Urgent note
Do not perform in-place SQL Server upgrades from SQL Server 2012/2014 to 2017 or 2019. Microsoft has removed the option for SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and will uninstall this during an in-place upgrade. SSRS will need to be installed from scratch and may not be able to recover any custom reports.
General notes
Recommended upgrade paths
- SQL Server 2012 → SQL Server 2016
- SQL Server 2014 → SQL Server 2016
- SQL Server 2017 → SQL Server 2019**
Supported SQL Server versions
- SQL Server 2016 (supported)
- SQL Server 2017 (not recommended for in-place upgrades)
- SQL Server 2019 (supported - but only from SQL Server 2017)
SQL Server versions 2017+ have removed SQL Server Reporting Services from the main installer and are not suitable for in-place upgrades. If upgrading to SQL Server 2017 or SQL 2019 is required, a server migration to new machines will need to take place and recommend contacting our Systems team to provide an assessment and quote.
Quick instructions
Modern SQL Server in-place upgrades are generally safe and relatively easy to perform. Download your licensed copy of SQL Server from your Microsoft vendor. Recommend using SQL Server 2016 for in-place upgrades at this point.
- Notify staff that Synergetic will be off-line
- Run SQL Server installer and select 'Upgrade'
- Select the correct SQL Server instance for Synergetic. In most cases, this will be the default instance.
- Click 'Next' until complete.
- Test and confirm SQL Server is working and upgraded correctly. Using SQL Server Management Studio, confirm the version (SQL 2016 - '13.xx', SQL 2017 - '14.xx', SQL 2019 - '15.xx')
- Test and confirm Synergetic is working correctly.