- On https://sqlserverupdates.com/sql-server-2014-updates/ website it says that 3 "Security Updates" were released after CU4 and then a GDR was released on 2023/02/14. Can someone explain what is the difference between the GDR and the 3 Security Updates ?
You may find this DBA.StackExchange answer helpful:
GDR stands for General Distribution Release, whilst CU stands for Cumulative Update. The difference is that GDR patches contain only security fixes, and CUs include security fixes and functional fixes.
And AMTwo's clarification comment on that answer is relevant:
A minor, but important clarification: GDR updates are a subset that will only include the most critical fixes. They are usually security related, but could be other wide-ranging critical issues. There will be security fixes that only go to CU & not GDR.
- Does the GDR update released on 2023/02/14 contain all the updates present in the 3 security updates released prior ?
Based on the aforementioned on what GDR is, then likely it should, unless they are not critical updates.
But also be aware that you shouldn't mix and max CU and GDR updates. The Microsoft recommendation is after the base version is installed, either only CU updates or only GDR updates should be installed. This is also noted in the linked answer I provided above:
For any given baseline, either the GDR or CU updates could be options (see below).
- If SQL Server installation is at a baseline version, you can choose either the GDR or CU update.
- If SQL Server installation has intentionally only installed past GDR updates, then choose to install the GDR update package.
- If SQL Server installation has intentionally installed previous CU updates, then chose to install the CU security update package.
