Neo4j Desktop vs Neo4j Server

[stephanie]

Do the terms of use for "neo4j Desktop" apply to the ONGDB server which I downloaded under AGPLv3 license? I read the Desktop terms carefully and they refer everywhere to "neo4j Desktop software". Has anybody encountered this issue? I am feeling really stupid for not thinking this through before downloading the Desktop Software, especially as database authentication keeps failing. Before I spend any more time troubleshooting, could someone indicate any features of Desktop that are really worth it (other than UI)? I am planning production, so the license is important to me. Thank you!

[andrew_bowman]

Hi Stephanie,

You may want to review our licensing page. In particular, for Neo4j Desktop:

Neo4j Desktop is the new mission control center for Developers. It’s free with registration, and it includes a free development license for Enterprise Edition allowing you to use Neo4j Enterprise on your local desktop for developing applications .

Basically it's for local development only, Neo4j Desktop isn't intended or licensed for deployment or usage as a server version (we have the server versions of Neo4j Community and Enterprise for that instead). It can freely be used as a client to connect to a separate server deployment, however.

You may want to review the rest of the licensing page, as there are various scenarios which will allow free Neo4j Enterprise usage (see the FAQ for details).

[stephanie]

Thanks! I will try to get the Desktop version working a bit longer before I entirely give up!

[Ooker]

@andrew.bowman Just to confirm, if I need one database that can be available online, I should choose Aura. And if I need several online databases, I should choose the community edition server. Am I correct? And which edition does Aura run?

[andrew_bowman]

Aura runs Enterprise edition, and should always be on the cutting edge in terms of the version of Neo4j. It should be backed by a causal cluster behind the scenes. As far as multi-db capabilities, I don't believe that's supported just yet, but I believe it's coming. As you said you only need one db, it should be the ideal option, and should have the best value.

Community edition is free, but can't use clustering or multi-db capabilities.

[Ooker]

but you can run multiple instances of it right?

[andrew_bowman]

Yes. If on the same machine, as long as the ports aren't conflicting, you can run multiple Community instances, though they won't be clustered. You would need to make sure the server has adequate resources to support the combined workloads you're expecting.