This topic describes the lifecycle phases of Windows Server versions and provides solutions to mitigate the risks associated with the end of life (EOL) of Windows Server 2008 and 2012.
Windows Server lifecycle
The Windows Server operating system developed by Microsoft is widely deployed in enterprise-level environments to provide various features, such as network services, file storage, application hosting, security management, and virtualization, for enterprise IT infrastructure and applications. Alibaba Cloud provides Windows Server public images, which are from the official operating systems provided by Microsoft. Alibaba Cloud and Microsoft jointly provide technical support for the images.
A Windows Server operating system goes through the Mainstream Support, Extended Support, and End of Support (EOS) phases within a product lifecycle. For more information, see Fixed Lifecycle Policy.
Windows Server 2012 and earlier versions reached the end of extended support. If your Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances run the preceding operating systems, we recommend that you take appropriate measures to continuously obtain maintenance and support, including software and security updates, to mitigate EOL impacts on the operating systems. The following table describes the product lifecycle phases of Windows Server versions.
Version | Release date | End of Mainstream Support | End of Extended Support | End of Extended Security Update |
Windows Server 2025 | 2024-11-01 | 2029-10-09 | 2034-10-10 | - |
Windows Server 2022 | 2021-08-18 | 2026-10-13 | 2031-10-14 | - |
Windows Server 2019 | 2018-11-13 | 2024-01-09 | 2029-01-09 | - |
Windows Server 2016 | 2016-10-15 | 2022-01-11 | 2027-01-12 | - |
Windows Server 2012 | 2012-10-30 | 2018-10-09 | 2023-10-10 | 2026-10-13 |
Windows Server 2008 | 2008-05-06 | 2015-01-13 | 2020-01-14 | 2023-01-10 |
Windows Server 2003 | 2003-05-28 | 2010-07-13 | 2015-07-14 | - |
Impacts of Windows Server EOL
Based on the lifecycle timelines for Microsoft Windows Server, the Windows Server EOL has the following impacts:
After January 14, 2021, Windows Server 2008 no longer receives software maintenance or support, including bug fixes and feature updates.
After October 10, 2023, Windows Server 2012 no longer receives software maintenance or support, including bug fixes and feature updates.
The Windows Server EOL has the following impacts on Alibaba Cloud public images and ECS instances:
ECS instances that were created by using Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 continue to run and are not affected.
The support cycles for Windows Server public images align with the Microsoft Windows Server lifecycle plan.
Optionsl for handing Windows Server EOL
Consider the options for handling Windows Server EOL based on your business scenarios. If your business is about to be phased out, no measures are required. If your business runs only in a private network, take measures to mitigate the related risks.
If your business provides Internet-facing services or requires high business stability and security, evaluate the impacts and devise plans to resolve the related issues at the earliest opportunity.
For new business
We recommend that you select public images that run Windows Server versions in the Mainstream Support phase to create ECS instances, but do not use Windows Server public images that reached EOL to create ECS instances.
For existing business
If you want to run Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 on ECS instances within a short period of time, subscribe to the Extended Security Update (ESU) service to receive the most recent security updates and bug fixes.
If you want to maintain long-term business stability, evaluate and perform a Windows Server upgrade at the earliest opportunity.
Upgrade to a later version
We recommend that you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server, which allows you to retain existing pipelines and configurations in enterprise-level environments. This upgrade method retains existing applications, configurations, and data on ECS instances and ensures that you can continuously receive security updates, bug fixes, and technical support. We recommend that you use Alibaba Cloud Server Migration Center (SMC) to perform an in-place upgrade to migrate the instances. SMC is integrated with the Microsoft upgrade procedure to help you easily upgrade Windows Server by using the graphical user interface (GUI). The following table describes the support scope of the in-place upgrade by SMC, including the source and destination operating system versions and related references.
Source operating system | Destination operating system | References |
Windows Server 2008 | Windows Server 2016 | |
Windows Server 2012 | Windows Server 2016 | |
Windows Server 2012 R2 | Windows Server 2016 | |
Windows Server 2019 |
Subscribe to the ESU service
If you are temporarily unable to upgrade Windows Server and want to securely use the existing Windows Server version, you can subscribe to the ESU service provided by Microsoft. The ESU service is a temporary resort solution to securely run Windows Server on your instances before you upgrade Windows Server. The ESU service provides critical and important security updates up to three years after the end date of extended support. The ESU service of Windows Server 2008 ended on January 10, 2023. For Windows Server 2012, its Extended Support phase ended on October 10, 2023, and its ESU service will end on October 13, 2026. For more information about the ESU service, see Extended security updates.
References
For information about the lifecycle timelines of various operating systems, see Operating system lifecycle.