Updated: July 9, 2020 (January 30, 2012)
Charts & IllustrationsImportant Dates for SQL Server
SQL Server 2005, updated with the release of SP4 in Dec. 2010, left Mainstream support in Apr. 2011. Shown here are important upcoming support dates for recent versions of SQL Server.
Hotfixes or other support for SQL Server 2005 will requires a paid support contract. After the release of SQL Server 2012, it will probably become progressively more difficult to maintain SQL Server 2005; new Microsoft application versions will probably not be compatible with it, and newly discovered security vulnerabilities might go unpatched, as has happened with older versions of Windows and Exchange. Consequently, organizations running SQL Server 2005 should ideally have migration plans in place now.
| Date | Version | Event |
| July 10, 2012 | SQL Server 2008 R2 | SP1 required for support after this date |
| Oct. 9, 2012 | SQL Server 2008 | SP3 required for support after this date |
| Jan. 4, 2014 | SQL Server 2008 | Mainstream support ends |
| Jan. 4, 2014 | SQL Server |
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