IT departments organizations are busy keeping up with XP replacements, Cloud migrations, BYOD implementations and now Microsoft has reminded everybody that there are other fires burning on the horizon. Microsoft (MSFT) is warning that they are ending mainstream support for more popular Windows products. Some of the key products ending mainstream support include; Windows 7, Window Server 2008, Exchange 2010, and SharePoint 2010.
So what does Redmond mean when it ends “Mainstream Support”?
Mainstream support is the typically five-year period when Microsoft provides free patches and fixes, including but not limited to security updates, for its products.- When a product exits the mainstream support phase, Microsoft continues to provide a period (also often five years) of extended support, which means users get free security fixes but other types of updates are paid and require specific licensing deals.
- “End of support” means there will be no more fixes or patches — paid or free, security or non-security — coming for specific products. CNET says there are some temporary workarounds, as Windows XP users have discovered, but as a general rule, end of support means, for most intents and purposes, the end.
Here are some critical (or not so critical) dates. You may want to circle in red on your calendar and start planning now. Do you have funds in your 2020 capital budget for new hardware? Will cloudifying these be the answer? Are you up to speed on Azure? Are your apps up to speed on Azure?
September 14, 2014 mainstream support ends Windows Phone 7.8.
October 14, 2014, is a critical date, support ends for
- Office 2010 (Including Viso and Project) with Service Pack 1 mainstream support ends.
- SharePoint Server 2010 Service Pack 1 mainstream support ends
January 13, 2015, is a big day for Microsoft support
- Windows 7, Mainstream, free support ends on for all versions of Windows 7 (Enterprise, Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, and Starter) as well as Windows 7 SP1.
- Extended support for Windows 7 lasts until January 14, 2020, so users can expect to continue to receive free security updates, but not feature updates, for Windows 7 until that point.
- Some industry watchers have speculated that Microsoft will end up pushing out Windows 7’s support dates the way the company did for XP, given Windows 7’s popularity and pervasiveness, but so far, CNET says there is no evidence of it happening.
- Windows Server 2008 – Mainstream support also ends on all versions of Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. Extended support remains in place until 2020.
- Exchange 2010 – Mainstream support will also end on all versions of Exchange 2010. Extended support remains in place until 2020.
- Other Microsoft products whose mainstream support ends on January 13, 2015 include :
- All editions of Windows Storage Server 2008,
- Dynamics C5 2010,
- NAV 2009 and NAV 2009 R2
- Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 with SP3
- Visual Studio 2012
- Microsoft recommends its customers to get updated, “Customers should migrate to the next available Service Pack to continue to receive security updates and be eligible for other support options.”
July 14, 2015, Microsoft’s extended support period for Server 2003 cuts off (I covered the end of 2003 here). MSFT won’t be issuing patches, updates, or fixes of any kind for that operating system (unless users have pricey Custom Support Agreements in place). Redmond is hoping to move 2003 hold-outs to Windows Server 2012 R2 and/or Azure.
October 13, 2015, is another big deal day
- Office 2010, Visio 2010, Project 2010 — Mainstream Support ends. Extended support should run into 2020.
- SharePoint Server 2010 — Mainstream support ends. Extended support should run into 2020.
April 11, 2017 – Extended Support ends for Windows Vista ends. No more updates. Time to upgrade (rb- if you haven’t already moved on).
August 11, 2017 – Extended Support ends for Exchange Server 2007. No more updates. Time to upgrade.
January 10, 2018, Mainstream support for Windows 8.1 ends for all versions of Windows 8. Customers still running Windows 8 have until January 12, 2016, to update to Windows 8.1 in order to stay supported.
rb-
Remember this – running out-of-date software which no longer receives security updates is playing into the hands of online criminals and hackers.
Related articles
- Microsoft warns of pending support deadlines for Windows 7, Office 2010 SP1, Windows Server 2003 and more (zdnet.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
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