Server OS maintenance is an important step in the health of your SQL Server environment. Everyone knows that, but no one wants to do it. After all, maintaining servers is a pain. It requires downtime for your databases, which is quite inconvenient when you are trying to run a business. And, let’s face it, who wants to spend their evenings managing all the moving pieces of taking down a server?
But everyone also knows that keeping your server OS tuned-up is as important as getting your oil changed in your car. You can run on the same oil for a really long time, until you can’t anymore. Your $40 Jiffy Lube oil change then becomes a several hundred-dollar mechanic’s bill. It is the same with your servers. Everything seems well and good running that old, unsupported OS, until it is not. Then your one night of downtime becomes days of downtime, chasing down lost data, and fighting viruses. A little inconvenience now beats much more inconvenience (and expense) later.
Another catch to not server OS maintenance is the upgrade path. Most upgrades are cumulative. This means that every time you skip upgrading with the latest release, you aren’t really skipping it, you are deferring it. Therefore, when you finally upgrade your server to the latest release, you now have to upgrade to the one you skipped first. Ugh, more downtime, more chance of compiled complications.
We still see many servers running Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. Windows 2008 and RS releases went out of support January 2020. The “end of support” also means the end of security updates. This scenario can cause security or compliance issues and put business applications at risk. Microsoft recommends that you upgrade to the current version of Windows Server for the most advanced security, performance, and innovation.”1
You have a few options to keep your Windows Server 2008 servers supported:
- Upgrade your servers to the latest release, Windows Server 2016 (via upgrading to 2012).
- Migrate the workloads as-is to Azure Virtual machines.
- Purchase an extended security update subscription, which will give you support (including security patches) for up to three years.
Let SSG Help
We know that you don’t want to spend your night upgrading that server OS, so we’re here to help (we’re night people anyway). Let us do the dirty work and upgrade your servers for you, getting your Windows OS up-to-date, and making sure that that your database doesn’t have any issues in the process.
Have a look around the site and shoot us an email at info@sqlsolutionsgroup.com.
You can also find more info about Windows Server 2008 on the Microsoft support site at Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 extended security updates | Microsoft Docs
1 Upgrade Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 | Microsoft Docs
