Do you still hold a release or update in anticipation of an unknown service pack?
I was surprised to hear that some people do indeed still wait to update their systems – they wait for the next service pack after a major release. This was true “way back when” but I’ve not heard of this being a wide-spread approach of late. I was surprised to run across this.
I started digging and found some development shops that were connected to this whole process were doing the same – waiting for a set period of time or SP releases before updating software and before suggesting clients migrate systems.
I completely understand making the choice to update or not on the whole from one version to the next. In many cases, I know people will skip versions (though less so with the cloud-based installations) just for sanity and not having to constantly do updates. I get that. We have systems internally that that’s the approach for, even. (So shoot me)
But to hear the old approach of waiting for service packs, I was surprised.
With the availability of CTP releases, release candidates and the relative transparency on the update and upgrade process and cycles, and the stability of SQL Server on the whole, I rarely think it’s worth the wait, if it’s for that reason alone.
That’s a long-winded way of saying “things are much better now, general updates have been pretty darn stable for quite some time.”
Sure, if you’re moving to a major new feature or implementing new functionality or things along those lines, I’d suggest testing the stuffing out of the release and your systems and making sure all is good. But if you’re updating to SQL Server v.next on the whole – using mainstream, long-standing features and looking for additional speed, functionality and overall goodness, I think those days of waiting are past us.
What do you think? Do you wait for SP releases before rolling to a new release? If yes, why and how do you judge readiness?