SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will both be out of extended support within the next 12 months (detailed dates below). This means if you have these versions, you’ll need to migrate to newer versions of SQL Server or Windows Server or buy Extended Support soon to maintain support and receive security updates and fixes. Buying Extended Support is not cheap. Customers with active Software Assurance or subscription licenses can purchase Extended Security Updates annually for 75 percent of the full license cost of the latest version of SQL Server or Windows Server. A lot of customers should start migrating to newer versions of these products to avoid these extra costs.
Extended Support dates
- Extended Support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end on July 9, 2019.
- Extended Support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end on January 14, 2020.
However, in mid-2018 Microsoft announced a new option for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 End of Support. Customers running 2008 or 2008 R2 versions of SQL Server and Windows Server in Azure virtual machines will get Extended Security Updates for free. This will give customers some extra time to migrate to newer versions of SQL Server and Windows Server. Or even better, to Azure PaaS and serverless computing like Azure Functions.
Extended Security Updates on Azure Stack
If you are thinking to migrate to the cloud, this new option will bring down costs for you. However, not everyone is fully ready to move all their servers to the public cloud. You might still need or want to run some servers on-premise in your datacenter. This will leave you with buying Extended Support or what a lot of people don’t know; you can also run your SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on Azure Stack and get Extended Security Updates for free since it is Azure!
This is great, especially since Azure Stack also comes with great IaaS capabilities. And if you are thinking about using Azure in the mid-term, Azure Stack provides you with Azure capabilities, but still allows you to stay in your datacenter.
What is the price for Extended Security Updates?
- In Azure: Customers running 2008 or 2008 R2 versions of SQL Server and Windows Server in Azure virtual machines will get Extended Security Updates for free.
- On-premises: Customers with active Software Assurance or subscription licenses can purchase Extended Security Updates annually for 75 percent of the full license cost of the latest version of SQL Server or Windows Server. Customers pay for only the servers they need to cover so they can reduce costs each year as they upgrade parts of their environment.
- On-premises on Azure Stack: Customers running 2008 or 2008 R2 versions of SQL Server and Windows Server in Azure virtual machines on Azure Stack will get Extended Security Updates for free.
What versions of SQL Server and Windows Server will have access to Extended Security Updates in Azure Stack?
SQL Server 2008 SP3 and 2008 R2 SP2, and Windows Server 2008 SP2 and 2008 R2 SP1 will be supported on Azure Stack.
Links
- Learn more at the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy page.
- Also check out the: Extended_Security_Updates_for_Windows_Server_2008_and_SQL_Server_2008_End_of_Service_FAQ.pdf
- Extended Security Updates frequently asked questions
Final Thoughts
I think this makes Azure and Azure Stack the cheapest way to run your Windows Server 2008 servers. Of course, this is depending on if you are planning to move to the cloud. If you have no plans to move to the cloud, just buying Azure Stack might be not the right decision. You might need to migrate or purchase extended support. In the long-term, you should plan to migrate to newer versions of SQL Server and Windows Server, or even start to leverage SQL as a Service on Azure.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.
Disclaimer:
I am not a licensing specialist. If you need to think about licensing anyway, before you buy anything, contact your licensing specialist.
Special Thanks to
I want to thank Jeff Woolsey and Jeremy Chapman for their help :)
Tags: Azure, Azure Hybrid Benefit, Azure Stack, EOL, Extended Security Support, Extended Security Updates, Extended Support, Mainstream Support, Microsoft, Migration, Security Updates, SQL Server, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, Support, Windows Server, windows server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 Last modified: September 16, 2020
Thanks for the detailed information Thomas. Extended free support also true if the workloads are migrated to ASDK or just AS Integrated Systems?
Hi Ron
Again, I am not a licensing Expert so all I say you need to verify. However, I am pretty sure that the ASDK doesn’t count, since you don’t get charged, and it is not design for production workload (Only testing and evaluation). Secondly the ASDK doesn’t have HA and it also needs to be reinstalled, you can not update an existing ASDK.
With that I don’t think the ASDK is the right thing. :)