Skip to content

sql-server-extended-security-updates.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
459 lines (282 loc) · 31.7 KB

sql-server-extended-security-updates.md

File metadata and controls

459 lines (282 loc) · 31.7 KB
title What are Extended Security Updates?
description Learn about Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc, for your end-of-support and end-of-life SQL Server products such as SQL Server 2012.
author rwestMSFT
ms.author randolphwest
ms.date 07/10/2023
ms.service sql
ms.subservice install
ms.topic conceptual
ms.custom references_regions
monikerRange >=sql-server-2016

What are Extended Security Updates for SQL Server?

[!INCLUDE SQL Server end of support]

This article provides information for using Azure Arc to receive Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] that are out of extended support.

[!INCLUDE esu-table]

For more information about other options, see End of support options.

You can also review the Frequently asked questions.

Overview

Once [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] has reached the end of its support lifecycle, you can sign up for an Extended Security Update (ESU) subscription for your servers and remain protected for up to three years, until you're ready to upgrade to a newer version of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] or migrate to Azure SQL.

The method of receiving Extended Security Updates depends on where your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] is running.

  • SQL Server on Azure services. ESUs are free and enabled by default when [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] is running on one of the following Azure services:

    • [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] on Azure Virtual Machines

    • Azure Stack HCI

    • Azure Stack Hub

  • SQL Server on-premises or a hosted environment, and connected to Azure Arc. You can use Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc to enable ESU as a monthly subscription. The updates are automatically installed when they're available. You also benefit from the features that Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server provides. If you migrate your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] to Azure or upgrade the subscription, charges then automatically stop. You can cancel the ESU subscription manually at any time.

  • SQL Server on-premises or in a hosted environment, and not connected to Azure Arc. You can purchase the ESU SKU through the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC), and manually register your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances on the Azure portal to receive the patches. For more information, see Register disconnected SQL Server instances for ESUs later in this article.

    [!NOTE]
    Connecting or registering instances is free of charge. Both connected and registered instances do not incur additional charges when downloading ESUs, which are delivered through the Azure portal.

[!INCLUDE msCoName] recommends applying ESU patches as soon as they're available to keep your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instance protected. For detailed information about ESUs, see the ESU FAQ page.

Extended support dates

For the versions in the following table, consider using Extended Security Updates described in this article, or other migration options. For more information, see End of support options.

SQL Server version Extended Support end date
SQL Server 2012 July 12, 2022

What are Extended Security Updates

Extended Security Updates (ESUs) include security updates for customers who have purchased an Extended Support Update subscription, and are available for [!INCLUDE ssSQL11].

ESUs are made available if needed, once a security vulnerability is discovered and is rated as Critical by the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC). Therefore, there's no regular release cadence for [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] ESUs.

ESUs don't include:

  • New features
  • Functional improvements
  • Customer-requested fixes

Support

ESUs don't include technical support, but you can use an active support contract, such as Software Assurance, or Premier/Unified Support, to get technical support on workloads covered by ESUs if you choose to stay on-premises. Alternatively, if you're hosting on Azure, you can use an Azure Support plan to get technical support.

[!INCLUDE msCoName] can't provide technical support for [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances (both on-premises, and in hosting environments) that aren't covered with an ESU subscription.

ESU availability and deployment

ESUs are available to customers running their workload in Azure, on-premises, or hosted environments.

Azure workloads

If you migrate your workloads to an Azure service (for more information, see the Overview section), you'll have access to ESUs for [!INCLUDE ssSQL11] for up to three years after the End of Support, at no additional charge above the cost of running the Azure service. You don't need Software Assurance to receive ESUs in Azure.

Azure services running [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] receive ESUs automatically through existing [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] update channels or Windows Update. You don't need to install the [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] IaaS Agent extension to download ESU patches on an Azure SQL Virtual Machine.

Note

For [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] workloads deployed to Nutanix Cloud Clusters, which operate on Azure bare-metal infrastructure, or for Azure Stack, you must follow the same process as on-premises or hosted environments not connected to Azure Arc.

On-premises or hosted environments connected to Azure Arc

If you have Software Assurance, you can use Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc, to subscribe to ESUs for up to three years after the End of Support date, under one of the following agreements:

  • Enterprise Agreement (EA)
  • Enterprise Agreement Subscription (EAS)
  • Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE)
  • Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES)

You are billed through your Azure subscription only for the servers that you enabled for ESUs, and only if they run an eligible version of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion]. See instructions on how to subscribe to Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc later in this article.

