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Microsoft warns of Windows Server 2012/R2 end-of-life

Microsoft warns of Windows Server 2012/R2 end-of-life

Microsoft issued another warning about Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2’s reaching end-of-life status in October this year. The giant urges users to update to newer versions or Azure Virtual Machine instances.

All support for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 ceases on October 10. Though mainstream support already ended in 2018, the tech giant kept releasing updates over the past five years to ease the transition to newer versions. Starting this year, remaining security updates and bug fixes will come to an end.

Alternatives

Microsoft urges users of Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2021 R2 to switch to newer versions such as Windows Server 2022.

Customers can also purchase so-called Extended Security Updates (ESUs), which provide security updates and bug fixes for a fee. Latter updates will continue to be deployed until October 13, 2026. Existing ESUs for Windows Server 2008/R2 reach end-of-life status on January 10, 2023.

Another alternative is to move databases and applications to Azure Virtual Machines. Users that do so also get three years of ESUs after end-of-life kicks in. Azure Arc can be used for this purpose, Microsoft indicates.

Tip: Windows Server 20H2 will soon be history