SQL Server 2016 Reaches End of Support: A Customer Engineer's Perspective on What's Next
Why This Day Matters July 14, 2026 marks the end of Extended Support for SQL Server 2016. After today, organizations running SQL Server 2016 will no longer receive security updates, non-security hotfixes, or product support unless they have a specific support strategy in place. As a Customer Engineer, I've spent years helping customers navigate technology lifecycle events. This one feels particularly significant because SQL Server 2016 remains heavily deployed across enterprise environments. For official lifecycle dates and milestones, see the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy for SQL Server 2016: Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/lifecycle/products/sql-server-2016 Why SQL Server 2016 Feels Different SQL Server 2016 introduced capabilities that many organizations still rely on today, including: Query Store Always Encrypted Native JSON Support Stretch Database Enhanced security and performance capabilities For many businesses, SQL Server 2016 became the standard data platform supporting ERP systems, billing applications, healthcare workloads, manufacturing systems, and custom line-of-business applications. Ten years is a long time in IT. During that period, databases often evolve from "just another server" into business-critical infrastructure. Learn more about SQL Server 2016 features: Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/sql-server/what-s-new-in-sql-server-2016 What "End of Support" Really Means One of the most common misconceptions I hear is: "Will my SQL Server stop working tomorrow?" No. The server will continue running. Applications will continue connecting. What changes is your risk profile. Organizations will no longer receive: Security updates Product fixes Technical support Regulatory assurance associated with supported software Microsoft's official guidance on end-of-support considerations can be found here: Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/sql-server/end-of-support/sql-server-end-of-support-overview Option 1: Upgrade to a Supported SQL Server Version For many organizations, the most straightforward path is upgrading to SQL Server 2022 or SQL Server 2025. Benefits include: Continued support Latest security protections Performance improvements New AI and data platform capabilities Before upgrading, review compatibility considerations and perform application testing. Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/database-engine/install-windows/upgrade-sql-server Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/sql-server/sql-server-release-notes Option 2: Move to Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure SQL Managed Instance is often my recommendation when customers want to reduce operational overhead while maintaining high SQL Server compatibility. Advantages include: Automated patching Built-in high availability Automated backups Near full SQL Server compatibility Reduced infrastructure management Learn more: Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/managed-instance/sql-managed-instance-paas-overview Option 3: Lift and Shift to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines For organizations seeking minimal application changes, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines can provide a familiar environment while eliminating hardware refresh requirements. This option also enables customers to take advantage of Extended Security Updates through Azure while planning broader modernization initiatives. Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/sql-server-on-azure-vm-iaas-what-is-overview Option 4: Purchase Extended Security Updates (ESUs) If immediate migration is not possible, Extended Security Updates provide up to three additional years of Critical security updates. ESUs can be valuable when: Vendor certification delays upgrades Hardware refresh projects are underway Business priorities prevent immediate migration However, ESUs should be viewed as a temporary bridge rather than a long-term strategy. Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/sql-server/end-of-support/sql-server-extended-security-updates Don't Skip the Assessment Phase The most successful migration projects begin with discovery and assessment. Common issues identified include: Deprecated features Compatibility concerns Linked Server dependencies SQL Agent jobs CLR integrations Legacy SSIS and SSRS workloads Resources that can help: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/migrate/migrate-services-overview https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/sql-server/azure-arc/overview https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/dma/dma-overview Migration Tools Worth Evaluating Different migration scenarios require different tools. Microsoft provides several options: Data Migration Assistant (DMA) SQLPackage Azure Database Migration Service Managed Instance Link Distributed Availability Groups Comprehensive migration guidance: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdatamigration/microsoft-options-to-migrate-sql-server-databases/4407666 https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/dms/dms-overview https://learn.microsoft.com/sql/tools/sqlpackage/sqlpackage Lessons Learned from Customer Engagements After supporting numerous SQL Server modernization projects, several themes consistently emerge: The database is rarely the hardest part. Applications and dependencies drive complexity. Downtime requirements significantly influence migration strategy. Organizations that start 6–9 months early typically experience smoother transitions. ESUs buy time, but they do not replace a modernization plan. For migration planning best practices: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/migrate/ Final Thoughts If you're reading this on or shortly after July 14, 2026, and SQL Server 2016 is still running in your environment, you're not alone. Whether your path forward is: SQL Server 2025 Azure SQL Managed Instance SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines Extended Security Updates the most important step is to begin with an assessment and establish a modernization plan. SQL Server 2016 served organizations exceptionally well for nearly a decade. The conversation now is not about the end of SQL Server 2016. It's about preparing your data platform for the next decade.Restore database across servers(Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL managed instance)- Azure Automation
In this article, we consider the scenario where customers would like to restore their Azure SQL database and managed database from one Azure SQL server to another Azure SQL server, for example for development reasons. The article will provide you with the steps to achieve this by automating the job using Azure AutomationLearning from Expertise#10: Why no restore point available?!
