SQL Server migrations, upgrades and high availability

Where the scope can be defined, the project is quoted as a single fixed price with milestone payments and written acceptance criteria, so there is no cost-overrun risk. Where it genuinely cannot be defined up front we say so and work at $150 per hour with a four-hour minimum. The scoping call is free and all prices are GST exclusive.

SQL Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 up to 2019 or 2022, in place or side by side, plus service pack and cumulative update programmes. SQL Server 2022 is supported until 12 January 2033; SQL Server 2019 is supported until 9 January 2030 but its mainstream support ended on 1 March 2025, so it is already extended-support only.

Not always. Standard Edition supports Basic Availability Groups, which cover one database per group with a single non-readable secondary. Enterprise Edition is required if multiple databases must fail over together or you want a readable secondary. Enterprise licensing often costs more than the whole project, so we settle the edition question during design rather than after it.

Usually minutes rather than hours. Log shipping or Azure Database Migration Service moves the bulk of the data while the source is still serving, so the cutover is the final catch-up and the switch. Where the window is genuinely tight, Managed Instance link narrows it further. The window is agreed before the work starts and the cutover is rehearsed against a copy of production first.

Managed Instance removes the patching and the end-of-support cycle, and keeps SQL Agent, cross-database queries and linked servers, which is what a lift from an on-premises instance usually depends on. It also moves spend from licences and capital to a monthly bill. Which is better depends on your sizing, and we model that before the decision rather than after the migration.

It rolls back, using a plan that has been executed in test rather than only written. Every migration and upgrade includes a full dry run against a copy of production before a cutover date is agreed, which is where the surprises are meant to be found. That rehearsal is the project, not optional rigour around it.

Only if you want us to. Project work is standalone and most clients hand the finished environment to their own team with the runbook and the documentation. Monthly DBA plans start at $1,500 for up to 10 SQL Server instances, which is $150 per instance, but nothing about the project depends on taking one.