SQL Server Release Dates and Lifecycle
By: Ben Snaidero
Overview
As with most Microsoft products, Microsoft provides mainstream support for a product for 5 years after its initial release. This means that for the first 5 years you may see new smaller features or enhancements added to the product along with any bug fixes and security patches. After this mainstream support ends you will usually get another 5 years of extended support at which time you can only expect bug fixes and security patches.
The below table outlines these dates for the versions of SQL Server since 2012. For an up-to-date listing of the dates you can use the following link: Microsoft Product Lifecycle.
| Version | Release Date | End of Mainstream Support | End of Extended Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQL Server 2012 | 5/20/2012 | 7/11/2017 | 7/12/2022 |
| SQL Server 2014 | 5/6/2014 | 7/9/2019 | 7/9/2024 |
| SQL Server 2016 | 6/1/2016 | 7/13/2021 | 7/14/2026 |
| SQL Server 2017 | 9/29/2017 | 10/11/2022 | 10/12/2027 |
| SQL Server 2019 | 11/4/2019 | 1/7/2025 | 1/8/2030 |
