Do you know your options? Security updates end July 14, 2026. Plan your path forward—modernize, upgrade, or extend.
After the end-of-support date, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates for SQL Server 2016—leaving your databases exposed to unpatched vulnerabilities.
| Rating | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Critical | Vulnerabilities that allow malware to spread without user action—including from browsing a web page or opening email. |
| Important | Vulnerabilities that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of your data and processing resources. |
Find lifecycle support deadlines at support.microsoft.com/lifecycle
Every SQL Server 2016 customer has three clear choices. Pick the one that fits your business needs and timeline.
Modernize SQL Server data at scale to a fully managed database-as-a-service.
Latest compute and storage technologies, tuned by ML-based optimization.
Fully managed, always up-to-date. Handles time-consuming tasks for you.
Multi-layered protection with built-in high availability and compliance.
Up to 93% less than the competition with built-in cost advantages.
Cloud connectivity on-prem. Migrate to Azure on your terms.
AI-optimized performance with industry-leading availability.
Premium managed disks replace page blobs—delivering dramatically better performance and scale for OLTP and analytical workloads.
| Metric | GP (Current) | GP Next-Gen |
|---|---|---|
| Avg I/O Latency | 5–10 ms | 3–5 ms ~2x faster |
| Max Data IOPS | 30–50k | 80k ~2x |
| Max Log Rate | 120 MB/s | 192 MB/s +60% |
| Max Storage | 16 TB | 32 TB 2x |
| Max DBs / Instance | 100 | 500 5x density |
| Max vCores | 80 | 128 +60% |
| Max Files | 280 / instance | 4,096 / database 15x |
See how Azure Hybrid Benefit and Next-Gen GP dramatically reduce your costs. Based on 96 vCores, SQL EE license.
A flexible way to save up to 35% by committing to a fixed hourly spend across database services globally for 1 year. Usage within your commitment gets lower prices; anything above is billed at standard pay-as-you-go rates. No cancellation required.
Organizations across industries have modernized to Azure SQL Managed Instance.
Modernized to the cloud for efficient business operations, consolidating construction and machine data into a single source of truth.
Enabled cloud-scale reliability for data storage and high-volume transaction processing.
Migrated from IaaS to PaaS, unlocking cost savings through automated infrastructure maintenance, upgrades, and application management.
Multiple entry points for discovering, assessing, and migrating your SQL workloads to Azure.
Discover and assess SQL workloads at scale. Free for all editions, SQL Server 2012+.
Central hub for datacenter migration with end-to-end tracking and insights.
Database Migration Service for seamless, connected migration to Azure.
New extension to assess and migrate to Azure SQL VM directly from SSMS.
Assessment is baked in when you enable SQL Server with Azure Arc—comprehensive, actionable, and always up to date.
Assessment runs automatically when you Arc-enable SQL Server.
Evaluate readiness for Azure SQL, identify risks with mitigation actions.
Guidance on IaaS vs. PaaS, service tier, sizing, and migration tooling.
Discovery and readiness reports are instant, automatic, and ongoing.
Assess on-premises databases and get a full report with best-fit Azure SQL platform recommendations.
Migrate Windows/Linux servers, databases, data, web apps, and virtual desktops.
Comprehensive discovery, assessment, and migration powered by Azure and third-party tools.
Centralized migration repository with end-to-end tracking and insights.
Unified management for all end-of-support SQL workloads in the Azure Portal.
Pay-as-you-go billing—no upfront commitment
Stop paying when done—charges end immediately when disabled
Ideal for short-term needs—migrations, refactoring, decommissioning
Centralized visibility—ESU status across all servers
Policy-based enablement—reduces manual overhead at scale
Future-ready foundation—security, governance & modernization
Consistent pricing at 100% of full annual license price. Per 2-core pack (minimum 4 cores). No price increase from SQL 2014 ESUs.
| Environment | SQL 2014 ESU | SQL 2016 ESU |
|---|---|---|
| On-premises | Paid | Paid |
| Multi-cloud | Paid | Paid |
| Azure VMs / Dedicated Host | Free | Paid |
| Azure Local | Free | Paid |
| Azure VMware / Nutanix | Free | Paid |
Extend Azure management and security to your SQL Server instances anywhere—on-premises, multi-cloud, or in Azure.
| Capability | SQL Server (standalone) | Arc-Enabled SQL Server | SQL Server on Azure VM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go billing | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Entra ID auth | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Best practices assessment | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inventory management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto patching | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto backup | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monitoring | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Defender for SQL Server | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| TDE with Azure Key Vault | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| HA/DR inventory management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| License compliance management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cluster-aware patching | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Purview Premium | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Point-in-time restore | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backup LTR to Azure | — | ✓ | ✓ |
The most secure, performant, and AI-ready SQL Server ever.
Fewest vulnerabilities of any major database—62 CVEs vs. 1,193 for MySQL, 198 for Oracle, 195 for PostgreSQL (NIST NVD 2016–2025).
Native vector capabilities for semantic search—no third-party tools required.
Streamlined tooling to build modern data applications faster than ever.
Direct integration with Microsoft Fabric for unified analytics at any scale.
Run in Azure or on-premises—same capabilities, your choice of environment.
Answer a few questions to find the right SQL Server 2016 end-of-support option.