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The chapter that is Windows Server 2012 is soon coming to an end. As of October 10, 2023, support for Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 will be discontinued. This means that these products will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, technical support, or online technical content updates. However, rest assured that Microsoft will have migration guidance for both cloud and on-premises solutions to help users transition to newer, supported versions.
A proven workhorse
Windows Server 2012 was originally released on September 4, 2012 as the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2. It introduced several significant updates and improvements over its predecessor at the time such as virtualization with Hyper-V 3.0, which introduced features like live migration, virtual machine replication, and network virtualization for a more robust virtualization platform - on top of enhanced storage capabilities and improved networking.
Stay up to date
To keep your system safe from security breaches and meet industry regulations, it's important to plan ahead and manage risks by moving your workloads to newer and supported versions of Windows Server. Rest assured that you have several options to pick from.
Your first option may be to upgrade to the later version of Windows Server, 2019 - but if you're upgrading from Windows Server 2012 to 2019, you'll need to take a step up with Windows Server 2016 first, and then move on to 2019. You can also do a fresh install of 2019, but remember to back up your server beforehand to avoid any data loss during the process.
Alternatively, you may consider moving to Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform, which offers several key benefits such as scalability, cost savings, and enhanced security. Before diving into upgrades or migrations, make sure your system meets the minimum hardware and software requirements for the newer version of Windows Server or for Azure. It's also crucial to assess your applications and workloads thoroughly to identify any compatibility issues that might come up during the migration process.
There's still time to make a game plan for the upcoming end-of-life of Windows Server 2012, and as you can see, there are options to explore. Regardless of your choice, it's crucial to proactively plan and take action to ensure system security, compliance with industry regulations, and to take advantage of the benefits of modern technologies.
