Microsoft no longer supports Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. However, users can still get updates through a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program.
Now that support for Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 has been discontinued, it is becoming more difficult for users to maintain it. Microsoft is therefore accommodating its customers and is now offering a (paid) Extended Security Update (ESU) program for these versions of Windows Server. A similar program also exists for other Windows client and server, SQL Server and Dynamics AX products.
Within the ESU program, users continue to receive all critical and important updates for Windows Server for three years. Subscriptions must be renewed annually. In addition, customers must still meet a variety of conditions in order to use the ESU program.
Not cheap
The ESU updates are not cheap. For each year, customers pay the full license price. Customers of the now phased-out Windows Server editions can get in at any time over the next three years but must also pay for the previous license years.
The updates are free for the three years in question for customers who have migrated or are migrating their workloads to Azure. Only they pay for running the vm’s. This free option applies to Azure VMs, Dedicated Host, Azure VMware Solution, Nutanix Cloud Clusters on Azure and the Azure Stack portfolio.
For on-premises and hosted environments, the previously mentioned license rates apply. ESU updates can be purchased for these environments as Azure Arc ESUs or “regular” ESU licenses.
Customers taking the ESUs through Azure Arc will first be billed for the months missed after the end-of-support date of Oct. 10, 2023. After that, ESU support will be billed monthly instead of an annual bill.
Tip: Old Windows Servers open door for intruders, quarter of organizations must upgrade soon