Problem Statement
Background
Redis changed its license to RSALv2/SSPL starting with version 7.4 (March 2024), which makes it incompatible with FOSS distribution requirements. This is a blocker for RHOAI adoption, as Red Hat cannot ship or bundle Redis.
Red Hat has already replaced Redis with Valkey across its ecosystem:
- Fedora 41+ obsoletes the Redis package in favor of Valkey (FESCo change)
- RHEL 10 does not include Redis; a migration guide to Valkey is published
Valkey is a Redis 7.2 fork under the Linux Foundation (BSD 3-Clause). It is wire-protocol compatible with Redis and supported by AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, Ericsson, and others.
Current state
llm-d-async already uses github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 internally, which works with Valkey without code changes. The llm-d ecosystem is already moving toward Valkey support (e.g., llm-d-kv-cache-manager Valkey example). batch-gateway already supports Valkey in configuration, deployment scripts, and CI integration tests.
Proposed Solution
Phase 1: Documentation
- Document Valkey as a compatible backend in README
- Add note to CLI flag descriptions that
--redis.url accepts Valkey URLs
- Add Valkey compatibility note to Helm chart comments in
values.yaml
Phase 2: CI validation
- Replace
redis:7-alpine with valkey/valkey:8-alpine in E2E tests, or add a CI matrix to test both backends
- Verify all gate types (
redis, redis-quota) work against Valkey
Non-goals
- Renaming
redis.* CLI flags, Helm values, or package names — these refer to the wire protocol, not the Redis product. There are 20+ flags/config keys prefixed with redis.*; renaming would be a breaking change for all existing deployments.
- Migrating to
valkey-io/valkey-go client library — go-redis works for both; this can be revisited later if Valkey-specific features (e.g., RDMA) are needed
- Removing Redis support — existing Redis deployments should continue to work
Related
Alternatives Considered
No response
Willingness to Contribute
Yes, I can submit a PR
Additional Context
No response
Problem Statement
Background
Redis changed its license to RSALv2/SSPL starting with version 7.4 (March 2024), which makes it incompatible with FOSS distribution requirements. This is a blocker for RHOAI adoption, as Red Hat cannot ship or bundle Redis.
Red Hat has already replaced Redis with Valkey across its ecosystem:
Valkey is a Redis 7.2 fork under the Linux Foundation (BSD 3-Clause). It is wire-protocol compatible with Redis and supported by AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, Ericsson, and others.
Current state
llm-d-async already uses
github.com/redis/go-redis/v9internally, which works with Valkey without code changes. The llm-d ecosystem is already moving toward Valkey support (e.g., llm-d-kv-cache-manager Valkey example). batch-gateway already supports Valkey in configuration, deployment scripts, and CI integration tests.Proposed Solution
Phase 1: Documentation
--redis.urlaccepts Valkey URLsvalues.yamlPhase 2: CI validation
redis:7-alpinewithvalkey/valkey:8-alpinein E2E tests, or add a CI matrix to test both backendsredis,redis-quota) work against ValkeyNon-goals
redis.*CLI flags, Helm values, or package names — these refer to the wire protocol, not the Redis product. There are 20+ flags/config keys prefixed withredis.*; renaming would be a breaking change for all existing deployments.valkey-io/valkey-goclient library —go-redisworks for both; this can be revisited later if Valkey-specific features (e.g., RDMA) are neededRelated
Alternatives Considered
No response
Willingness to Contribute
Yes, I can submit a PR
Additional Context
No response