On-premises or hosted environments not connected to Azure Arc

If you have Software Assurance, you can purchase an Extended Security Update (ESU) plan for up to three years after the End of Support date, under one of the following agreements:

  • Enterprise Agreement (EA)
  • Enterprise Agreement Subscription (EAS)
  • Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE)
  • Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES)

You can purchase ESUs only for the servers you need to cover. ESUs can be purchased directly from [!INCLUDE msCoName] or a [!INCLUDE msCoName] licensing partner.

Customers covered by ESU agreements must follow these steps to download and deploy an ESU patch:

  • Register disconnected SQL Server instances for ESUs.
  • Once registered, whenever ESU patches are released, a download link is provided in the Azure portal to download the package.
  • The downloaded package can be deployed to your on-premises or hosted environments manually, or through the update orchestration solution you use in your organization, such as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.

For more information, see the Extended Security Updates frequently asked questions.

Subscribe to Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc

If your on-premises or hosted environment [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances are connected to Azure Arc, you can enable ESUs as a subscription, which provides you with the flexibility to cancel at any time without having to separately purchase an ESU SKU. For more information, see Deployment options for Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server.

You can subscribe to Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc at any time using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI.

Azure portal

The following steps subscribe to ESUs using the Azure portal:

  1. When you connect your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance to Azure Arc, you can see the ESU status option in the Overview pane. The default for all new instances is N/A.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-not-applicable.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Overview pane for a SQL Server instance. ESU status is highlighted.":::

  2. Select N/A, and navigate to the SQL Server Configuration pane. In the License Type section, select License with Software Assurance.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-license-with-software-assurance.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the option to select for Software Assurance." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-license-with-software-assurance.png":::

  3. Select Subscribe to Extended Security Updates, and select Save.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-subscribe-save.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Subscribe to ESU option highlighted." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-subscribe-save.png":::

Azure PowerShell

The following command enables the ESU subscription using Azure PowerShell. Replace the following values for your own environment:

  • <resource_group>
  • <machine_name>
  • <azure_region>
# Updated settings object
$Settings = @{ SqlManagement = @{ IsEnabled = $true }; enableSecurityUpdates = $true }
New-AzConnectedMachineExtension -Name "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" -ResourceGroupName { <resource_group> } -MachineName { <machine_name> } -Location { <azure_region> } -Publisher "Microsoft.AzureData" -Settings $Settings -ExtensionType "WindowsAgent.SqlServer"

Warning

The update command overwrites all settings. If your extension settings have a list of excluded [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances, you must specify the full exclusion list with the update command.

If you have multiple [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances eligible for ESUs, you can subscribe in bulk using the Modify License Type PowerShell script, which allows you to configure the ESU setting for one of:

  • all Azure Arc-enabled machines a specific resource group,
  • an Azure subscription, or
  • all Azure subscriptions your Azure account has access to.

The script preserves all the existing settings. It is published as an open source [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] sample and includes step-by-step instructions.

Azure CLI

The following command enables the ESU subscription using Azure CLI. Replace the following values for your own environment:

  • <machine_name>
  • <resource_group>
az connectedmachine extension update --machine-name "<machine_name>" -g "<resource_group>" --name "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" --type "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" --publisher "Microsoft.AzureData" --settings '{ enableSecurityUpdates=$true, "SqlManagement": {"IsEnabled":true} }'

Warning

The update command overwrites all settings. If your extension settings have a list of excluded [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances, you must specify the full exclusion list with the update command.

Important

If you disconnect your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instance from Azure Arc, the ESU charges stop, and you won't have access to the new ESUs. If you haven't manually canceled your ESU subscription using Azure portal or API, the access to ESUs are immediately restored once you reconnect your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instance to Azure Arc, and the ESU charges resume. These charges include the time of disconnection. For more information about what happens when you disconnect your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances, see Frequently asked questions.

Cancel Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc

You can cancel Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc at any time using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI. The cancellation immediately stops the ESU charges.

Azure portal

The following steps cancel the ESU subscription using the Azure portal:

  1. Navigate to your connected [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instance. The ESU status option in the Overview pane shows the value Enabled.

  2. Select Enabled, and navigate to the SQL Server Configuration pane.

  3. In the Extended Security Updates section, select Unsubscribe from to Extended Security Updates, then select Save.

Azure PowerShell

The following command cancels the ESU subscription using Azure PowerShell. Replace the following values for your own environment:

  • <resource_group>
  • <machine_name>
  • <azure_region>
# Updated settings object
$Settings = @{ SqlManagement = @{ IsEnabled = $true }; enableSecurityUpdates = $false }
New-AzConnectedMachineExtension -Name "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" -ResourceGroupName { <resource_group> } -MachineName { <machine_name> } -Location { <azure_region> } -Publisher "Microsoft.AzureData" -Settings $Settings -ExtensionType "WindowsAgent.SqlServer"

Warning

The update command overwrites all settings. If your extension settings have a list of excluded [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances, you must specify the full exclusion list with the update command.

