All good things come to end and the end is nearing. What am I talking about you ask? That is end of support for several Microsoft server products in just 5 short months. Yes friends, in 5 short months there are several products that will be going end of support ( EOS) . What does this mean for those running these products? Keep reading and this post will detail what key products will be end of support and what options you have to get updated and current.

Got Support?

First off, let's briefly review the Microsoft Fixed Lifecycle Policy and the different support phases. The Fixed Lifecycle Policy is a policy for products with a defined end-of-support dates for the following :

Business, developer, and desktop operating systems

Consumer and multimedia

Device operating systems

Typically the products under the Fixed Lifecycle receive 10 years of support at the supported service pack level for business, developer, and desktop operating system products. The support is broken down into 2 categories, Mainstream support and Extended Support. It starts off with a minimum of five years Mainstream Support followed by five years Extended Support. Consumer and multimedia products get five years of Mainstream Support at the supported service pack level, there is no extended supported. Please note that the Fixed Lifecycle Policy does not apply to all products so I recommend checking the lifecycle product search to see the specific support offerings for a particular product. After the end of the Extended Support there will be no patches or security updates. Not receiving security updates can expose your systems and business to serious security risks as well compliance issues

Mainstream Support ( supported service pack level) is the first phase ( 5 years) of the product support lifecycle. It includes the following:

Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims)

Security update support

The ability to request non-security hotfixes

The Extended Support is the 2nd phase ( last 5 years out of the 10) follows Mainstream Support. At the supported service pack level, Extended Support includes:

Paid support - (Limited complimentary support may be available (varies by product))

Security updates at no additional cost

Ability to request non-security fixes for select products, for eligible Unified Support customers.

What Products will be affected?

As of July 9th, 2019 SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 has already reached EOS. Run with caution if you haven't migrated to a new version.

Products that will be EOS on January 14, 2020 are as follows:

Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2

Exchange Server 2010 - (yes, you will always be one of my favorite versions)

Windows 7

Windows 7 Professional for Embedded Systems

What are my options?

If you are running any of the above versions and don't have an upgrade plan, time is running out but you do still have several options.

Option 1 - Upgrade on-premises to the current support version through a series of in place upgrades or via migration. For a complete guide of upgrade steps check out the upgrade center . My colleagues have also written some great posts on doing various upgrade implementations that you may also find useful.

Option 2 - Migrate to Azure with free security updates

Rehost Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 workloads to Azure

By migrating SQL Server to Azure Managed Instances or VMs, you get three more years of Windows Server 2008 R2 or 2008 critical security updates, included at no additional charge.

Get three years of Extended Security Updates at no additional charge, and upgrade to a current version when ready

Option 3 - Purchase Extended Security Updates

The delivery of Extended Security Updates will begin after the End of Support dates, if and when available.

Purchased through a Microsoft Licensing partner

Customers with active Software Assurance or subscription licenses for their servers are eligible to purchase Extended Security Updates on-premises through an EA, EAS, SCE, or EES

Check out the Extended Security updates FAQ for more detailed information

The clock is ticking (fast), however there is still time to take some action. Identify and assess your inventory then start building a plan. Good luck!