Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 End of Support – 10th October 2023

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 became very common place especially across small businesses as the previously popular SBS (Small Business Server) fell out of support.

Server 2012 and R2 whilst being the natural successor to Windows Server 2008, didn’t come with a Small Business Server version (SBS 2011 was the last, based on Server 2008 R2), which pushed a lot of businesses towards cloud based email solutions such as Microsoft Office 365.  Small Business Servers based on Windows Server 2008, included licensing and features for Small Businesses (up to 75 users) to run On-Premise Microsoft Exchange, Sharepoint, SQL, Remote Web Workplace and more (on top of default Windows Server features such as Domain Services and Active Directory).

With the removal of these inclusive services, Server 2012 changed the landscape for Server infrastructure in small businesses and in turn kick started the increase in Cloud Computing, but also with advancements in Microsoft Hyper-V also changing the landscape of Server infrastructure to Virtualisation as Microsoft looked to gain ground on VMWare, Citrix etc.. in the Virtualisation market.

Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 certainly changed the landscape, and now it’s time to say goodbye.  End of Support is on 10th October 2023 and it is critical if you have Server 2012 instances, especially if internet facing are upgraded to a new server version ASAP.

Following the End of Support, Microsoft will stop creating patches, updates and more importantly Security Updates for this version.

Quite often Security Updates released by Microsoft are developed to fix potential issues with all Server versions, following the end of support, 2012 and 2012 R2 will not have these same updates created (unless you pay for the Extended Security Update program).  The problem is that security issues on Server 2022 could be present on Server 2012 and whilst Server 2022 will have a patch created to resolve the vulnerability, Server 2012 won’t.  Bad guys / Hackers, reverse engineer updates to see what has been fixed or closed as a vulnerability and look for ways to compromise such openings.  This is why Windows Patching is important and more so in the case of Server 2012 and R2 needing to removed from service as they will no longer receive the patches or updates.

October is Cyber Security Awareness month and highlighting the risks of Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2 going End of Support is important as it could be your weakest link.

Get in touch for any Cyber Security advice or help with securing your environment following Server 2012 and 2012 R2 going End of Support.