discontinued-database-engine-functionality-in-sql-server.md

title	Discontinued Database Engine Functionality
description	Learn which database engine functionality and features were discontinued in SQL Server.
author	MikeRayMSFT
ms.author	mikeray
ms.reviewer	randolphwest
ms.date	11/18/2025
ms.service	sql
ms.subservice	release-landing
ms.topic	release-notes
ms.custom	ignite-2025
helpviewer_keywords	VIA protocol unsupported features [SQL Server] SQL Mail discontinued functionality [SQL Server] RESTORE WITH DBO_ONLY BACKUP WITH PASSWORD user instances enabled BACKUP WITH MEDIAPASSWORD AWE SQL-DMO *= and =* 80 compatibility levels COMPUTE BY user instance timeout sp_dropalias COMPUTE SSL WITH APPEND sys.database_principal_aliases sp_dboption DATABASEPROPERTY FASTFIRSTROW hint SET DISABLE_DEF_CNST_CHK DQS Data Quality Services MDS Master Data Services Synapse Link
monikerRange	>=sql-server-linux-2017 || >=sql-server-2016

Discontinued Database Engine functionality in SQL Server

[!INCLUDE sqlserver]

This article describes the [!INCLUDE ssDE] features that are no longer available in [!INCLUDE ssnoversion].

Discontinued features in SQL Server 2025 (17.x)

• Data Quality Services (DQS) is removed in [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]. We continue to support DQS in [!INCLUDE sssql22-md] and earlier versions.

• Master Data Services (MDS) is removed in [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]. We continue to support MDS in [!INCLUDE sssql22-md] and earlier versions.

• Synapse Link is discontinued in this version of SQL Server. Use Mirroring in Fabric instead. For more information, see Mirroring in Fabric – What's new.

• Purview access policies (DevOps policies and data owner policies) are discontinued in [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]. Use Fixed server-level roles instead.

  • In place of the SQL Performance Monitoring Purview policy action, use the ##MS_ServerPerformanceStateReader## and/or ##MS_PerformanceDefinitionReader## fixed server roles.

  • In place of SQL Security Auditing Purview policy action, use the ##MS_ServerSecurityStateReader## and/or ##MS_SecurityDefinitionReader## fixed server roles.

  • Use the ##MS_DatabaseConnector## server role with existing logins, to connect to a database without the need to create a user in that database.

Discontinued features in SQL Server 2022 (16.x)

• The following Machine Learning Services packages are no longer included with installation of [!INCLUDE sssql22-md]. Instead, you can install any custom packages as desired. For more information, see What's new in SQL Server Machine Learning Services?

  Language	Package
  Python	microsoftml (Python package in SQL Server Machine Learning Services)
  R	olapR (R package in SQL Server Machine Learning Services)
  R	sqlrutils (R package in SQL Server Machine Learning Services)
  R	MicrosoftML (R package in SQL Server Machine Learning Services)

• SQL Server Big Data Clusters retired on February 28, 2025. For more information, see Big data options on the Microsoft SQL Server platform.

• [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] PolyBase scale-out groups will be retired. Scale out group functionality is removed from the product in [!INCLUDE sssql22-md]. PolyBase data virtualization continues to be fully supported as a scale-up feature in [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md].

• Support for Hadoop (HDFS) external data sources will be retired for [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] PolyBase.

• See Changes to PolyBase support in SQL Server.

• In [!INCLUDE sssql22-md] and later versions, Hadoop external data sources are no longer supported. You must manually recreate external data sources previously created with TYPE = HADOOP, and any external table that uses this external data source. You must also configure your external data sources to use new connectors when connecting to Azure Storage.

  External Data Source	From	To
  Azure Blob Storage	wasb[s]	abs
  ADLS Gen 2	abfs[s]	adls

• In July 2024, Stretch Database was discontinued in all supported versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md].

Discontinued features in SQL Server 2019 (15.x)

The following database scoped configuration options are discontinued:

• DISABLE_BATCH_MODE_ADAPTIVE_JOIN
• DISABLE_BATCH_MODE_MEMORY_GRANT_FEEDBACK
• DISABLE_INTERLEAVED_EXECUTION_TVF

For current configuration options, see ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION.

In July 2024, Stretch Database was discontinued in all supported versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md].

Discontinued features in SQL Server 2017 (14.x)

In July 2024, Stretch Database was discontinued in all supported versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md].

No other features were discontinued in [!INCLUDE sssql14].

Discontinued features in SQL Server 2016 (13.x)

• [!INCLUDE sssql15-md] is a 64-bit application. 32-bit installation is discontinued, though some elements run as 32-bit components.

• Compatibility level 90 is discontinued. For more information, see ALTER DATABASE (Transact-SQL) compatibility level.

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

• Startup parameters -h and -g. For more information, see Database Engine Service Startup Options.

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption is discontinued. Use Transport Layer Security (TLS) instead. For more information, see Encrypt connections to SQL Server by importing a certificate.

• The precompute rank server configuration option was discontinued beginning with [!INCLUDE sql2008-md]. The article was removed from documentation.

• In July 2024, Stretch Database was discontinued in all supported versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md].

Previous versions

• Discontinued Database Engine Functionality in SQL Server 2014

Related content

• Deprecated Database Engine features in SQL Server 2022 (16.x)
• Deprecated Database Engine features in SQL Server 2019 (15.x)
• Deprecated Database Engine features in SQL Server 2017 (14.x)
• Deprecated Database Engine features in SQL Server 2016 (13.x)
• Breaking changes to Database Engine features in SQL Server 2019
• Breaking changes to Database Engine features in SQL Server 2017
• Breaking changes to Database Engine features in SQL Server 2016
• Deprecated Features in SQL Server Replication