Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2008, Version 1 and Revision 2, will no longer be receive critical updates and support options except in very specific circumstances as of January 14, 2020. Of course at that time this server package will be at least 11 or 12 years old and it is not unreasonable to expect that users upgrade to newer and more robust and serviceable server software. When you re
alize that the underlying OS for Server 2008 (1) was Vista and for Rev(2) Windows 7 it is easier to see why changes might be in order.
In announcing the date Microsoft has the following comments:
"Customers who use Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 products and services should migrate to Microsoft Azure to take advantage of 3 additional years of Critical and Important security updates at no additional charge and modernize when ready. For environments other than Azure, we recommend customers upgrade to the latest version before the deadline. For customers who cannot meet the end-of-support deadline may purchase Extended Security Updates to keep server workloads protected until they upgrade (some restrictions apply)." More info:
It can be seen that Microsoft is really taking every effort to ensure that those who are locked into Server 2008 have the time to upgrade properly and systematically as well as determine what to do when they have apps which may not support the newer programs.
DocuCapture Upgraded with great results
Sometimes as a vendor we find ourselves in a dilemma when clients indicate they don't like the idea of moving off of a successful platform and making the effort and taking the risk with something new.
Microsoft suggests that customers using Server 2008 migrate to deploying either 2016 level server packages or 2019 server packages depending upon the match for the apps they are running. The server platform upgrade to these levels will mean that workstations and other systems will need to be upgraded to Windows 10 as well to ensure that compatibility with the server platform is carried through.
For Leppert one of the critical platforms they needed to consider was their hosted document management system, DocuCapture.
This service supports multiple clients who all depend upon the performance of the Leppert hosted servers to respond and store the records being placed by the clients into this cloud document management service. Historically the system has been running on hardware owned by Leppert and hosted in a Canadian secured data centre. It operated for both the server software and the SQL Server software needed to run the application on Server 2008(2) systems.
This past summer the DocuCapture installation was moved to the Microsoft Azure platform and installed with Server 2016 and SQL Server 2016. This move required users to upgrade to Windows 10 workstation software but this did not prove to be a challenge to the change.
The result has been a solid change with faster connection performance and the system hosted on a Canadian based platform with sites in Toronto and Quebec City. This provides excellent redundancy for the service and protects the performance needed for client data.
Plan it out and make the move before the expiry date for support and patches. As noted above the least that should be done is to move your Server 2008 into the MS Azure systems to gain a short timeline for continued help.
Server IT is a level of computer operation that the average user is not highly concerned with as they seldom interface with it. It is the realm of the IT professional as it should be but it is the underlying tool which all of the operating layers of a modern network are built on. Because of this complexity changes to server platforms are often held off and to see packages like Server 2008 being actively used after 10 or more years is not unusual. Unfortunately as technology changes, IT needs change and multiple generations of software are released there comes a time when supporting the older systems is just too hard.
In addition the security threats that modern networks must be able to resist are constantly changing as well and the newer architectures are built with the modern threats taken into account. Many of these threats were not even existent when the older systems were developed and it has taken massive efforts and work to continue their security over the years.
Upgrading is a healthy and valuable effort and the results as shown by our experience above scan bring benefits beyond the continued support.
Lee K
