Hi Alessandro,
As you correctly point out, with Liferay CE, the ability to use Commercial Databases like SQL Server was removed. As you also pointed out, with CE it was relatively easy to incorporate a workaround.
There were also a number of product features that were not included with Liferay CE but were available to users of Liferay DXP with Enterprise Subscriptions - such as the graphical Process Builder for workflows, the SAML plug-in, MFA, and so on.
With the decision to move to a single, unified, modular platform the intention was to retain these differences. Our goal is to increase uptake of Liferay DXP via the Free Tier, and like many open source software companies to offer an “Open Core” model where features needed by Enterprises require a subscription.
With the new distribution model we needed to use Activation Keys to manage this. An unintended consequence of this model was that, as you’ve seen, the activation key actively blocks the Commercial Databases.
Having identified this, we’ve decided that stopping the use of one database or another is not our objective, since it does not relate to features developed by Liferay at all. As such, we are making a change, which will be available within the next day or two as follows:
- From the 2026.q1.2 release all users (subscribers or not) will be able to use any Database that is listed in the Liferay DXP Compatibility Matrix
- We are also updating our policy so that we have more flexibility to ensure that Free Tier users have access to a stable version of the platform. As such, moving forward, the exact version that can be used each quarter may not be the .0 version, but could be a later version selected by us
Based on this, you will be able to continue to use the Free Tier with SQL Server, without needing to purchase a subscription - although, of course, for Production Enterprise use-cases it is highly recommended to do so for the additional features, services, and support that a subscription provides.
We’ll be updating the Community Downloads page as soon as the 2026.q1.2 release is available - as noted above, this should be no more than a day or two.
I hope this helps!
Best regards,
Ben