SQL's out forever: Microsoft shuts the gates on another product

Yet another outdated Microsoft product will come to the end of its lifecycle next year when SQL Server 2005 breathes its final safe moment on planet earth.

Support for all editions of SQL Server 2005 will cease on April 12, 2016 and Microsoft is nudging companies in the direction of either SQL Server 2014 or Azure AQL Database in advance of support running out.

Microsoft reminds SQL Server 2005 customers that even though instances of the popular platform will continue to run beyond the end of life date, there will be no more hot fixes or updates to any problems that may arise.

In terms of a replacement, it's pointed out that SQL Server 2014 has been benchmarked to be 13 times faster than SQL Server 2005. That's even before the additional performance gains from in-memory OLTP are taken into account. There are also a range of other improvements that can be drawn from upgrading.

Here's a helping hand

Microsoft has laid on a trio of tools to help companies to make the transition that assist them in discovering apps and workloads that need upgrading, targeting destinations for them to be moved to, and planning how to carry out the upgrade.

SQL Server 2005's end will come almost exactly 12 months after Windows Server 2003's death knell that takes place this summer and, as with Windows XP before them, it's almost certain that a significant number will hang on beyond the end-of-life date.

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