TLDR; yes, you can use without a support subscription, but no, if you just download the latest EAP binary, you're not allowed to use it in production.
Three cases here to consider how you can run JBoss EAP without a support subscription, two of which also allow production use:
1. Development use
You can use any JBoss EAP binary version for development purposes without a paid subscription. You won't get patches or support that way, and you can't run it in production. From "Downloads for Development Use":
To download JBoss EAP you must have an account. You also need to
accept the terms and conditions of the JBoss Developer Program which
provides $0 subscriptions for development use only.
2. EAP 6.x alpha versions
All alpha versions, such as JBoss EAP 6.1 Alpha, are free to use in any way or form, also in production. From this message:
The 6.1 Alpha binary is made available for free (both for development
and production use) to the entire community.
And this thread:
This development restriction, however, does not apply to EAP alpha
releases. EAP alpha releases may be ran in production if you so
desire. As to their quality, 6.1.0.Alpha is of equivalent quality to a
community final release. However, the Alpha is where the extensive
testing and hardening begins, so we recommend GA or later for
production if you are interested in using EAP.
This is also confirmed by entry in JBoss FAQ, saying
Q: If EAP 6.1.0.Alpha is the same as community 7.2.0.Final, why is it
called Alpha? A: EAP has a much more conservative and rigid release
hardening process, including extensive quality testing and partner
certification. Historically every EAP release starts from our most
recent community final, and then releases in stages as this hardening
work is performed. The first EAP stage Alpha is of equivalent, or
better, quality to a community Final release.
Q. Are there any restrictions on how I can use EAP 6.1.0 Alpha? A. No
– it has the same license and terms as AS releases however as it's an
Alpha release we don't recommend using it in production.
And these two redhat knowledgebase articles confirming that EAP 6.3.Alpha is also available for all to run in production (only visible for paid subscribers):
Edit: and now John Doyle, Senior Manager responsible for Red Hat JBoss EAP 6, confirmed that
The earlier statements about EAP 6.1 Alpha apply to all EAP 6 Alpha
releases. They can be run in production.
3. Self-compiled versions
EAPs are also available as source distributions, and if you compile them yourself, removing any Red Hat trademarks, it should be legal to run them in production. Of course, you are completely on your own on supporting them. To make compiling easier, there is a script on this github account, and using that script building your own EAP is as easy as
git clone git://github.com/hasalex/eap-build.git
cd eap-build
./build-eap.sh
See the project readme for details. There's also extended discussion on one of its issues about the legal status of the build, which refers to statement by Jason Greene, WildFly project lead, saying one of the ways to legally use the product is
- Self build and support EAP - You get some of the benefits of the enterprise releases (e.g. patches to older major versions and so on),
but you have to invest time and energy to build and maintain/verify
your app server distribution bits.
