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What are Extended Security Updates for SQL Server?

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Applies to: SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SQL Server 2014 (12.x)

This article provides information how to receive Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for versions of SQL Server that are out of extended support.

Extended Security Updates (ESUs) are available for SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and SQL Server 2014 (12.x).

ESUs released for SQL Server 2014 (12.x) include the most recent cumulative update (CU). If you only applied general distribution release (GDR) updates during the normal support period, we recommend that you install and validate the latest CU at the time you subscribe to receive ESUs, instead of waiting until the first ESU is released. This preemptive validation avoids potential issues when installing the ESU later.

The following table contains a list of the latest ESUs, if any.

Version KB article Date
SQL Server 2012 KB 5021123 14 February 2023
SQL Server 2014 None N/A

ESUs are made available if needed, once a security vulnerability is discovered and is rated as Critical by the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC). Therefore, there's no regular release cadence for SQL Server ESUs.

ESUs don't include:

  • New features
  • Functional improvements
  • Customer-requested fixes

For information about ESU pricing, see Plan your Windows Server and SQL Server end of support.

For more information about other options, see SQL Server end of support options.

You can also review the Frequently asked questions.

Overview

When SQL Server reaches the end of its support lifecycle, you can sign up for an Extended Security Update (ESU) subscription. The subscription protects your servers for up to three years after the support lifecycle ends. Keep the subscription until you're ready to upgrade to a newer version of SQL Server or migrate to Azure SQL.

The method of receiving Extended Security Updates depends on where your SQL Server is running.

Azure

On Azure, services have access to ESUs for SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and SQL Server 2014 (12.x) for up to three years after the end of support, at no additional charge above the cost of running the Azure service. If you can't connect your SQL Server instance to Azure Arc, you don't qualify for this offer.

To configure Azure services to receive ESUs, review the documentation for the specific service:

On-premises or hosted environments

In all other cases, you can purchase Extended Security Updates if you qualify. To qualify for receiving Extended Security Updates (ESU), you must have Software Assurance under one of the following agreements:

  • Enterprise Agreement (EA)
  • Enterprise Agreement Subscription (EAS)
  • Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE)
  • Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES)

You can also qualify by connecting your SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and SQL Server 2014 (12.x) instances to Azure Arc, and enable a pay-as-you-go billing option. For more information, see Automatically connect your SQL Server to Azure Arc.

There are two ways to purchase ESUs:

The following table shows the differences between the two options:

Option How to purchase Key features
ESU plan Volume licensing center - Supports SQL Server instances not connected to Azure Arc
- Each year of coverage must be purchased separately, must be paid in full, and is differently priced
- Requires registration on Azure portal
- Supports manual installation of patches
ESU subscription Microsoft Azure - The covered SQL Server instances must be connected to Azure Arc
- Continuous coverage until canceled
- Billed by Azure on an hourly basis
- Can be manually canceled at any time
- Automatic cancellation when migrated to Azure or upgraded to a supported version
- Supports automatic and manual installation of patches

Note

Connecting or registering instances is free of charge. Both connected and registered instances don't incur additional charges when downloading ESUs, which are delivered through the Azure portal.

For more information, see the Extended Security Updates frequently asked questions.

Support

ESUs don't include technical support for either on-premises or hosted environments. For on-premises environments, you can receive technical support on workloads covered by ESUs through additional active support contracts such as Software Assurance or Premier/Unified Support. Alternatively, if you're hosting on Azure, you can use an Azure Support plan to get technical support.

Subscribe to Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc

SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc supports a method of receiving ESUs as a subscription billed through Azure. For details, see SQL Server Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc.

Register Extended Security Updates purchased through volume licensing

If you purchased an ESU product through volume licensing (VL) for the SQL Server instances that aren't connected to Azure Arc, you must first register these servers on the Azure portal and link the ESU invoice as proof of purchase.

Register disconnected SQL Server instances on Azure portal

If your on-premises or hosted environment SQL Server instances can't be connected to Azure Arc, you can manually register your SQL Server instances in the Azure portal to enable access to the ESUs. If you prefer to take advantage of the flexibility of Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc, connect your server to Azure Arc. To connect, follow the steps in Automatically connect your SQL Server to Azure Arc.

The following example shows how to manually register your SQL Server instances in a disconnected state, in the Azure portal.

Prerequisites

  1. If you don't already have an Azure subscription, you can create an account using one of the following methods:

  2. The user creating disconnected Arc-enabled SQL Server resources must have the following permissions:

    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/read
    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/write

    Users can be assigned to the Azure Connected SQL Server Onboarding role to get those specific permissions, or they can be assigned to built-in roles such as Contributor or Owner that have these permissions. For more information, see Assign Azure roles using the Azure portal.

  3. Register the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider in your Azure subscription:

    • Sign in to the Azure portal.

    • Navigate to your subscription, and select Resource providers.

    • If the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider isn't listed, you can add it to your subscription using the Register option.

  4. If you use Azure policies that only allow the creation of specific resource types, you need to allow the Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances resource type. If it isn't allowed, the SQLServerInstances_Update operation fails with a 'deny' Policy action log entry in the activity log of the subscription.

You can either register a single SQL Server instance, or upload a CSV file to register multiple SQL Server instances in bulk.

Single SQL Server instance

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Data services > SQL Server instances.

  3. To register a disconnected machine, select Add from the menu at the top of the screen.

  4. Select Register Servers to add a disconnected SQL Server instance.

    Screenshot of the two options for adding connected or registered servers.

  5. Specify Single SQL Instance. This is the default value.

  6. Choose the Subscription and Resource group for your registered SQL Server instance.

  7. Provide the required information as is detailed in this table, and then select Next:

    Value Description Additional information
    Instance Name Enter the output of command SELECT @@SERVERNAME, such as MyServer\Instance01. If you have a named instance, you must replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.
    SQL Server Version Select your version from the dropdown list.
    Edition Select the applicable edition from the dropdown list: Datacenter, Developer (free to deploy if purchased ESUs), Enterprise, Standard, Web, Workgroup.
    Cores Enter the number of cores for this instance
    Host Type Select the applicable host type from the dropdown list: Virtual machine (on-premises), Physical Server (on-premises), Azure Virtual Machine, Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, Other.

  8. You must confirm that you have the rights to receive Extended Security Updates, using the checkbox provided. The ESU checkbox is only visible when you select SQL Server 2012 (11.x).

Multiple SQL Server instances in bulk

Multiple SQL Server instances can be registered in bulk by uploading a .CSV file. Once your .CSV file is formatted correctly, you can follow these steps to bulk register your SQL Server instances with Azure Arc:

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Data services > SQL Server instances.

  3. To register a disconnected machine, select Add from the menu at the top of the screen.

  4. Select Register Servers to add a disconnected SQL Server instance.

    Screenshot of the two options for adding connected or registered servers.

  5. Select the option for Multiple SQL Instances.

  6. Select the Browse icon to upload the CSV file containing multiple disconnected SQL Server instances.

  7. You must confirm that you have the rights to receive Extended Security Updates, using the checkbox provided.

Once you add your SQL Server instances, you'll see them in the portal after a few minutes. Because they were added manually, they always show in a disconnected state, with the description Registered.

Screenshot of two registered SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc portal.

Formatting requirements for CSV file

  • Values are comma-separated

  • Values aren't single or double-quoted

  • Values can include letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). No other special characters can be used. If you have a named instance, you must replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.

  • Column names are case-sensitive and must be named as follows:

    • name
    • version
    • edition
    • cores
    • hostType

Example CSV file

The CSV file should look like this:

name,version,edition,cores,hostType
Server1-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,12,Other Physical Server
Server2-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,24,Other Physical Server
Server3-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Enterprise,12,Azure Virtual Machine
Server4-SQL2014,SQL Server 2014,Standard,8,Azure VMware Solution

You can use the Purchase Order Number under Invoice Summary in their Microsoft invoice (as shown in the following screenshot) for the Invoice ID value to link the ESU purchase with the SQL Server instances.

Screenshot of Sample invoice with Purchase Order Number highlighted.

Follow these steps to link an ESU invoice to your Azure Arc SQL Server instances to get access to extended updates. This example includes both Connected and Registered servers.

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select SQL Server instances.

  3. Use the checkboxes next to each SQL Server instance you would like to link, and then select Link ESU invoice.

    Screenshot of all SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc section.

  4. Fill in the ESU invoice number in the Invoice ID section, and then select Link invoice.

    Screenshot of the invoice ID on the Link ESU invoice page.

  5. The servers you linked to the ESU invoice now show a valid ESU expiration date.

    Screenshot of SQL Server instances with a valid ESU expiration value.

Important

When registering an ESU VL product for disconnected SQL Server servers, you should only select the instances with the Status of Registered.

Download ESUs

Once your SQL Server instances are registered with Azure Arc, you can download the Extended Security Update packages using the link found in the Azure portal, if and when they're made available.

To download ESUs, follow these steps:

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select SQL Server instances.

  3. Select a server from the list.

    Screenshot of a list of servers, with one server highlighted.

  4. Download security updates from here, if and when they're made available.

    Screenshot of available security updates.

Supported regions

Arc-enabled SQL Server is available in the following regions:

  • East US
  • East US 2
  • West US
  • West US 2
  • West US 3
  • Central US
  • North Central US
  • South Central US
  • West Central US
  • Canada Central
  • Canada East
  • UK South
  • UK West
  • France Central
  • West Europe
  • North Europe
  • Switzerland North
  • Central India
  • Brazil South
  • South Africa North
  • UAE North
  • Japan East
  • Korea Central
  • Southeast Asia
  • Australia East
  • Sweden Central
  • Norway East

Important

For successful onboarding and functioning, assign the same region to both Arc-enabled Server and Arc-enabled SQL Server.

Government regions aren't supported. For more information, see Can customers get free Extended Security Updates on Azure Government regions?

Frequently asked questions

For the full list of frequently asked questions, review the Extended Security Updates: Frequently asked questions.

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