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Deprecated and discontinued SQL Server 2016 features

Originally published by Tricore: June 14, 2017

This blog identifies the deprecated Microsoft® SQL Server® Database Engine features that are available in SQL Server 2016 and that will be removed in future releases of SQL Server.

Introduction

You often read about new features in SQL Server releases. However, you do not always find discussions about the deprecated features when you are planning to upgrade databases to a newer version. Because the rollback feature is not available during upgrades, you need to understand the deprecated features before you migrate production databases. The following sections provide details about features that will be discontinued in SQL Server releases after SQL Server 2016.

Backup and restore

The following list shows the status of various backup and restore operations:

  • Full and transaction log backups with a media password are already obsolete, but you can restore backups with a media password in SQL Server 2016. This feature will be removed in a future release.

  • The restore {database | log} with [media]password operation is deprecated.

  • The backup {database | log} with password and backup {database | log} with [media]password operations are discontinued.

Compatibility levels

You can’t upgrade directly from version 110 (SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2). Instead, you must first upgrade the database to SQL Server 2012 and then upgrade the database to the current version. However, database compatibility level 100 is supported. Compatibility levels are only available for the last two versions of SQL Server.

Encryption

Encryption using RC4 or RC4_128 is deprecated and is scheduled to be removed in the next version of SQL Server. Decrypting RC4 and RC4_128 is not deprecated. You should start using another encryption algorithm such as AES.

Remote stored procedures

Remote stored procedures start after a Transact-SQL distributed transaction is executed by the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC).

Remote servers are supported in SQL Server 2016 for backward compatibility only. New applications should use linked servers instead.

Table hints

The table hint WITH keyword feature is deprecated and will be removed in future versions of SQL Server. Newly developed apps should not use the WITH keyword.

Separating hints with spaces

The ability to separate hints with spaces (instead of commas) will be removed in an upcoming version of SQL Server. Do not use this feature in any new development work and modify applications that currently use this feature as soon as possible.

SQLMaint utility

The SQLMaint utility executes database maintenance plans created with previous versions of SQL Server. This feature will be made obsolete in future versions. Replace this utility with the SQL Server maintenance plan feature.

Features discontinued in SQL Server 2016

The following features were discontinued in SQL Server 2016:

  • SQL Server 2016 is a 64-bit application. The 32-bit installation was discontinued, though some elements of SQL Server 2016 still run as 32-bit components.

  • Compatibility level 90 was discontinued.

  • The ActiveX subsystem was discontinued. Use command line or PowerShell scripts instead.

Conclusion

The deprecated features listed in this blog will be removed in a future release of SQL Server, but Microsoft has not scheduled when the removals will happen. Test old applications before migrating to a new version of SQL Server, and do not use deprecated features in any new development work.

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