A Lot of Your SQL Servers Are Unsupported.

I’m almost afraid to look into theSQL ConstantCare client base to see the answer to this, but let’s put on a pair of rubber gloves and go find out.

SQL Server 2016: <1% out of support.I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. However, you’ve had the luxury of time here: SP1 came out in November 2016, so 99% of you have had the time and motivation to install it. SP2 is already out, but both SP1 and SP2 are supported right now.SP1 drops out of support in July 2019. SP2 came out in April of this year, and 64% of you are already on it!

SQL Server 2014: 10% out of support.Both SP2 and SP3 are supported right now, and SP2 isn’t out of support until a luxuriously long-from-now January 2020. I’m not gonna lie, though: a couple dozen of you didn’t even bother to patch the original install of 2014. Get on the ball.

SQL Server 2012: 38% out of support.Service Pack 3 just dropped out of support last month, so I’m not too surprised that a lot of folks have been caught off guard. SP4 came out just over a year ago.

SQL Server 2008 R2: 27% out of support.Service Pack 3 came out four years ago, and it’s the only remaining supported SP. Thankfully, most of you are on it. However, 14 of you are running a completely unpatched SQL Server 2008 RTM. We’re talking about an eight-year-old set of bits. They’re rotted. Throw them out.

SQL Server 2008: 65% out of support.The only remaining supported Service Pack for SQL Server 2008 is Service Pack 4, and 2/3 of y’all aren’t on it. C’mon, now, SP4 came out over four years ago get ‘er patched.

When I talk to folks about why they don’t patch more often, I usually hear:

We can’t get a maintenance window The vendor won’t certify their app on the new patch It works well enough, no reason to risk it I don’t open support calls anyway, but if we had to, we’d patch it then to get support

What about you? Why aren’t you patching your SQL Servers?