Introduction In today's blog article, we will try to address and clarify some points on how Azure SQL DB and Managed Instance Point in Time Restore (PiTR) works, especially when it comes to failover group and Geo-replication (Azure SQL DB), and we are going to provide answers to common queries. Use case: On some occasions, after the failover is initiated, the current Primary DR will start a new backup chain from that point and old backups are available on the current secondary DR. If we want to restore the backups which exists in Secondary it will not allow us to perform, apparently restore cannot be initiated on the Primary as the backup is not available. Also, sometimes we observe in secondary DR for few databases, PitR restore point is available and for few databases it shows “no restore point available” Common Questions. Do we expect to lose the PITR ability after failover? Why are the backups still listed and available on the new secondary if they are not usable? Why do some databases show the restore point and why for few databases it shows “no restore point available”? Here is the scenario: Day 1 - > Geo-Replication/ Failover group setup, Primary in North Europe and Secondary in West Europe, PITR backup retention is set to 7 days. Day 2 -> Customer initiated failover, now Primary is in West Europe and secondary is in North Europe Day 4 -> Customer would like to restore the database to the state of Day1 which is possible as 7 days retention was set to PITR backups, and Day1 is 3 days back from current point in time As we are running backups only for the Primary DR, the new Primary in West Europe does not have the requested PITR backup (Day 1) The needed backup is “visible” on the backups listed for current secondary in North Europe The customer cannot restore to requested PITR as The restore cannot be initiated on the secondary as this is not possible for Secondary DR. The restore cannot be initiated on the primary as the backup is not there. Also, sometimes you will be seeing available PITR backups on Failover secondary server databases and for some databases it shows as “No restore point available” For the databases where the restore point is available, they can’t be able to restore it. The restore cannot be initiated on the secondary as this is not possible for Secondary DR. The restore cannot be initiated on the primary as the backup is not there. Clarifications In case the database was recently created, the first full backup might be still in the queue, so it might be a promising idea that you wait for some time before checking again. Failover groups is a disaster recovery feature that allows our customers to recover multiple related databases in a secondary region, after a catastrophic failure or other unplanned event that results in full or partial loss of service’s availability in the primary region. Database backups are an essential part of any business continuity and disaster recovery strategy because they protect your data from accidental corruption or deletion. It is important for us to understand that we are not losing any backups, in case the current region was not the primary at the desired point in time where your restoring point is holding, we will need to failover to the other region and make it as Primary, then you should be able to restore it. Backups are only taken on the Primary server, there can be several justifications why we can see PitR on some DBs and not for others on the Secondary Server. For the Databases that have PitR it is most probably because there was a failover that caused the Primary to become Secondary, as we have already had backups taken on the old primary which is secondary now. The DBs that do not have PitR They could have been provisioned after the last failover happened, so the backups are only available on the primary server Or they were added to the failover group after the last failover that will also cause the backups to be taken on the primary It should be fair to say that we will likely “fail back” once availability is restored in the original primary region because we might have picked that region for a reason. Note: - In case no geo-failover happened nor the database was recently created, and you still see “no restore point available,” please contact Microsoft support. Alternatives: you can perform Export operation on the secondary and import it on Primary DR. You can leverage geo redundant backup and Geo-restore, taking into consideration that Geo-restore is the most basic disaster-recovery solution available in SQL Database and SQL MI. It relies on automatically created geo-replicated backups with a recovery point objective (RPO) up to 1 hour and an estimated recovery time of up to 12 hours. Note: Azure SQL Managed Instance does not currently support exporting a database to a BACPAC file using the Azure portal or Azure PowerShell. To export a managed instance into a BACPAC file, use SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or SQLPackage. References: Restore a database from a backup - Azure SQL Database & SQL Managed Instance | Microsoft Docs Automatic, geo-redundant backups - Azure SQL Database & Azure SQL Managed Instance | Microsoft Docs Azure SQL Database Point in Time Restore | Azure Blog and Updates | Microsoft Azure Azure SQL Database Geo-Restore | Azure Blog and Updates | Microsoft Azure Disclaimer Please note that the products and options presented in this article are subject to change. This article reflects the database backup options available for Azure SQL database and Azure SQL managed instance in June 2022. Closing remarks We hope you find this article helpful. If you have any feedback, please do not hesitate to provide it in the comment section below. Raviteja Devarakonda (Author) Ahmed Mahmoud (Co-Author)Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance Database used data space is much larger than expected
In this article we consider the scenario where the used size of an Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance Database is much larger than expected when compared with the actual number of records in the tables and how to resolve it.
