The End Is Nigh For Windows 2003

The end is coming for Windows Server 2003, are you ready?

The end of life for Windows Server 2003 is coming, and if you or your client is one of the 23.8 million instances of Windows Server 2003 still running across 11.9 million physical servers worldwide, you need to get onto them fast. It’s imperative to get them moved over before the software’s end of life occurs.
So, after over a decade, Windows Server 2003 is calling it quits. What does that mean? All support and fixes are officially stopping – for ever – on the 14th July 2015 – so no more hot fixes, security patches or notifications. If you or your clients are running Windows Server 2003 servers, you may run into non-compliance laws (as well as audit-worthy security risks).
With all this in mind, we definitely feel a Windows Server 2003 migration is in your future – for someone.
The State of Technology in 2003
It’s difficult to believe that the Windows Server 2003 is over a decade old. Here is a snapshot of our technology back in 2003:

  • Standard 32-bit processors
  • MB Hard drives
  • No Solid State Disks (SSDs)
  • Virtualization was only beginning, especially for servers
  • Clouds were weather events
  • 1 GB of RAM cost $180

What Does The End of Life Mean for Your Company or MSP Business?
Well, one of two options:

  1. Rushed migrations – the more time they take to decide, the worse and more rushed their migration will be. There are steps to take and actions that can only be accomplished in a certain order. You definitely don’t want unhappy clients, and this option will likely give you some.

or

  1. A nice enhancement of your bottom line due to pre-planned migrations that take into consideration the cloud they want to use and the ways they want to migrate.

All this, and you’ve got less than seven months to get it all accomplished. Don’t panic, though – there are methods to help migration run smoothly and successfully. And the cloud can help this. The most important thing to remember is that a successful change will not only bring you up to standards with the new Windows Server 2008 R2 or 2012 R2 – both excellent programs – but it will also provide real-time savings in terms of costs, dev time and DevOps.
What are some reasons for moving?

  1. Cost – If there’s no longer support offered, Windows Server 2003 will cost more than you can afford just for upkeep.
  2. Security – No more bug fixes. Hot fixes. Patches. You’ll find yourself up a creek without a paddle, with costs going through the roof.
  3. Best Practices – If you use outdated software, the audit costs are going to run you out of the office screaming.

So what happens next? Likely you’ll go through the four phases of migration, and here’s where you need to plan your move:
1. The Migration
Check your servers and see what they’re running. Suspect that there might be more servers in use than you know about? It’s likely. Check out our migration tools below which can help you search and discover those strays. Most important here is that you get a good comprehensive list of all you’ve got.
Migration tools:
a. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd537566.aspx?WT.mc_id=Blog_ServerCloud_General_TTD) helps you highlight their workloads and gives you an overview of the resources you might need for a definite application.
b. The documentation that Microsoft has created, most especially their Windows Server 2003 End of Support Migration Overview (http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/windows-server-2003-end-of-support-migration-overview) is a great short video that talks about details you’ll be happy you know about.
c. The Migration Planning Assistant (http://migrationplanningassistant.azurewebsites.net) helps you delineate your infrastructure.
2. Test
Check your server list and put them in different migration categories. What simply must be Priority 1? What can wait? Make a definitive list.
3. The Install and Migration Phase
You’ve got your list and you know what goes where. Initialize!
4. The Test and Let it Go Phase
It’s done! Now check your servers and make sure everything’s good. Once it is, you’re set!
VPS.NET can help you help with any transition to the cloud. With 24/7 support, 18 data centers across the globe and the invaluable expertise of our cloud gurus, we have everything you need to get started. Find out more here.

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