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End of Mainstream Support for SQL Server 2005 and End of Service Pack Support for SQL Server 2008 SP1

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We would like to remind all customers that Mainstream Support for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 and SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 4 will end on April 12, 2011, and Service Pack Support for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 will end on October 11, 2011. Microsoft is ending support for these products as part of our Support Lifecycle policy, found in https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle. 

 

Customers are encouraged to prepare and execute on their upgrade and/or sustained engineering plans as early as possible for these SQL versions. Remaining current on your SQL Server version ensures that your product remains supported per the Support Lifecycle policy. Additionally, your software benefits from the many enhancements, fixes, and security updates provided through the latest releases.

 

For SQL Server 2005 SP3 and SQL Server 2005 SP4, Microsoft will continue to provide technical support which also includes security updates during the duration of extended support. See the table below for extended support end date. Non-security hotfixes for these versions will be offered only to customers who have an Extended Hotfix Support agreement. Please refer to https://www.microsoft.com/microsoftservices/en/us/support_premier_addons_ehs.aspx for more information.

 

For SQL Server 2008 SP1, Microsoft is offering Custom Support for companies that have not had a chance to migrate, but wish to maintain their existing IT environment while they migrate to a supported product. If you would like further information on Custom Support please contact your Technical Account Manager or Account Representative for additional details. 

 

Below is a more detailed table listing versions in or close to end of the support cycle, together with possible options / actions.

 

Product

Version

SP

Mainstream Support End Date

Extended Support End Date

Options / Notes

SQL Server

7.0

SP4

12/31/2005

01/11/2011

Technical support ends as of 01/11/2011; options for technical and/or hotfix support after this date:

ð  Continue with self-help

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

ð  Custom support agreement

SQL Server

2000

SP4

04/08/2008

04/09/2013

Technical support continues till 04/09/2013, yet mainstream (hotfix) support ends as of 04/08/2008; options for hotfix support after 04/08/2008:

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

ð  Extended hotfix support agreement

SQL Server

2005

RTM (SP0)

07/10/2007

Not applicable

Technical support ends as of 07/10/2007; options for technical and/or hotfix support after this date:

ð  Continue with self-help

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

SQL Server

2005

SP1

04/08/2008

Not Applicable

Technical support ends as of 04/08/2008; options for technical and/or hotfix support after this date:

ð  Continue with self-help

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

SQL Server

2005

SP2

01/12/2010

Not Applicable

Technical support ends as of 01/12/2010; options for technical and/or hotfix support after this date:

ð  Continue with self-help

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

ð  Custom support agreement

SQL Server

2005

SP3

04/12/2011

01/10/2012

Technical support continues till 01/10/2012, yet mainstream (hotfix) support ends as of 04/12/2011; options for hotfix support after 04/12/2011:

ð  Continue with self-help

ð  Upgrade to the latest supported service pack for SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2

ð  Custom support agreement

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 27, 2011
    Why is SQL 2005 SP4 ending support on 04/12/2011 when it was just released in Jan 2011? blogs.msdn.com/.../sql-server-2005-service-pack-4-is-now-available-on-microsoft-update-mu-amp-windows-update-wu.aspx. Per the notes for the other SQL Server items it is supposed to end 12 months after next release.

  • Anonymous
    January 28, 2011
    @Consulting Mechanic: If you check the end of life web site carefully for SQL Server 2005, you will see that mainstream support for a service pack ends 12 months after release OR when mainstream support for the core product ends, whichever comes first. This includes SP4. It just means future security updates (which they will still release) will be targetted for SP4 and not earlier service packs.

  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2012
    Informative!..thanks for the detail information

  • Anonymous
    February 05, 2013
    How does Support work with compatibility level? ie using SQL SERVER 2005 compatibility level SQL SERVER 2000.

  • Anonymous
    February 26, 2014
    Hi I want to Purchase WD Sentinel DS6100, we are curently using SQL 2005 is it compatible to it? Thanks Please email me for any confirmation jireh.decio@firsttierbrands.com

  • Anonymous
    August 03, 2015
    Is it possible to get this updated? Or link to another location where the support end dates can be found?

  • Anonymous
    April 13, 2016
    Does the end of support for SQL Server 2005 mean that computers with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU] are in danger?