SA Upgrade Entitlements

Software Assurance (SA) grants a perpetual right to upgrade to software versions released during a term of coverage. An example of a version upgrade scenario with SA and SQL Server is shown on the timeline here, with customer purchase decisions on top and SQL Server version releases at the bottom.

1. SQL Server 2008 is made available (ships) in 2008.

2. The customer purchases a SQL Server 2008 perpetual license with SA shortly after the version becomes available, starting a three-year SA term.

3. SQL Server 2008 R2 becomes available in 2010. Because the release is during the customer’s SA term, the customer gains rights to SQL Server 2008 R2, even though the customer does not deploy that version.

4. SA lapses in 2011 at the end of the three-year term because the customer did not renew.

5. SQL Server 2012 becomes available. The customer does not receive rights to that version because it became available after the end of the customer’s SA term.

The customer retains the right to run SQL Server 2008 R2 even after the SA term ends. In fact, when the SA term ends, the SQL Server 2008 perpetual license that was covered by SA converts into a SQL Server 2008 R2 license. That license permits the customer to upgrade to SQL Server 2008 R2 at any time, but also to keep running SQL Server 2008 under downgrade rights. The customer has the use rights of SQL Server 2008 R2.