Windows Server 2012 support ends in October
After 10 October 2023, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 get no more security updates. Three months to plan.
On 10 October 2023, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reach the end of extended support. No more security updates after that. There are still a lot of them out there, quietly running file shares, old line-of-business apps and domain controllers.
Three months is enough if you start now:
- Find them all. Ask Active Directory, not people’s memory. Include virtual machines nobody logs into anymore.
- Sort them: upgrade in place, move the role to a new server, move to the cloud, or switch off.
- Start with the riskiest: anything facing the internet, and domain controllers.
- For the ones that can’t move in time, Microsoft sells Extended Security Updates, and gives them free for servers moved to Azure. Treat that as a bridge.
- Isolate what remains: no internet access, tight firewall rules, extra monitoring.
The old app that “only runs on 2012” is usually the real blocker. Talk to its vendor this month, not in September.