FAQ for Axon Server

Q: So, what exactly is Axon Server?

Answer: Axon Server is a zero-configuration message router and event store. If you’re a Java developer, it works well with Axon Framework-based applications. However, if you’re using Python, Node.js, C# (or any other major programming language), it provides out-of-the-box message routing and event storage.

Q: What are some of the main features of Axon Server?

Answer: Here’s a short list of features of the Axon Server:

  • Out of the box, zero configuration Message Routing

  • Event sourcing capabilities with an infinitely scalable Event Store

  • Real-time observability and insights into the messages exchanged between your applications

  • Role-based Access Control for both users and applications

  • Easy to scale-out and configure within a clustered environment

Q: How does Axon Server work as an Event Store?

Answer: Unlike other messaging solutions like Apache Kafka, which only natively provides message routing, Axon Server works as both a message router and an Event Store. As a dedicated Event Store, Axon Server is designed to store events to enable your microservices applications to be event-sourced. This ensures that events are stored durably and indefinitely and provides superior scalability and throughput without complex database tuning.

Q: Since RDBMs have problems with scalability, let’s discuss scale. Can Axon Server handle large-scale event storage needs?

Answer: Yes, Axon Server is built to handle large-scale event storage needs with its infinitely scalable event store, which can manage large volumes of events without performance degradation.

Q: What security features does Axon Server offer?

Answer: Axon Server includes robust security features such as authentication, authorization, and the ability to integrate with external security providers like LDAP and OAuth for enhanced security measures.

Q: What happened to the Standard and Enterprise editions of Axon Server?

Answer: Back in 2023, we decided to phase out the Standard edition and replaced it with a single Axon Server JAR. This enabled our customers to easily upgrade to "Enterprise Features" without installing a different artifact.

Now, starting in 2024, we have launched new features and capabilities for the Axon Server. In order to make Axon Server to seamlessly grow according to the needs of our customers, we now have for simple plans:

  • Developer plan (formerly called the “Axon Server Standard Edition”)

  • Starter plan (adds the capability for Clustering)

  • Pro plan (adds the capability for Multi-context and additional authentication features )

  • Enterprise plan

We love our active developer community. So developers can feel comfortable that our Axon Server Developer plan is and will always remain free.

Q: What happened to the Open Source version of Axon Server?

Answer: Although the Open Source version of Axon Server is still available, it has been deprecated and is no longer maintained. We encourage our Open Source users to get started with the Developer plan in order to get the latest updates and to have compatibility with future versions of Axon Framework.