You can specify any currently supported Microsoft SQL Server version when creating a new DB instance. You can specify the Microsoft SQL Server major version (such as Microsoft SQL Server 14.00), and any supported minor version for the specified major version. If no version is specified, Amazon RDS defaults to a supported version, typically the most recent version. If a major version is specified but a minor version is not, Amazon RDS defaults to a recent release of the major version you have specified.
The following table shows the supported versions for all editions and all AWS Regions,
except where noted. You can also use the describe-db-engine-versions AWS CLI command to see a list of
supported versions, as well as defaults for newly created DB instances. The following
table shows the SQL Server versions supported in RDS:
| Major version | Minor version | RDS API EngineVersion and CLI
engine-version |
|---|---|---|
| SQL Server 2022 |
16.00.4175.1 (CU17) 16.00.4165.4 (CU16) 16.00.4150.1 (CU15) 16.00.4140.3 (CU14 GDR) 16.00.4135.4 (CU14) 16.00.4131.2 (CU13) 16.00.4125.3 (CU13) 16.00.4120.1 (CU12 GDR) 16.00.4115.5 (CU12) 16.00.4105.2 (CU11) 16.00.4095.4 (CU10) 16.00.4085.2 (CU9) |
|
| SQL Server 2019 |
15.00.4420.2 (CU31) 15.00.4415.2 (CU30) 15.00.4410.1 (CU29 GDR) 15.00.4395.2 (CU28) 15.00.4390.2 (CU28) 15.00.4385.2 (CU28) 15.00.4382.1 (CU27) 15.00.4375.4 (CU27) 15.00.4365.2 (CU26) 15.00.4355.3 (CU25) 15.00.4345.5 (CU24) 15.00.4335.1 (CU23) 15.00.4322.2 (CU22) 15.00.4316.3 (CU21) 15.00.4312.2 (CU20) 15.00.4236.7 (CU16) 15.00.4198.2 (CU15) 15.00.4153.1 (CU12) 15.00.4073.23 (CU8) 15.00.4043.16 (CU5) |
|
| SQL Server 2017 |
14.00.3485.1 (CU31 GDR) 14.00.3480.1 (CU31) 14.00.3475.1 (CU31) 14.00.3471.2 (CU31) 14.00.3465.1 (CU31) 14.00.3460.9 (CU31) 14.00.3451.2 (CU30) 14.00.3421.10 (CU27) 14.00.3401.7 (CU25) 14.00.3381.3 (CU23) 14.00.3356.20 (CU22) 14.00.3294.2 (CU20) 14.00.3281.6 (CU19) |
|
| SQL Server 2016 |
13.00.6455.2 (GDR) 13.00.6450.1 (GDR) 13.00.6445.1 (GDR) 13.00.6441.1 (GDR) 13.00.6435.1 (GDR) 13.00.6430.49 (GDR) 13.00.6419.1 (SP3 + Hotfix) 13.00.6300.2 (SP3) |
|
Version management in Amazon RDS
Amazon RDS includes flexible version management that enables you to control when and how your DB instance is patched or upgraded. This enables you to do the following for your DB engine:
-
Maintain compatibility with database engine patch versions.
-
Test new patch versions to verify that they work with your application before you deploy them in production.
-
Plan and perform version upgrades to meet your service level agreements and timing requirements.
Microsoft SQL Server engine patching in Amazon RDS
Amazon RDS periodically aggregates official Microsoft SQL Server database patches into a DB instance engine version that's specific to Amazon RDS. For more information about the Microsoft SQL Server patches in each engine version, see Version and feature support on Amazon RDS.
Currently, you manually perform all engine upgrades on your DB instance. For more information, see Upgrades of the Microsoft SQL Server DB engine.
Important
Enabling the automatic minor version upgrade option for RDS for SQL Server (--auto-minor-version-upgrade)
registers your preference but does not apply the latest minor version update. Currently, RDS for SQL Server
does not support automatic minor version upgrade as it can affect your application performance
characteristics and in some cases cause database downtime.
Deprecation schedule for major engine versions of Microsoft SQL Server on Amazon RDS
The following table displays the planned schedule of deprecations for major engine versions of Microsoft SQL Server.
| Date | Information |
|---|---|
| July 9, 2024 |
Microsoft will stop critical patch updates for SQL Server 2014. For more information, see Microsoft SQL
Server 2014 |
| June 1, 2024 |
Amazon RDS plans to end support of Microsoft SQL Server 2014 on RDS for SQL Server. At that time, any remaining
instances will be scheduled to migrate to SQL Server 2016 (latest minor version available). For more
information, see Announcement:
Amazon RDS for SQL Server ending support for SQL Server 2014 major versions To avoid an automatic upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server 2014, you can upgrade at a time that is convenient to you. For more information, see Upgrading a DB instance engine version. |
| July 12, 2022 |
Microsoft will stop critical patch updates for SQL Server 2012. For more information, see Microsoft SQL
Server 2012 |
| June 1, 2022 |
Amazon RDS plans to end support of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on RDS for SQL Server. At that time, any remaining
instances will be scheduled to migrate to SQL Server 2014 (latest minor version available). For more
information, see Announcement:
Amazon RDS for SQL Server ending support for SQL Server 2012 major versions To avoid an automatic upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server 2012, you can upgrade at a time that is convenient to you. For more information, see Upgrading a DB instance engine version. |
| September 1, 2021 | Amazon RDS is starting to disable the creation of new RDS for SQL Server DB instances using Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
For more information, see Announcement:
Amazon RDS for SQL Server ending support for SQL Server 2012 major versions |
| July 12, 2019 |
The Amazon RDS team deprecated support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 in June 2019. Remaining instances of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 are migrating to SQL Server 2012 (latest minor version available). To avoid an automatic upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, you can upgrade at a time that is convenient to you. For more information, see Upgrading a DB instance engine version. |
| April 25, 2019 | Before the end of April 2019, you will no longer be able to create new Amazon RDS for SQL Server database instances using Microsoft SQL Server 2008R2. |
