SQL Server support dates for hosted applications: what ended, what ends next, and upgrade checks

About this article: AI-assisted writing, reviewed against the cited sources. This is source research, not lab validation. Check the stated versions and your own requirements before making changes.

Every SQL Server version has a fixed support end. After extended support ends, security updates require a qualifying Extended Security Updates (ESU) entitlement. Some routes are paid; qualifying SQL Server 2014 Azure deployments can receive ESUs without an additional charge. For a business application on a hosted server, the database version can be the oldest part of the system and the least reviewed.

This article sets out the current dates from Microsoft's Lifecycle pages, what Extended Security Updates require, and the checks Microsoft lists before upgrading.

Why it matters

An unsupported database server receives no security fixes. It can also block other work: newer Windows Server versions, newer application releases and newer drivers each have their own support lists. Planning an upgrade a year ahead costs less than one forced by an incident or an audit.

How it works

Two phases of support

Microsoft's Lifecycle pages give each version a start date, a mainstream end date and an extended end date. In mainstream support, cumulative updates bring fixes and improvements. In extended support, Microsoft ships security updates. After the extended end date, security updates require qualifying ESU coverage, whether paid or included under an eligible offer.

Current dates

From Microsoft's Lifecycle pages, as at 14 November 2026:

The Lifecycle pages show exact dates and times. Microsoft states the times are in Pacific Time, so the Australian date can differ by a day; check the page for the version you run.

Extended Security Updates

Extended Security Updates (ESUs) provide eligible deployments with security fixes for a limited time, through paid or qualifying included offers. Microsoft states that ESUs are available for SQL Server 2014 and SQL Server 2016, and that the subscription protects your servers for up to three years after the support lifecycle ends. They include security updates only: no new features, functional improvements or customer-requested fixes.

The acquisition route matters. For on-premises servers, non-Azure clouds and hosted environments, Microsoft's ESU guidance describes an Azure Arc subscription offer with its own connection and eligibility conditions. It also has a separate disconnected route: customers unable to connect may be eligible to purchase ESUs through volume licensing and manually register their instances in the Azure portal. Ask Microsoft or the licensing partner to confirm eligibility and the exact offer; lack of Arc connectivity does not universally rule out ESUs.

Microsoft also notes a change for SQL Server 2016: moving to SQL Server on Azure VMs no longer gives free ESUs for 2016, unlike SQL Server 2014.

ESUs buy time to upgrade. They do not change the application's own support position with its vendor.

Which versions can upgrade directly to SQL Server 2025

Microsoft lists in-place upgrade paths to SQL Server 2025 from:

• SQL Server 2014 with Service Pack 3 or later;
• SQL Server 2016 with Service Pack 3 or later;
• SQL Server 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Older versions need a migration rather than an in-place upgrade. Microsoft states databases can be migrated to SQL Server 2025 as long as the source database compatibility level is 90 or higher. In the documented SQL Server 2025 path, a supported source compatibility level of 100 or higher is retained; level 90 is automatically promoted to 100. Check the destination's minimum supported level and test any automatic or deliberate change.

Web edition is not available in SQL Server 2025. A server on Web edition must move to another edition, with the licensing that implies.

Checks before upgrading

Microsoft's pre-upgrade checklist for SQL Server 2025 includes:

• confirm the features you use are supported in the target edition;
• confirm the hardware and operating system are supported;
• check the SQL Server Agent service account and Windows Authentication setting;
• clear any pending restart, as Upgrade is blocked if there's a pending restart.

For a business application, add the checks that sit outside SQL Server:

• The application vendor's supported versions. Some vendors certify specific SQL Server versions for each release of their software.
• Drivers on every client and server component that connects to the database.
• Compatibility level. The documented 2025 migration retains supported levels 100 and higher; level 90 is promoted to 100. Test the resulting level and any later deliberate change because query optimiser behaviour can change.
• A recovery decision and write boundary. An upgraded database cannot be attached or restored to the older version. A verified pre-upgrade backup restores that earlier recovery point; it does not preserve transactions accepted after upgrade. The qualified migration plan must name the decision owner, fence writes so only one system is authoritative, record the recovery point, and define when new writes are allowed. After new writes begin, use a supported and tested reconciliation or forward-fix/recovery plan rather than automatically returning to the old copy.

What to choose and why

• SQL Server 2014 or 2016: security updates have ended without ESUs. Plan the upgrade now; use ESUs only to cover the gap, if the environment qualifies.
• SQL Server 2017: extended support ends October 2027. Start planning, and check the application vendor's support for a newer version.
• SQL Server 2019: security updates continue to January 2030. Schedule the upgrade into the next application release cycle.
• SQL Server 2022 or 2025: keep patched; record the support end in the asset register.

Risks and limits

• Test on an isolated copy first with synthetic or masked data, including the application's key tasks and reports.
• Upgrades are one-way. Retain the pre-upgrade backup, but recognise that restoring it loses later changes unless a separately supported, tested reconciliation path preserves them. Retention alone is not rollback proof.
• Hosted environments and Azure Arc. Connecting a hosted server to Azure Arc is a change in its own right; discuss it with the provider.
• Dates can change. Lifecycle pages are updated by Microsoft; check the Lifecycle page before making a decision.
• Licensing is separate. New versions and ESUs have their own licensing terms; this is not licensing advice.

Sources

Opened 14 November 2026.

• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2014.
• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2016.
• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2017.
• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2019.
• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2022.
• Microsoft Lifecycle: SQL Server 2025.
• Microsoft Learn: What are Extended Security Updates for SQL Server?, source updated 2026-06-22.
• Microsoft Learn: Supported version and edition upgrades (SQL Server 2025), source updated 2026-11-06.

Related service: Cloud hosting.

Related future topics

• SQL Server compatibility level and query baselines after an upgrade.
• Patching SQL Server: cumulative updates and GDR.
• Windows Server 2016 end of support and business application decisions.

Learning notes

• SQL Server 2014 and 2016 are past extended support; security updates need ESUs.
• SQL Server 2017 extended support ends in October 2027.
• Outside Azure, distinguish the Arc subscription offer from eligible disconnected volume-licensing and portal-registration routes.
• SQL Server 2025 upgrades directly from 2014 SP3, 2016 SP3, 2017, 2019 and 2022.
• A pre-upgrade restore returns to the old recovery point. Fence writes and agree how post-upgrade transactions will be preserved before any return.

This article was originally published on 14 November 2026.