Your Database is End of Life – Now What?

Databases are crucial to daily operations, so what happens when the versions you rely on reach their end of support, also known as end of life? Everything from data security issues to costly downtime to a lack of modern features can hold your organization back. Staying informed about database end of support dates is the key to maintaining data security, compliance, and performance.

Key Database End of Life Dates in 2023

Many database technologies have end of life dates slated in 2023 or have recently passed in 2022. These include:

• Oracle 11g and 12c: December 2023
• MySQL 5.7: October 2023
• PostgreSQL 10: November 2022
• PostgreSQL 11: November 2023
• MariaDB 10.10: November 2023
• Apache Cassandra 3: December 2023
• SQL Server 2012: July 2022
• MongoDB 6.3: August 2023
• Couchbase 7.1: December 2023

Please note that Platform-as-a-Service versions of these database systems may have different end of support dates. Check your cloud provider’s documentation for that service to learn about any adjustments.

What Exactly Does Database End of Life Mean?

Database end of life is when a database vendor officially stops providing support and maintenance for that version. Databases generally follow this typical life cycle:

• Release to Market Stage: The vendor launches the initial version of the database. New features may be limited as the product establishes itself in the market.
• Active Support: The database enters a period of active support where the vendor regularly provides updates, fixes, patches, and assistance for issues that arise.
• Extended Support: Support becomes more limited, with fewer updates and patches. The vendor encourages users to upgrade to newer versions.
• End of Life: The vendor discontinues all support and maintenance. No further updates, patches, or technical help is provided, unless your company has a very costly agreement with the vendor.

This progression allows database technology providers to focus their resources on their latest offerings. Factors like technological advancements, security vulnerabilities, and shifting business priorities contribute to a database version reaching end of life. Once EOL hits, organizations using the database are running an unsupported, out-of-date system.

Top Challenges of Database End of Life

When dealing with database EOL, enterprises encounter challenges like:

Business Disruption: Migrating business-critical databases requires careful planning to minimize downtime and disruption during the transition period.

Resource Constraints: Executing a database migration takes considerable time and staff resources away from daily responsibilities. Other IT projects may face delays or reprioritization.

Legacy Compatibility Issues: Newer databases may be incompatible with some legacy applications, scripts, integrations, and connectors built for the previous version. IT teams face effort assessing the impact and re-engineering these dependencies.

Training Needs: Employees across the business may require training on new interfaces, capabilities, and use cases with the upgraded database technology. Proactive education is essential for adoption.

Audit Compliance: Ensuring database support from the vendor is a crucial item on the audit checklist. Advanced planning to overcome these hurdles is crucial for successful database upgrades and minimizing business disruption.

Key Benefits of Timely End of Life Database Upgrades

By prioritizing the upgrade process from EOL databases, you can realize significant advantages including:

• Enhanced Security: Supported databases integrate the latest security features and patches to safeguard your sensitive data. EOL databases lack these protections.
• Compliance & Auditability: Current databases help you meet evolving compliance and audit standards. EOL versions fall short as regulations change.
• Improved Efficiency & Scale: Modern databases offer superior performance, scalability, and management capabilities to support growth and new initiatives.
• Better Reliability: Vendor supported databases give you access to security patches, bug fixes, and other technical support. EOL databases come with more downtime risk.
• New Features & Innovation: Upgrades let you leverage useful new tools, integrations, and capabilities to power your digital initiatives and channels.
• Cloud Enablement: Newer databases facilitate migration to the cloud and hybrid environments. EOL versions may lack cloud readiness.

Best Practices for a Successful End of Support Database Upgrade

Here are some additional tips and leading practices for a database systems transition:

• Conduct extensive testing in staging environments prior to go-live deployment.
• Phase the rollout gradually by major applications one by one to limit disruption.
• Provide training and support to help users adopt the new database.
• Develop comprehensive roll back plans for reverting back if severe issues emerge.
• Assign dedicated upgrade teams to provide ongoing assistance and triage.
• Back up data both before and continuously during the migration process.
• Monitor the performance of the new database closely post-migration to optimize configurations.
• Document lessons learned and operational procedures for current and future migrations.
• Consider leveraging external resources to enhance your project’s capacity and ensure timely completion of the initiative.

With adequate planning, resources, and oversight, your organization can migrate from end of life databases smoothly and efficiently. At Datavail, we have helped 100s of customers through this process. Learn more about our database upgrade and managed support services for your end of life databases.