If you have multiple [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances eligible for ESUs, you can cancel in bulk using the Modify License Type PowerShell script, which allows you to configure the ESU setting for one of:

  • all Azure Arc-enabled machines a specific resource group,
  • an Azure subscription, or
  • all Azure subscriptions your Azure account has access to.

The script preserves all the existing settings. It is published as an open source [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] sample and includes step-by-step instructions.

Azure CLI

The following command cancels the ESU subscription using Azure CLI. Replace the following values for your own environment:

  • <machine_name>
  • <resource_group>
az connectedmachine extension update --machine-name "<machine_name>" -g "<resource_group>" --name "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" --type "WindowsAgent.SqlServer" --publisher "Microsoft.AzureData" --settings '{ enableSecurityUpdates=$false, "SqlManagement": {"IsEnabled":true} }'

Warning

The update command overwrites all settings. If your extension settings have a list of excluded [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances, you must specify the full exclusion list with the update command.

Important

Don't cancel Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc before or after migrating to Azure. When you migrate your on-premises [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances to [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] on Azure Virtual Machines or Azure VMware Solutions, the ESU charges will stop automatically, but you will continue to have full access to the Extended Security Updates. For more information, see Extended Security Updates: frequently asked questions.

Register disconnected SQL Server instances for ESUs

If your on-premises or hosted environment [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances can't be connected to Azure Arc, you can manually register your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances in the Azure portal to enable access to the ESUs. If you prefer to take advantage of the flexibility of Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc, follow the deployment options for Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server, and then subscribe to ESU as described in the previous section.

The following example shows how to manually register your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances in a disconnected state, in the Azure portal.

Prerequisites

  1. If you don't already have an Azure subscription, you can create an account using one of the following methods:

  2. The user creating disconnected Arc-enabled [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] resources must have the following permissions:

    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/read
    • Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances/write

    Users can be assigned to the Azure Connected SQL Server Onboarding role to get those specific permissions, or they can be assigned to built-in roles such as Contributor or Owner that have these permissions. For more information, see Assign Azure roles using the Azure portal.

  3. Register the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider in your Azure subscription:

    • Sign in to the Azure portal.

    • Navigate to your subscription, and select Resource providers.

    • If the Microsoft.AzureArcData resource provider isn't listed, you can add it to your subscription using the Register option.

  4. If you use Azure policies that only allow the creation of specific resource types, you need to allow the Microsoft.AzureArcData/sqlServerInstances resource type. If it isn't allowed, the SQLServerInstances_Update operation fails with a 'deny' Policy action log entry in the activity log of the subscription.

You can either register a single SQL Server instance, or upload a CSV file to register multiple SQL Server instances in bulk.

Single SQL Server instance

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Infrastructure > SQL Servers.

  3. To register a disconnected machine, select Add from the menu at the top of the screen.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-empty-list.png" alt-text="Screenshot of an empty list of SQL Servers list on the Azure Arc portal." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-empty-list.png":::

  4. Select Register Servers to add a disconnected [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-add-connected-or-registered.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the two options for adding connected or registered servers.":::

  5. On the next screen, you can choose to add a single or multiple [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances. The option for Single SQL Instance is selected by default.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-add-sql-registration-options.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Add SQL Registrations options.":::

  6. Choose the Subscription and Resource group for your registered [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance.

  7. Provide the required information as is detailed in this table, and then select Next:

    Value Description Additional information
    Instance Name Enter the output of command SELECT @@SERVERNAME, such as MyServer\Instance01. If you have a named instance, you must replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.
    SQL Server Version Select your version from the dropdown list.
    Edition Select the applicable edition from the dropdown list: Datacenter, Developer (free to deploy if purchased ESUs), Enterprise, Standard, Web, Workgroup.
    Cores Enter the number of cores for this instance
    Host Type Select the applicable host type from the dropdown list: Virtual machine (on-premises), Physical Server (on-premises), Azure Virtual Machine, Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, Other.

  8. You must confirm that you have the rights to receive Extended Security Updates, using the checkbox provided. The ESU checkbox is only visible when you select [!INCLUDE sssql11-md].

Now you can continue to the Confirmation section.

Multiple SQL Server instances in bulk

Multiple [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances can be registered in bulk by uploading a .CSV file. Once your .CSV file has been formatted correctly, you can follow these steps to bulk register your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances with Azure Arc:

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Infrastructure > SQL Servers.

