raw data volume (unit TB): The raw data volume corresponds to the data volume that is comparable to the size the data would have if stored as CSV files. If you exceed the licensed capacity, you cannot import any additional data unless you delete the data inside the database.

For more information about how raw data size is determined, see Sizing for Data Types.

For more information on the license types mentioned above, please contact your account manager or Exasol support.

License Limits

Depending on the license type being used, there are certain limitations enforced on it.

For licenses based on data size (raw data license and memory data license), a periodic check is done by Exasol on the size of the data. If the size limit exceeds the value specified in the license, the database does not permit any further data insertion until the usage drops below the specified value.

For licenses based on RAM, Exasol checks the RAM assignment at the start of the database. If the RAM in use exceeds the maximum RAM specified in your license, the database will not start.

License limits on data storage size apply to all database instances in your system. If one database has a license problem, all database instances will be affected.

Enforced Limits

As mentioned above, when storage limits are exceeded, all databases will enter a restricted mode, affecting the following statements:

  • IMPORT
  • INSERT
  • CREATE TABLE AS
  • MERGE
  • SELECT INTO

In this mode, any attempt to execute one of these statement types will result in an SQL exception as shown below: 

[R0010] Statement currently not allowed because latest cumulative database 
raw sizes of 10.6 GiB exceeded raw size license limit of 10.0 GiB (106.2%).
Please increase your license or delete some data and FLUSH STATISTICS.

When the system is above the license threshold, ALL of the above statements are locked, even if they would not result in an actual insertion of data (for example, the MERGE command).

Monitoring

The following table lists the different warning and error messages you will see in the EXAoperation Monitoring section when the license limit is exceeded: 

Alert Type Trigger Description
Warning When the cumulative data size reaches a certain percentage of the license value (default is 85%).

A warning is displayed when the license limit has reached 85% of the value.

Once the warning limit is reached, the databases still permit data inserts, but a warning is displayed that the databases are close to the license limit.

Example: Warning Message
License Warning: Databases raw sizes of 8.7 GiB is close to the license limit of 10.0 GiB (86.5%). At 105% databases will no longer permit data insertion.
Error When the data size reaches 105% of the license value.

When the license limit is exceeded, an error is displayed. No further inserts are permitted in all databases. Inserts are permitted again only when the usage drops below 100%.

Example: Error Message
License exceeded: Databases raw sizes of 10.6 GiB exceed license limit of 10.0 GiB (106.2%). Databases no longer permit data insertion.
Notice When the data size drops below 100% of the license value.

A notice is displayed when the license limit drops below the license value.

Example: Notice Message
License OK: Database raw size is O.K. again (96.2%). Databases permit data insertion.

The following screenshot displays the sample warnings and errors logged in EXAoperation when your system reaches (or is close to) the limits imposed by your license:

The warning threshold value for your license limit is configurable. You can configure this in EXAoperation.

Recommended Actions

To resolve the limit exceeded on your license, clear some large data (DROP or DELETE database tables) and perform FLUSH STATISTICS to update the current database sizes.

It is important to clear sufficient data such that the license limit is below 100%. Please note that checking of license limits is a periodic process and it may take a few minutes for a database to recognize the uploaded sizes and leave the restricted mode.

Additionally, you can check the EXA_DB_SIZE_LAST_DAY table to view information on database sizes. You also can check EXA_SYSTEM_EVENTS table to view information on license events.

License Model for Cloud Platforms

Pay as you go (PAYG)

Pay as you go (PAYG) license model is a flexible and scalable license model for Exasol's deployment on a cloud platform. In this mode, you pay for your cloud resources and Exasol software through the cloud platform's billing cycle. You can always change your setup later to scale up or down your system and the billing changes accordingly.

See the following links to know about the pricing information including cloud resources and the software cost of your choice of a cloud platform:

Bring your own license (BYOL)

Bring your own license (BYOL) license model lets you choose a static license for Exasol software and a dynamic billing for the cloud resources. In this model, you need to purchase a license from Exasol and add it to your cloud instance. This way, you pay only for the cloud resources through the cloud platform's billing cycle and there is no billing for the software. You can always change your setup later to scale up or down your system and the billing changes accordingly. However, there is a limit for the maximum scaling based on your license type (DB RAM or raw data size).

You can check the limits from EXAoperation. To view the license limit, select Configuration > Software and then License tab.

See the following links to know about the pricing information for cloud resources of your choice of cloud platform: