You may have heard of terms like Mainstream support and End of Extended support? What do they mean for you that has chosen to use Microsoft SQL as a database platform for your business-critical data?
If you have a Microsoft SQL Server running, it is important to keep an eye on both the Mainstream and Extended support dates.
For starters, running any End-of-Life software is a serious security risk, after the support ends. Without security updates from Microsoft, there is an increased risk from cyberattacks like ransomware or loss of data.
Performance and stability
Second, the systems performance will be affected. Incremental updates, also known as patches, give stability to your database, so when they end, a database’s performance will start to drop like a downwards spiral – sometimes very rapidly. This of course affects your operation and exposes your organization to increased risk of down time.
Maybe you do not feel like you miss functionality right now, but the software segment is moving fast, also within database technology. If you do not have support, you are missing out on improvements and new functions, that are available in newer versions of SQL Server.
To strengthen security, guarantee good performance and reap the benefits of the improvements, it is always best to migrate to the newest version of SQL Server, when possible. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you continuously keep an eye on the prolonged support deadlines. If you are a Managed Services customer at us in Cegal, this topic will be a natural part of our advice, so you do not “get caught napping”.
As with most Microsoft products, Microsoft provides Mainstream support for a product for 5 years after the initial release. This means that you for the first five years can see new lesser functions or improvements added to the product together with eventual bug fixes and security fixes.
When the mainstream support ends, you will normally get another five years of Extended Support, after which you can expect bug fixes and security fixes.
The table below shows the dates for the versions of Microsoft SQL Server since Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
For an updated list of dates, you can use the following link: Microsoft Product Lifecycle.
| Version | Release Date | End of Mainstream Support | End of Extended Support |
| SQL Server 2022 | 16-11-2022 | 11-01-2028 | 11-01-33 |
| SQL Server 2019 | 04-11-2019 | 07-01-2025 | 08-01-30 |
| SQL Server 2017 | 29-09-2017 | 11-10-2022 | 12-10-27 |
| SQL Server 2016 | 01-06-2016 | 13-07-2021 | 14-07-26 |
| SQL Server 2014 | 06-05-2014 | 09-07-2019 | 09-07-24 |
| SQL Server 2012 | 20-05-2012 | 11-07-2017 | 12-07-22 |
NOTE: SQL Server 2022:
Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Microsoft Purview can be used together with Microsoft cloud connected functions in SQL Server 2022. They are subject to their respective lifetime policies.