Updated: July 9, 2020 (August 8, 2011)
Charts & IllustrationsPast SQL Server Versions
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 now require a paid support contract. After the release of SQL Server Denali (a code name), 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 by the end of 2011.
| Date | Version | Event |
| Nov. 10, 2011 | SQL Server 2008 | SP2 required for support after this date |
| July 10, 2012 | SQL Server 2008 R2 | SP1 required for support after this date |
| Jan. 4, 2014 | SQL Server 2008 | Mainstream support ends |
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