Beginning with Valence Framework 4.0, Enterprise licenses are keyed to the IBM i serial number and partition id. There is a base price for the first partition, a lower price for the second partition and then an “unlimited” partitions option. So you can license 1, 2 or unlimited partitions for a single IBM i serial number. Customers who licensed Valence Framework Enterprise prior to March 17, 2014 are automatically upgraded to the unlimited partition license. Contact for a price quote with your configuration.

The most typical Valence Framework licensing scenario would be to start with the free Community Edition. Use the Community Edition at no cost to learn, prototype your applications and deploy your apps for up to five concurrent sessions. When you need to move beyond five sessions, or when you need the use of Enterprise-only features, move up to the Enterprise Edition. See the Valence Store for a table that compares the features of each edition.

There is only one download for the Valence Framework software (this may change in the future). When you first download and install the Valence Framework, you are using the Community Edition. The Community Edition is free, but has a reduced feature set, is limited to five concurrent sessions and does not come with maintenance (updates and support). To move up to the Enterprise Edition, you simply need to purchase a license key from CNX and apply it to your Valence Framework installation. The Commercial Developer license further grants the right to deploy your applications in commercial software or to host your applications as a service to outside customers. You should read the license to understand the full differences in licensing terms between each version.

No. As of Valence 3.2 the requirement to release your source code under the terms of the Valence Framework Community Edition has been removed. You may keep the source code for your apps private.

The Valence Framework Community Edition is primarily intended to allow developers an opportunity to prototype applications, learn the Valence Framework and deploy to a maximum of five concurrent sessions at no cost. If you are able to limit your use of the Valence Framework to this level then no license fees are due to CNX and you can continue to develop applications with the Valence Framework under the Community Edition license. Purchasing an Enterprise license gives you access to a year of Valence Framework maintenance (which includes updates and support), use of valuable Enterprise-only features and an unlimited number of concurrent sessions on one IBM i. In addition, the purchase of a Valence Framework Enterprise license includes a Sencha Ext JS Pro 5-Pack which includes useful development tools including Sencha Architect.  See the Valence Editions & Pricing page for a table that compares the features of each edition

Your customers may use the free Valence Framework Community Edition as long as they do not need the additional features of the Enterprise Edition and do not need more than five concurrent sessions. If you are creating a software package that will be sold or licensed to multiple customers as a canned package or provided as a service running from your systems, you must obtain a Valence Framework Commercial license. See the Valence Store for a table that compares the features of each edition.

You may extend and alter the Valence Framework however you like for your own internal purposes, but you may not create a competing framework or an alternate “flavor” of the Valence Framework and market it as a competing product to the Valence Framework. This scenario is expressly prohibited by all Valence Framework licenses.

Features of Valence Framework Community Edition do not require a key. The Valence Framework Enterprise Edition requires a key to activate Enterprise-specific features. When you use the Valence Framework, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are complying with the terms of the appropriate development and run-time licenses.

As of Valence Framework 3.0, all Valence Framework downloads are distributed with source code for everything except Valence Nitro, Valence Instance Manager and certain Valence Portal objects that manage key-controlled features.

If you have recently purchased a Valence Framework Enterprise or Commercial license you will have maintenance for one year from the date of purchase. Maintenance includes both updates and support. At the end of the first year you will be invoiced by CNX automatically for another year and every year thereafter. Maintenance after the first year is optional but highly recommended.

Previously you were required to have an account on the Valence Store to obtain updates and bug fixes. These updates and bug fixes were provided as a separate install package. Beginning with Valence Framework 4.0 anyone can download new versions of the Valence Framework (separate update packages are not provided). When new versions of the Valence Framework are available they are posted on the downloads page. The installer will detect if an existing installation of the Valence Framework major version is installed to your IBM i (it checks the first two segments of the version, i.e. 4.0, 4.1 etc). If the installer detects an existing installation it will perform an update to the base Valence Framework instance. If no existing install is detected it will perform a full install. All license types (Community, Enterprise and Commercial) may download new versions and perform updates and new installs subject to the terms of the appropriate license type.

The Valence Framework, as installed in its base form, is fully supported by CNX for all customers current with paid maintenance. In contrast, the code that you write for your applications cannot be supported to the same level as the base Valence Framework by CNX, but we may be able to offer some level of assistance with your development. In general, support does not include CNX actually writing your applications for you, writing parts of your code for you or debugging your code. It is expected that you will write and debug your own programs and only come to CNX support after you have reviewed the appropriate documentation and have hit a point where you cannot continue until someone helps you along, or if you have an error scenario that you have been unable to resolve on your own with reasonable effort. Most of the time CNX will offer suggestions or point to similar code or provide an example if available. If you identify a bug in the base Valence Framework, the CNX team will do whatever necessary to provide a fix as quickly as possible.

Customers on maintenance who require support are encouraged to use the CNX forumto post questions. This is so that others experiencing the same issue can learn from your support experience. Your profile on the forum is tagged with your licensing and maintenance level so that the CNX staff can see what level of support you should receive. Entries on the forum are handled in this order: Commercial, Enterprise and Community. In the case of Community, CNX may not be able to respond to a support request, instead relying on the community of users on the forum to help. Customers current on maintenance may also submit emails to support@cnxcorp.com if the support request contains information of a private nature that should not be on the forum. Customers current on maintenance may also call the CNX technical support line at (312) 477-7450, option 1. Generally speaking however, it is better to submit your request on the forum or via email and let someone from CNX call you back if necessary.