  3. To register a disconnected machine, select Add from the menu at the top of the screen.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-empty-list.png" alt-text="Screenshot of an empty list of SQL Servers list on the Azure Arc portal." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-empty-list.png":::

  4. Select Register Servers to add a disconnected [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-add-connected-or-registered.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the two options for adding connected or registered servers.":::

  5. On this screen, you can choose to add a single or multiple [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances. Select the option for Multiple SQL Instances.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-multiple-sql-instances.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Multiple SQL Instances option.":::

  6. Select the Browse icon to upload the CSV file containing multiple disconnected [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances.

  7. You must confirm that you have the rights to receive Extended Security Updates, using the checkbox provided.

Now you can continue to the Confirmation section.

Confirmation

  1. We recommend using the Year2OrderID tag to link your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances to your ESU invoice number for easy reference. The Year2EntitlementConfirmed tag is automatically filled in.

    [!NOTE]
    If you use Azure services such as Azure Dedicated Host, Azure VMware Solution, Azure Nutanix Solution, and Azure Stack (Hub, Edge, and HCI), you can set the ESU invoice number to InvoiceNotNeeded.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-tags.png" alt-text="Screenshot of confirmation tags.":::

  2. Before you can add your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances, you must agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-terms.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the terms of use.":::

  3. Once you've added your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances, you'll see them in the portal after a few minutes. Because they were added manually, they always show in a disconnected state, with the description Registered.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-connected-servers.png" alt-text="Screenshot of two registered SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc portal." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-connected-servers.png":::

Link ESU invoice to registered servers

Customers can use the Purchase Order Number under Invoice Summary in their Microsoft invoice (as shown in the following screenshot) to link the ESU purchase with the registration of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances.

:::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-sample.png" alt-text="Sample invoice with Purchase Order Number highlighted.":::

Follow these steps to link an ESU invoice to your Azure Arc [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instances to get access to extended updates. This example includes both Connected and Registered servers.

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Infrastructure > SQL Servers.

  3. Use the checkboxes next to each server to select which machines you would like to link, and then select Link ESU invoice.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-select.png" alt-text="Screenshot of all SQL Server instances on the Azure Arc section." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-select.png":::

  4. Fill in the ESU invoice number in the Invoice ID section, and then select Link invoice.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-save.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the invoice ID on the Link ESU invoice page." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-save.png":::

  5. The servers you linked to the ESU invoice now show a valid ESU expiration date.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-linked.png" alt-text="Screenshot of SQL Server instances with a valid ESU expiration value." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-invoice-linked.png":::

Formatting requirements for CSV file

  • Values are comma-separated

  • Values aren't single or double-quoted

  • Values can include letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). No other special characters can be used. If you have a named instance, you must replace the backslash (\) with a hyphen (-). For example, MyServer\Instance01 becomes MyServer-Instance01.

  • Column names are case-sensitive and must be named as follows:

    • name
    • version
    • edition
    • cores
    • hostType

Example CSV file

The CSV file should look like this:

name,version,edition,cores,hostType
Server1-SQL2012,SQL Server 2012,Enterprise,12,Other Physical Server
Server2-SQL2012,SQL Server 2012,Enterprise,24,Other Physical Server
Server3-SQL2012,SQL Server 2012,Enterprise,12,Azure Virtual Machine
Server4-SQL2012,SQL Server 2012,Standard,8,Azure VMware Solution

Download ESUs

Once your [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] instances have been registered with Azure Arc, you can download the Extended Security Update packages using the link found in the Azure portal, if and when they're made available.

To download ESUs, follow these steps:

  1. Sign into the Azure portal.

  2. Navigate to Azure Arc and select Infrastructure > SQL Servers.

  3. Select a server from the list.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-list-of-servers.png" alt-text="Screenshot of a list of servers, with one server highlighted." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-list-of-servers.png":::

  4. Download security updates from here, if and when they're made available.

    :::image type="content" source="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-available-updates.png" alt-text="Screenshot of available security updates." lightbox="media/sql-server-extended-security-updates/extended-security-updates-available-updates.png":::

Supported regions

The following list shows the supported regions for this service:

  • Australia East
  • Canada Central
  • Central US
  • East Asia
  • East US
  • East US 2
  • France Central
  • Japan East
  • Korea Central
  • North Central US
  • North Europe
  • South Central US
  • Southeast Asia
  • UK South
  • West Europe
  • West US
  • West US 2
  • West US 3

Government regions aren't supported. For more information, see Can customers get free Extended Security Updates on Azure Government regions?

Frequently asked questions

For the full list of frequently asked questions, review the ESU frequently asked questions.

See also