Supported version and edition upgrades (SQL Server 2017)

Applies to: SQL Server - Windows only

You can upgrade from SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x), SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.x), SQL Server 2012 (11.x), SQL Server 2014 (12.x), and SQL Server 2016 (13.x). This article lists the supported upgrade paths from these SQL Server versions, and the supported edition upgrades for SQL Server 2017 (14.x).

Pre upgrade checklist

Before upgrading from one edition of SQL Server 2017 (14.x) to another, verify that the functionality you're currently using is supported in the edition to which you're moving.

Before upgrading SQL Server, enable Windows Authentication for SQL Server Agent and verify the default configuration: that the SQL Server Agent service account is a member of the SQL Server sysadmin group.

To upgrade to SQL Server 2017 (14.x), you must be running a supported operating system. For more information, see Hardware and software requirements for SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2017.

Upgrade is blocked if there's a pending restart.

Upgrade is blocked if the Windows Installer service isn't running.

Unsupported Scenarios

• Cross-version instances of SQL Server 2017 (14.x) aren't supported. Version numbers of the Database Engine components must be the same in an instance of SQL Server 2017 (14.x).

• SQL Server 2017 (14.x) is only available for 64-bit platforms. Cross-platform upgrade isn't supported. You can't upgrade a 32-bit instance of SQL Server to native 64-bit using SQL Server Setup. However, you can back up or detach databases from a 32-bit instance of SQL Server, and then restore or attach them to a new instance of SQL Server (64-bit) if the databases aren't published in replication. You must re-create any logins and other user objects in master, msdb, and model system databases.

• You can't add new features during the upgrade of your existing instance of SQL Server. After you upgrade an instance of SQL Server to SQL Server 2017 (14.x), you can add features by using the SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Setup. For more information, see Add Features to an Instance of SQL Server (Setup).

• Failover Clusters aren't supported in WOW mode.

Upgrades from Earlier Versions to SQL Server 2017 (14.x)

SQL Server 2017 (14.x) supports upgrade from the following versions of SQL Server:

• SQL Server 2008 SP4 or later
• SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3 or later
• SQL Server 2012 SP2 or later
• SQL Server 2014 or later
• SQL Server 2016 or later

The following table lists the supported upgrade scenarios from earlier versions of SQL Server to SQL Server 2017 (14.x).

¹ Microsoft support to upgrade from release candidate software is specifically for customers who participated in the Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

SQL Server 2017 support for SQL Server 2005

This section discusses SQL Server 2017 (14.x) support for SQL Server 2005 (9.x). In SQL Server 2017 (14.x), you can:

• Attach a SQL Server 2005 (9.x) database (mdf/ldf files) to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) instance of database engine.

• Restore a SQL Server 2005 (9.x) database to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) instance of database engine from a backup.

• Back up a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) cube and restore it on SQL Server 2017 (14.x).

When a SQL Server 2005 (9.x) database is upgraded to SQL Server 2017 (14.x), the database compatibility level is changed from 90 to 100. (In SQL Server 2017 (14.x), valid values for the database compatibility level are 100, 110, 120, 130, and 140.) ALTER DATABASE (Transact-SQL) compatibility level discusses how the compatibility level change could affect SQL Server applications.

Any scenarios not specified in the previous list aren't supported, including but not limited to:

• Installing SQL Server 2005 (9.x) and SQL Server 2017 (14.x) on same computer (side by side).

• Using a SQL Server 2005 (9.x) instance as a member of the replication topology that involves a SQL Server 2017 (14.x) instance.

• Configuring database mirroring between SQL Server 2017 (14.x) and SQL Server 2005 (9.x) instances.

• Backing up the transaction log with log shipping between SQL Server 2017 (14.x) and SQL Server 2005 (9.x) instances.

• Configuring linked servers between SQL Server 2017 (14.x) and SQL Server 2005 (9.x) instances.

• Managing a SQL Server 2005 (9.x) instance from a SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Management Studio.

• Attaching a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) cube in SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Management Studio.

• Connecting to SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) from SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Management Studio.

• Managing a SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS) service from SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Management Studio.

• Support for SQL Server 2005 (9.x) third party custom Integration Services components, such as execute and upgrade.

SQL Server 2017 edition upgrade

The following table lists the supported edition upgrade scenarios in SQL Server 2017 (14.x).

For step-by-step instructions on how to perform an edition upgrade, see Upgrade to a different edition of SQL Server (Setup).

¹ Also applies to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Express with Tools and SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Express with Advanced Services.

² Changing the edition of a SQL Server 2017 (14.x) failover cluster is limited. The following scenarios aren't supported for SQL Server 2017 (14.x) failover clusters:

Additionally you can also perform an edition upgrade between SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Enterprise (Server+CAL license) and SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Enterprise (Core License):

¹ Changing the edition of a SQL Server 2017 (14.x) failover cluster is limited. The following scenarios aren't supported for SQL Server 2017 (14.x) failover clusters:

• SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Enterprise to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Developer, Standard, or Evaluation.
• SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Developer to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Standard or Evaluation.
• SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Standard to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Evaluation.
• SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Evaluation to SQL Server 2017 (14.x) Standard.

Related content

• Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017
• Hardware and software requirements for SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2017
• Upgrade SQL Server