As an ongoing effort, Miro will deliver the Microsoft products reaching end-of-life (EOL) in or by March 2024 in a clear, concise way.
Three (3) things are very important – and potentially critical – to your organization:
Many of the listed products pertain to Windows Server. But we wanted to call your attention to Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2.
Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
These versions of Windows Server begin their Extended Security Updates (ESU) for servers under Software Assurance in October 2023 (that is, this month!). These ESU are available for three (3) years and are priced what some might term prohibitively: 100% of the list on-premise price for Windows Server for all three (3) years.
It would be between $16,000 and $77,000 per year for 20 Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2 licenses, depending on the edition deployed.
There are some steps you might take:
- Migrate workloads to Windows Server on Azure virtual machines and get three (3) years of free Extended Security.
- Upgrade to latest release for security, performance, and innovation. This would be especially true if the deployments were to remain on-premise and there is active Software Assurance coverage.
- Do nothing. But these versions of Windows Server products will no longer be supported except as self-help, which only includes those fixes released during the Mainstream Support and Extended Support phases. This could be the case for legacy applications running on these versions of Windows Server.
Remember that ESU are only available via a volume purchase agreement and for only those deployments covered by active Software Assurance.
Miro recommends considering an upgrade. This is for continuing support and does not consider legacy applications or third-party applications that require the older Microsoft technology. And without getting into the details of budgets, it is assumed that some of the decisions regarding an upgrade have to do with the cost.
Some of Miro’s Clients allowed their software to languish at a level that Microsoft no longer supported. And while the Client halted Software Assurance on these product licenses, it created “shelfware” – whose right-to-use is perpetual.
- For example, a Client was still using Windows Server 2003. This version is long out of support and the Client understands this. But the product, which is not covered by Software Assurance, cannot be upgraded to a newer version. Hence, it will appear on the Microsoft License Statement (MLS) as uncovered. And should that server ever be connected to the Internet, that’s where the security issues arise! Even if the server was in a standalone environment, the licenses – if the server and software were ever upgraded – would represent a cost to that Client.
- Another example involves another Client who has an older version of SQL Server deployed. These licenses – also not covered by Software Assurance – were not eligible for Extended Support Updates (ESU). And Software Assurance, having never covered these licenses, was required for ESUs. Thus, the Client was forced to purchase new licenses with Software Assurance to mitigate that situation.
The graphic below illustrates the more common Microsoft products that will reach end-of-life (EOL) in or by March 2024.
| Product | Release | Start Date | Mainstream End Date | Extended End Date |
| Dynamics CRM 2013 | Original Release (ver 6.0) | 1/12/2014 | 1/8/2019 | 1/9/2024 |
| Dynamics CRM 2013 | Service Pack 1 (ver 6.1) | 1/12/2014 | 1/8/2019 | 1/9/2024 |
| Hyper-V Server 2012 | 10/30/2012 | 1/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 | 11/25/2013 | 1/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Microsoft Host Integration Server 2013 | 11/20/2013 | 1/8/2019 | 1/9/2024 | |
| Microsoft Office Audit and Control Management Server 2013 | 7/16/2013 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Windows Embedded Compact 2013 | 8/11/2013 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Windows MultiPoint Server 2012 | 10/30/2012 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Windows Server 2012 | Original Release | 10/30/2012 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | Original Release | 11/25/2013 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 |
| Windows Storage Server 2012 | 10/30/2012 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 | |
| Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 | 11/25/2013 | 10/9/2018 | 10/10/2023 |
The red font in the graphic above illustrates past dates for Mainstream or Extended Support.
Not all versions or releases expire. For more details, see Lifecycle data export – Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Docs.
Contact Miro, your trusted software licensing advisor, for more information.