Overview & Installation

What is the Floating Server V2?

The Floating Server is LicenseSpring’s self-hosted licensing platform, providing the core features of the cloud platform locally. Version 2 introduces improved setup, configuration, and management workflows to make deployment, provisioning, and administration easier. This document focuses on v2, detailing installation, configuration, and best practices for running the Floating Server in your environment.

Key Highlights & Compatibility

Feature	Details
Supported Platforms	Windows and Linux
Supported SDKs (initial)	C++, .NET, Java, Python, Go, node.js
Database Support	SQLite (dev/test), PostgreSQL (prod)-Production RecommendationPostgreSQL
Provisioning Options	Certificates or YubiKey tokens

Installation Options

1

Native Executable (Recommended)

Download the appropriate binary:

• https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/floating-server/floating-server-linux-amd-2.5.1.zip
• https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/floating-server/floating-server-windows-amd-2.5.1.zip

Unzip and run directly, no Docker required.

2

Docker Image

• Pull the image from Docker Hub.
• Run the container from the pulled image.

The configuration file and provisioning steps are identical for both methods. The only difference with Docker is that you must mount the configuration and provisioning files so the container can access them.

Run Floating Server v2 with PostgreSQL and Docker

Create a shared network:

docker network create fsnet

Start PostgreSQL:

Start Postgres

docker run -d \
  --name fs-postgres \
  --network fsnet \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=fsuser \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=fspassword \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=fsdb \
  -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  postgres:16

change the setting as needed.

Modify Floating Server config file:

default.yaml

database:
  type: postgres
  host: fs-postgres
  port: 5432
  user: fsuser
  password: fspassword
  name: fsdb
  sslmode: "disable"

Pull the Floating Server v2 image:

docker pull licensespring/floating-server-v2:v2.5.1

Docker image variants

Floating Server v2.5.0 is available in two variants:

• Standard Debian image: v2.5.0 or latest
• Distroless non-root image: v2.5.0-distroless or latest-distroless

The Distroless image contains fewer runtime components and is recommended for new deployments. The standard Debian image remains available as a compatibility and rollback option during the initial rollout.

To use the Distroless image:

docker pull licensespring/floating-server-v2:v2.5.1-distroles

Run Floating Server v2

Mount the config file and the certs (certificates and private key generated in provisioning) folder from provisioning:

Run Floating Server

docker run -d \
  --name fsv2 \
  --network fsnet \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v "$(pwd)/config:/app/config:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/certs:/app/certs:ro" \
  licensespring/floating-server-v2:v2.5.1

In this sample, we have assumed the config file is located in ./config and certificates and private key in ./certs.

Verify

• Floating Server API: http://localhost:8080
• Postgres: available at fs-postgres:5432 inside the Docker network

Docker Compose

The steps mentioned above are all included in the following docker compose file. Place this file in the directory with folders config and certs (config containing default.yaml and certs containing all the certificates and private key generated in provisioning), and then run:

docker compose up -d

Make any needed adjustments.

docker-compose.yaml

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    container_name: fs-postgres
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: fsuser
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: fspassword
      POSTGRES_DB: fsdb
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    networks:
      - fsnet
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER:-fsuser} -d ${POSTGRES_DB:-fsdb}"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10
    restart: unless-stopped

  fsv2:
    image: licensespring/floating-server-v2:latest
    container_name: fsv2
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config:ro
      - ./certs:/app/certs:ro
    networks:
      - fsnet
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  fsnet:
    name: fsnet
    # If you've already created fsnet with `docker network create fsnet`,
    # uncomment the next line to reuse it instead of letting Compose create it:
    # external: true

volumes:
  pgdata: