Supported version and edition upgrades (SQL Server 2019)
Applies to: 
SQL Server - Windows only
You can upgrade from SQL Server 2012 (11.x), SQL Server 2014 (12.x), SQL Server 2016 (13.x), and SQL Server 2017 (14.x). This article lists the supported upgrade paths from these SQL Server versions, and the supported edition upgrades for SQL Server 2019 (15.x).
Pre-upgrade checklist
Before upgrading from one edition of SQL Server 2019 (15.x) to another, verify that the functionality you're currently using is supported in the edition to which you're moving.
Verify supported hardware and software.
Before upgrading SQL Server, enable Windows Authentication for SQL Server Agent and verify the default configuration, that the SQL Server Agent service account is a member of the SQL Server sysadmin group.
To upgrade to SQL Server 2019 (15.x), you must be running a supported operating system. For more information, see Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server.
Upgrade is blocked if there's a pending restart.
Upgrade is blocked if the Windows Installer service isn't running.
Unsupported scenarios
Cross-version instances of SQL Server 2019 (15.x) aren't supported. Version numbers of the Database Engine components must be the same in an instance of SQL Server 2019 (15.x).
SQL Server 2019 (15.x) is only available for 64-bit platforms. Cross-platform upgrade isn't supported. You can't upgrade a 32-bit instance of SQL Server to native 64-bit using SQL Server Setup. However, you can back up or detach databases from a 32-bit instance of SQL Server, and then restore or attach them to a new instance of SQL Server (64-bit) if the databases aren't published in replication. You must re-create any logins and other user objects in
master,msdb, andmodelsystem databases.You can't add new features during the upgrade of your existing instance of SQL Server. After you upgrade an instance of SQL Server to SQL Server 2019 (15.x), you can add features by using the SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Setup. For more information, see Add Features to an Instance of SQL Server (Setup).
Upgrades from earlier versions to SQL Server 2019 (15.x)
SQL Server 2019 (15.x) supports upgrade from the following versions of SQL Server:
- SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 or later
- SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 or later
- SQL Server 2016 (13.x) RTM or later
- SQL Server 2017 (14.x)
The following table lists the supported upgrade scenarios from earlier versions of SQL Server to SQL Server 2019 (15.x).
| Upgrade from | Supported upgrade path |
|---|---|
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Enterprise | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Developer | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Standard | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Web | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Express | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Business Intelligence | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2012 (11.x) SP4 Evaluation | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Enterprise | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Developer | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Standard | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Web | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Express | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Business Intelligence | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2014 (12.x) SP2 Evaluation | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Enterprise | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Developer | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Standard | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Web | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Express | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Business Intelligence | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2016 (13.x) 13.0.1601.5 Evaluation | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Enterprise | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Developer | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Standard | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Web | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Express | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Business Intelligence | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Evaluation | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) release candidate 1 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
1 Microsoft support to upgrade from release candidate software is specifically for customers who participated in the Early Adopter Program.
Migrate to SQL Server 2019 (15.x)
You can migrate databases from older versions of SQL Server to SQL Server 2019 (15.x), as long as the source database compatibility level is 90 or higher. Databases with a compatibility level of 90 (for example, on SQL Server 2005 (9.x)), are automatically upgraded to a compatibility level of 100 when migrated to SQL Server 2019 (15.x). If the compatibility level on the source database is 100 or higher, it is unchanged on SQL Server 2019 (15.x).
For information, see Azure Database Migration Guide.
The following tips and tools can help you plan and implement your migration.
| Tool or feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Migration tools | Migration is supported through Data Migration Assistant (DMA). |
| Backup and restore | A backup taken on SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) and later, can be restored to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) without changing its compatibility level, as long as the database backup has a compatibility level of 100 or higher.Databases with a compatibility level of 90, including backups taken on SQL Server 2005 (9.x), are automatically upgraded to a compatibility level of 100 when restored to SQL Server 2019 (15.x). |
| Log shipping | Log shipping is supported if the primary is running SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) SP3 or later, or SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.x) SP2 or later, and the secondary is running SQL Server 2019 (15.x). Warning: If an automatic or manual failover happens and the SQL Server 2019 (15.x) instance becomes primary, SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) or SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.x) instance becomes secondary, and can't receive changes from primary. |
| Bulk load | Tables can be bulk copied from SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) or SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.x) to SQL Server 2019 (15.x). |
SQL Server 2019 (15.x) edition upgrade
The following table lists the supported edition upgrade scenarios in SQL Server 2019 (15.x).
For step-by-step instructions on how to perform an edition upgrade, see Upgrade to a Different Edition of SQL Server (Setup).
| Upgrade from | Upgrade to |
|---|---|
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL and Core) 3 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation Enterprise 2, 3 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License) SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard 3 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License) |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer 3 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License) SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License) SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express 1 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License) SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Web |
Additionally you can also perform an edition upgrade between SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL license) and SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Core License):
| Edition upgrade from | Edition upgrade to |
|---|---|
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL License) 3 | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Core License) |
| SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Core License) | SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL License) |
1 Also applies to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express with Tools and SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Express with Advanced Services.
2 Upgrading from Evaluation (a free edition) to any of the paid editions is supported for stand-alone installations, but isn't supported for clustered installations. This limitation doesn't apply to stand-alone instances installed on a Windows Failover Cluster participating in an availability group.
3 Changing the edition of a clustered instance of SQL Server 2019 (15.x) limited. The following scenarios aren't supported for SQL Server 2019 (15.x) failover clusters:
- SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Enterprise to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer, Standard, or Evaluation.
- SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Developer to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard or Evaluation.
- SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation.
- SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Evaluation to SQL Server 2019 (15.x) Standard.