Update on the Service Pack plans for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

 

ID

Question

Answer

1

What is the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy?

Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy provides consistent and predictable guidelines for product support availability when a product releases and throughout that product’s life. To learn more about Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy, please read here.

2

What is the servicing model of SQL Server?

An Incremental   Servicing Model (ISM) is available from the Microsoft SQL Server team to deliver hotfixes for reported problems. The objective for the ISM is to deliver high quality fixes in an acceptable time and on a predictable schedule. To learn more about this please read here.

3

What does main stream support and extended support phases mean?

Please refer the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy here above.

4

What is a Cumulative Update or a Service Pack?

Please refer to   the servicing model of SQL Server here for a description of SQL’s Cumulative Updates.  The Service Pack Support policy is outlined on the Lifecycle Support Policy website.

5

What will be the names of those Service Packs?

SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3.

6

What fixes will ship in SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3?

SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 will include Cumulative Updates of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 up to and including SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 Cumulative Update #17.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 will include Cumulative Updates of SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 up to and including SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack2 Cumulative Update #13.

SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 will not ship any other functionality fixes.

 

For details on what was fixed in the Cumulative Updates of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 please read about the content of those Cumulative Updates from the following pages:

    - List of Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3.    - List of Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2.

7

Will these service packs be supported?

Yes. For details please read about the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy here.

8

Will I be able to open a case in Microsoft Support Services to get assistance if my servers run these service packs?

Yes. For details please read about the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy here.

9

Will there be Cumulative Updates for these service packs?

No. Microsoft is not planning to ship any Cumulative Updates for these service packs.

10

Will there be General Distribution Releases (GDRs) for these Service Packs?

GDR is not a release vehicle that is scheduled. Microsoft ships a GDR in the event of the discovery of an issue that Microsoft believes should be fixed through a GDR. If such discoveries were made for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 then yes GDRs would be released in the context of the Lifecycle Policy of SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2088 R2.

11

Will Microsoft ship security updates for these service packs?

Yes. This does not change. Security updates are delivered as needed during mainstream support phase and extended support phase as defined in the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy.

12

Will Microsoft ship other hotfixes/bug fixes for these Service Packs?

Yes, as stated in Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy, additional hotfixes might be available with an Extended  Hotfix Support agreement.

13

Does this mean I can submit a hotfix request through Microsoft Support Services for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 after 7/8/2014 and before 7/8/2015 if I have an Extended Hotfix Support Agreement?

Yes.

14

What if there is a regression?

A regression is a situation where a functionality fails although it used to work without problems.

Customers who have an Extended Hotfix Support agreement will be eligible to request a hotfix.

Even if you don’t have an Extended Hotfix Support agreement we recommend you contact Microsoft Support Services to get assistance and find a solution to your problem.

15

What if I have a problem with these Service Packs?

We recommend you contact Microsoft Support Services to get assistance and find a solution to  your problem.

16

What are the current lifecycle dates for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2?

The dates are here.

17

Will the lifecycle dates for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 change as these Service Packs are releases?

Yes. As an exception, the Service Pack Support end date of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 will be extended by 12 months to facilitate the upgrade projects of our customers. The actual lifecycle dates will be refreshed on the lifecycle page of SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 as SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 will ship.

18

What will be the mainstream support phase dates and extended support phase dates for these Service Packs?

Please refer to question #17.

19

Will the lifecycle dates of current Service Packs of SQL Server 2008 (Service Pack 3) and SQL Server 2008 R2 (Service Pack 2) change as these Service Packs ship?

Please refer to question #17.

20

When will SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 ship?

We are planning to ship these Service Packs later this year.

21

Does this imply that Microsoft will ship a wrap up Service Pack each time another release of SQL Server will exit mainstream support phase?

At this time, the release of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 does not imply a change of policy for later versions of SQL Server.

Dear Customers,

  

We are planning to ship one last Service Pack for both SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2.

Because of the maturity of SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2, these Service Pack(s) will be an exception

 in terms of timing and will ship after mainstream support of these releases ends on July 8th 2014.

 

In scope, these Service Packs will be a packaging and release of Cumulative Updates and will contain

no previously unreleased functionality. For further details on these Service Packs please refer to the FAQ below.

 

Regards.

Jean-Yves Devant 

Senior Program Manager

  • Servicing PM of High Availability and Mobile Technologies in SQL Server.
  • Feature PM for Replication Technologies.
  • Business owner, release PM and project manager of Service Packs for SQL Server.