SQL Server 2008 - now out of Mainstream Support with Microsoft!

Did you know that Mainstream Support for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 has ended on July 8, 2014. Microsoft is ending support for these products as part of our Support Lifecycle policy, found here.

Customers are encouraged to prepare and execute on their upgrade and/or sustained engineering plans as early as possible for these SQL versions.  Remaining current on your SQL Server version ensures that your product remains supported per the Support Lifecycle policy.
Additionally, your software benefits from the many enhancements, fixes, and security updates provided through the latest releases.

For both SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft will continue to provide technical support which also includes security updates during the duration of extended support.  See the table below for extended support end date.  Non-security hotfixes for these versions will be offered only to customers who have an Extended Hotfix Support agreement.  Please refer to Extended Hotfix Support – Microsoft for more information.

  

Products Released	Lifecycle Start Date	Mainstream Support End Date	Extended Support End Date	Service Pack Support   End Date
SQL Server 2008	11/6/2008	7/8/2014	7/9/2019	4/13/2010
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1	3/31/2009	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	10/11/2011
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2	9/24/2010	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	10/9/2012
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3	10/6/2011	Review Note	Review Note
SQL Server 2008 R2	7/20/2010	7/8/2014	7/9/2019	7/10/2012
SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1	7/12/2011	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	10/8/2013
SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2	7/26/2012	Review Note	Review Note

What does this “end of support” mean to you?

• You cannot call or open a case with CSS for technical support if you are running these versions after the respective dates above. There are only 2 exceptions to this:
  • You are contacting CSS to get help with an upgrade to a supported version
  • You have a Premier Support Agreement and have purchased something called a Custom Support Agreement (CSA) (contact your Technical Account Manager if you want to consider this option)
• Microsoft won’t produce any hotfixes or security updates for these specific versions (Custom Support Agreement customers are the exception)

 What should you do about it?

Do you need help with planning and implementing upgrades - I'm your DBA! Please contact me if you require help in any way or need to discuss your options. If you do not have extended support you could be open to risk without security patches in the future!

I would like a part time job in Shannon!

Hi,

I'm an experienced IT professional with over 15 years experience and I am open to new challenges.

I have 10+ years Oracle and MS SQL database administration experience. I have worked in a variety of challenging environments varying from high value manufacturing with Intel, to out-sourcing companies (IBM) and the telecommunications industry(O2 & Meteor).

This has provided me with experience in numerous technologies, systems, procedures and business best practice, in a broad cross section of companies within the industry.  I believe that there are companies in Shannon that could benefit from my broad range of skills. 

I believe that there is a lot I could bring to the table in addition to my IT experience. 

• I have Project Managed many projects during my career, the most recent being the installation and roll out of an office network in a local SME. This involved linking with external suppliers, coordinating staff to a tight timescale and ensuring zero downtime to staff. I have also ran a large long term project in Meteor to roll out Grid Control Monitoring to over 100 servers; liaising with external teams to ensuring the output was available to Monitoring team (SMC) and integrated with company-wide monitoring (HP-Openview).

• I have managed people a number of times in my career. Most recently, I managed the offshore database support working for IBM ensuring that key milestones and all work was performance targets were met, and adequate resources and training were available. This was a challenging role as I was the first DBA to liaise with Musgraves, requiring documentation all of Musgraves business practices and training of the offshore team. This involved organizing workshops with Musgrave staff and documenting the business processes.

• Change Management is a key role in any organization as correctly applied it will reduce the amount of unscheduled downtime which can directly impact the business. I’m used to working within change management best practice, ensuring minimum business impact, and rollback options are available prior to go-live i.e. the weekly code deployments in Payback Loyalty Systems, IBM, Meteor and O2. Also would have been heavily involved with change management for any project go live i.e. Changeover to new production database server in Payback. 

I am flexible about the role as I am interested in achieving a work life balance. I believe that the best work is always done in the morning in most work environments ( bar the last hour before a project deadline!) and as such I would ideally like a role from 9am-1pm daily.