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Extended Support for SQL Server 2000 To End Tuesday

SQL Server 2000 will lose its "extended support" from Microsoft on Tuesday, April 9, when it reaches the end of its product lifecycle.

The loss of extended support means no more security updates will be delivered to customers via Microsoft's update service. Remedies for organizations still using SQL Server 2000 are to upgrade the product (Microsoft is recommending moving to its current SQL Server 2012 product) or pay for "custom support" through Microsoft Premier Support services, according to a Microsoft announcement.

It's possible to continue to run SQL Server 2000 after April 9, but that approach isn't recommended by Microsoft for security reasons. Self-help resources, such as Knowledge Base articles and troubleshooting tools, will continue to be available online for a minimum of 12 months.

Upgrades from SQL Server 2000 aren't too problematic, according to Microsoft MVP Richard Mueller, responding to a question in a Microsoft TechNet forum.

"In my experience it has been easy to install a newer version of SQL Server on a computer with SQL Server 2000," Mueller wrote in the forum post. "In all cases I've seen the old databases upgraded fine with no issues. The only issue I've seen is that once a database is upgraded, it cannot be attached or restored to an older version of SQL Server. The other issue is that the newer versions have more requirements, including hardware and software (like .NET Framework, Windows Installer, and MDAC)."

However, it's not listed as possible to upgrade from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2012, according to Microsoft's TechNet library resources.

Upgrading from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005 maybe isn't such a good idea because that product already entered the extended support phase, which happened on April 12, 2011. Extended support for SQL Server 2005 will end on April 12, 2016, according to Microsoft's lifecycle page.

Support options for organizations still using the older products, such as SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005, can be found here. Microsoft also has this general SQL Server support portal, which provides links to various resources.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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