Purchase SQL server 2019 Enterprise license but use 2014

Question

Purchase SQL server 2019 Enterprise license but use 2014

Thyagarajan, Sathish 0

Hello,

We are planning to upgrade SQL server from 2012R2 SP4 Enterprise to 2019 Enterprise but first would like to upgrade to 2014 just to ensure there are no compatibility issues. SQL Server 2014 support is still available until July 2024 so the plan is to first immediately upgrade to 2014 and then take time to test and upgrade to 2019.

Could we purchase license for 2019 Enterprise and install 2014 Enterprise now and later whenever we are ready, can we use the same license to upgrade to 2019? Or do we need to purchase license for SQL Server 2019 again? All these activities will be done on the same Windows server.

Thanks in advance your answer!

Seeya Xi-MSFT 16,586 Reputation points

2023-02-27T05:52:58.4333333+00:00

Hi @Thyagarajan, Sathish,

We have not received a response from you. Did the reply could help you? If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. By doing so, it will benefit all community members who are having this similar issue. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Seeya

3 answers

Your answer

Seeya Xi-MSFT 16,586 Reputation points

2023-02-27T05:52:58.4333333+00:00

Hi @Thyagarajan, Sathish,

We have not received a response from you. Did the reply could help you? If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. By doing so, it will benefit all community members who are having this similar issue. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Seeya

Answer 1

Michael Taylor 60,331

I don't know that I would recommend your approach. If you have an existing SQL 2012 machine then why would you upgrade to SQL 2014 instead of just jumping to 2019? You're going to have to retest your database anyway. Granted there is a slightly higher chance that 2019 breaks something over 2014 but at some point you're going to run into that anyway. It doesn't seem like a good idea to double test, especially if you plan to upgrade to 2019 shortly thereafter.

Note that your existing DB, when restored/attached to SQL 2014 (or 2019) will remain on the compatibility level it is now. So once you are on the new SQL version your DB will still be at 110 compatibility level (the level of SQL 2012). It is a separate step to "upgrade" your DB to the current level and one you'll need to do at some point. This will help reduce the likelihood of an upgrade issue. In my experience data teams will drop the DB onto the newest version of SQL and do some testing to make sure it works correctly. If it does then the old SQL server can go away. Then you bump up the compatibility level of the DB to (ideally) the latest version and verify everything still works. If it doesn't then backtrack on the compatibility level until you can identify and fix the issue.

As for downgrade rights, it depends on how you got your SQL license. If you got Software Assurance or volume licensing then you do have downgrade rights. I don't know about retail licenses. But from my understanding it is only for 2 versions back. Therefore your SQL 2019 license could be downgraded to SQL 2017 or SQL 2016. SQL 2014 is too far back. If you wanted to go the route you originally proposed you'd either have to get SQL 2017 licenses and then buy SQL 2019 licenses later when you're ready or buy SQL 2019 licenses but install SQL 2016.

Thyagarajan, Sathish 0 Reputation points

2023-02-23T14:48:37.04+00:00

Thanks Michael Taylor! Adding some details to the timelines, we have end of March 2023 to upgrade database out of SQL 2012. I understood database being compatible however the application compatibility needs to be tested and SSIS will have to be migrated which is still in 2010 (due to compatibility issues during the earlier upgrade). So, we are not sure if a straight jump to 2019 will make it easier to accomplish within the timelines.
Michael Taylor 60,331 Reputation points

2023-02-23T15:22:32.1133333+00:00

You are going to have the same level of testing jumping to SQL 2014 as to SQL 2019 in my opinion. Again, the biggest concern is that the larger jump means there is a more likely chance you'll run into a compatibility issue. There is no way to know without trying. But what if you try to migrate to 2014 and find an issue that you have to fix. But then you migrate to 2019 and find that your fix is broken again. It's redundant work.

If you already have SQL 2014 installed and tested then go for it but otherwise I think you're already out of time for upgrading. Your app will continue to work but provided you're in the process of migrating I think you can miss the EOL date a little, you just won't get support fixes. Irrelevant you'll need SQL 2014 licenses I believe.
Thyagarajan, Sathish 0 Reputation points

2023-02-23T20:34:39.3333333+00:00

I guess you are right about testing it multiple times but with the time crunch, it looks like we do not have the luxury to upgrade multiple versions higher than we are currently on assuming 2012 to 2014 should have minimal impact. Also looking at the downgrade rights for SQL Server 2019 volume licensing, it looks like any version 2019 and earlier is supported under Volume Licensing Agreement - https://learn.microsoft.com/api/attachments/96089-sql-server-2019-licensing-guide.pdf?platform=QnA.
Erland Sommarskog 121.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2023-02-23T22:17:12.9366667+00:00

we are currently on assuming 2012 to 2014 should have minimal impact.

No, not since with SQL 2014 you get the new cardinality estimator, which can give you performance surprises.

Answer 2

Erland Sommarskog 121.9K MVP Volunteer Moderator

As for the commerical part of it, you need to talk to your local Microsoft representivative.

As for the technical part, I don't think your plan make sense. Yes, SQL 2014 is in extended support, so you will get security fixes. By 2024, SQL 2019 will be out of mainstream support. I think you should aim for SQL 2022. (And SQL 2022 may be the only license these days.)

Thyagarajan, Sathish 0 Reputation points

2023-02-23T20:27:05.63+00:00

Thanks Erland Sommarskog for pointing out the 2019 license being out of mainstream but hopefully their service packs support longer. I'm not sure if our organization has started procuring SQL Server 2022 licenses yet but they definitely want us to upgrade from 2012 immediately. Also, good point on older versions of SQL Server license not being available with the vendor for purchase, I will request to ask upfront prior to start testing.
Erland Sommarskog 121.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2023-02-23T22:00:31.1433333+00:00

Microsoft has stopped doing Service Packs, there are only Cumulative Updates. But once a version has been out for five years, they stop doing those as well. If you encounter a blocking bug in a version out of mainstream support, there is no way you can get a fix. The one exception is security fixes, which they will crank out for five more years.

I also like to add that SQL 2014 is a really bad version to move to. This was the version where they introduced the new Cardinality Estimator, and in the intial release there were some bugs with it. If you really go for SQL 2014 make sure that you install SP3 + CU4 and also enable trace flag 4199 to buy in all optimizer fixes. If you run without TF4199 on SQL 2014, you can run into some bizarre behaviour.

Even with later versions you can run into performance degrading for some queries due to the optimizer changes. but in that case this more due to the query itself.

Answer 3

Hi @Thyagarajan, Sathish,

Different versions require different licenses.

For detailed information about the license issue, you can call 1-800-426-9400, Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. (Pacific Time) to speak directly to a Microsoft licensing specialist. Or you can go to Volume Licensing Service Center support. Please choose region/language and choose to call or have web.

Best regards,

Seeya

If the answer is the right solution, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Share via

Purchase SQL server 2019 Enterprise license but use 2014

3 answers

Your answer