Microsoft has just announced the general availability of SQL Server 2025, which features significant upgrades in vCPUs and memory usage. We're considering an upgrade and instance consolidation, but we're currently facing the challenge of there being no available Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for it yet. I'm curious if anyone has an idea of how long it typically takes for AMIs to be made available after a new release. I assume we have to wait for one since direct installation isn't an option for us.
3 Answers
You actually don’t have to wait for an AMI to start working with SQL Server 2025. You could set up a compatible Windows EC2 instance and install SQL Server directly on it. Just keep in mind that you'd have to go with the Bring Your Own License (BYOL) model instead of using a pre-licensed AMI. The AMIs with SQL Server already included will take some time to be released, but you can migrate to those later if needed. It sounds like you plan to evaluate it before running in production anyway, so migrating might not be a concern for you.
It's hard to pinpoint an exact timeline, but generally, it takes a few weeks after a release for new AMIs to show up. Just keep an eye on AWS updates for any announcements regarding this.
Good news! The AMIs for SQL Server 2025 were actually released just yesterday. You can check this link for the official announcement: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/11/aws-availability-microsoft-sql-server-2025-images-amazon-ec2/. They may have rolled them out a bit earlier than expected!
Does BYOL need a dedicated host?