While server operating systems do have very long product lifecycles – 10 years on average – it’s also easy to miss these key dates. If you have an on-site network based on a Windows network, there’s a good chance you also have a server with a flavour of Windows Server running on it. While Windows gets all of the accolades, Windows Server is something of a hidden workhorse, especially for businesses. Windows Server is the unsung hero of Microsoft’s operating system line-up.

After October 2023, businesses still using Microsoft Server 2012 R2 will no longer receive critical security updates and patches, so we recommend updating your server operating system before then.

Server 2012 R2’s end-of-life roadmap technically began with the end of its “mainstream support” in October 2018, and it’s currently in its “extended support” phase, which goes on until October 2023.

Windows Server 2012 R2 is an iterative release of the Server 2012 operating system, original released in October 2013.

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