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Nexus or Nexus Professional: Which one is right for you?

If you are a software developer, you most likely rely on a Maven Repository Manager to acquire, manage, and report on open source software artifacts -- the building blocks of application development. Nexus is the industry-leading Repository Manager, and the recent release of Nexus 1.6 brings many exciting upgrades to both Nexus and Nexus Professional. But how do you decide what version of Nexus is best for you?

There are a few things to consider. Below is just a few differences to keep in mind and help you make the best decision.

Use Nexus if you are new to Repository Management

Download a copy of Nexus and experiment with hosted and proxy repositories. You should get a sense of how Maven Settings are configured to retrieve artifacts from a single Repository Group, and you should download a copy of the free Nexus book – Repository Management with Nexus. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with Nexus, you can easily upgrade to Nexus Professional.

...if you are looking for more stability and control

If you depend directly on public repositories such as the Central Maven repository or the various repositories maintained by organizations like Codehaus or the Apache Software Foundation, you rely on these servers to be available to your developers 100% of the time. If a public repository goes down for maintenance, so does your development process. With a local proxy of Maven artifacts, you buy yourself a stable, isolated build. Even if a public repository becomes unavailable, you will still be able to build your software against artifacts cached in your own Nexus installation.

Use Nexus Professional if you are looking for professional support

When you purchase Nexus Professional, you are purchasing one year of support from the team that created the industry-standard in repository management. With Nexus Professional, you not only get a capable repository manager, you get the peace of mind that help is just a phone call away. Sonatype also offers an array of training, implementation and migration services for organizations looking for an extra level of assistance.

…if you need a repository manager that can support release and quality assurance decisions

Nexus Professional’s Staging Suite can track the status of a software release and make sure that different decision-makers are notified and supported during a software release. When you start using Nexus Professional your operations, quality assurance, and development teams can use the repository manager as a central point of collaboration.

…if you develop software for an Open Source project

Are you developing an open source project? If so, most open source projects qualify for a free Nexus Professional license. Sonatype is very committed to supporting the development of quality open source and this is our way of giving back to the community.

These factors are just scratching the surface of what Nexus and Nexus Professional are capable of, but will get you on the right track when deciding what Repository Manager makes the most sense for you.

Download Nexus:

http://nexus.sonatype.org

Download Nexus Professional:

http://www.sonatype.com/products/nexus

Picture of Heather Loney

Written by Heather Loney

Heather is the Communications and Community Engagement Officer at the Upper Grand District School Board. Prior to her current position, Heather was the Senior Producer for Special Projects at Global News and a Copy Editor at Sonatype. Heather managed a team of digital journalists, covering national and international events, as well as consumer, tech and lifestyle news for GlobalNews.ca. Heather has significant experience in journalism, new media, digital storytelling, SEO and social media best practices, WordPress and other content management systems, photography and research.