Windows Server 2008 R2 End of Support is Near… What’s Your Plan?

Windows Server 2008 R2 End of Support is Near…

End-of-life mainstream support for Window Server 2008 R2 ended back on January 13th, 2015. But there’s one more HUGE deadline coming up. On January 14th, 2020, Microsoft will be ending support for Window Server 2008 R2 altogether. Although 2020 seems like it’s fairly far away, it’s vital to make plans for migrating away from this soon-to-be unsupported technology as soon as possible. Why? Because updating your environment is a big task and many IT companies are going to be booked up by the time the deadline is here.

We are booked up until February, 2020 with migrations, but we’re still happy to schedule you in afterward OR offer recommendations on ways to handle the end-of-life deadline. Call (703) 493-1796 or email us: info@novacomputersolutions.com.

If you’re still running Windows Server 2003 or running Hyper-V on a Windows Server 2008 R2 platform, it’s time to start planning your migration process. Why? Because once a product reaches its end-of-life, there will be no more security patches, bug fixes, and new features released. What does this mean? Microsoft isn’t supporting the operating system so companies that don’t migrate away will be leaving themselves open to exploitation.

Consider this… Once the operating system is no longer supported, cybercriminals will be aware that it’s no longer receiving security patches and bug fixes. They will learn all of the vulnerabilities and exploit them. Those who continue running the operating system will likely experience the following:

• Slow and/or lagging performance
• Theft of sensitive data
• Infections spreading on the network
• And much more

What editions will no longer be supported?

Unfortunately, all three available editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 will be unsupported once the deadline is reached. This includes:

1. Datacenter
2. Enterprise
3. Standard

Windows Server 2008 R2 is tightly integrated into the day-to-day operations of MANY companies, which means the end of support is bound to result in quite a bit of disruption. Microsoft will offer extended support after the deadline if you’re willing to pay for an extended security plan, however, it’s more cost effective in the long-run to simply complete the migration process.

What are our options?

If you’re running Windows Server 2008 R2, you have two options for migrating away before the end of support date:

1. Upgrade to a newer version of Windows Server/SQL Server: This is a good choice if you’re looking to remain on-premises, but remember, there isn’t a direct upgrade path without performing a clean install, which means you’ll need to upgrade to Windows Server 2012 first to preserve settings.
2. Migrate to Microsoft Azure: If you don’t need to keep applications on-premises, this is a good choice. The initial setup is incredibly quick and you can rest assured knowing high-redundancy and high-availability will give you peace of mind if a human error or natural disaster occurs.

Questions about migrating away from Windows Server 2008 R2? We’re happy to talk with you about your options and book you into our next available migration appointment. Call (703) 493-1796 or email us: info@novacomputersolutions.com.