Migrating to Valkey from Redis

Redis, a widely-used distributed in-memory data store system, has evolved beyond a NoSQL database to serve as a performant cache and message queue, with its popularity leading to adoption by major cloud providers like Amazon AWS. In March 2024, Redis announced a licensing shift, moving from the BSD license to a dual-license model with the Redis Source Available License and Server Side Public License, prompting cloud giants such as Amazon AWS and Google Cloud to create an open-source fork called Valkey, based on Redis version 7.2.4. Valkey 8.0 introduced enhancements like multi-threading, RDMA support, and more efficient dictionary implementations, leading to performance improvements over Redis, which remains single-threaded for most operations. Valkey offers detailed observability through per-slot metrics, a feature Redis lacks, and is generally cheaper than Redis on cloud platforms, making it an attractive alternative for cost-conscious users. The migration from Redis to Valkey involves updating infrastructure to Redis 7.2.4 and testing applications with Valkey to ensure compatibility and performance, although some advanced Redis features may not yet be available in Valkey. As both systems provide robust data handling capabilities, organizations must weigh factors such as cost, feature set, and future development before deciding to migrate.