Microsoft gives admins an extra three years of Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2012
There is some good news for anyone who wants or needs to stick with Windows Server 2012 for a little longer.
Just a month after Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Embedded Server 2012 R2 reached end of support, Microsoft has announced that administrators are able to get three additional years of Extended Security Updates (ESUs).
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The move is designed to give more time to prepare for upgrades and migration, but Microsoft has decided to introduce a slightly awkward steps for anyone looking to take advantage of the extension in its entirety. Rather than making it possible to obtain the full three years as a package, ESU must be renewed every year until the limit is reached.
In an update posted to the Windows release health pages, Microsoft says:
Windows Server 2012/R2: Extended Security Updates
You can now get three additional years of Extended Security Updates (ESUs) if you need more time to upgrade and modernize your Windows Server 2012, Windows Server R2, or Windows Embedded Server 2012 R2 on Azure. This also applies to Azure Stack HCI, Azure Stach Hub, and other Azure products. A new article provides details and step-by-step instructions to extending limited protection for up to three consecutive 12-month increments.
Microsoft's Poornima Priyadarshini adds: "If you've already moved to Azure to protect your Windows Server 2012 and R2 workloads, you might be enjoying free Extended Security Updates. If your organization is unable to migrate, you can purchase and seamlessly deploy Windows Server 2012 Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc on premises and in hosted environments without keys, directly from the Azure portal".
More details and instructions about how to proceed can be found here.
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