Microsoft Windows Server 2016 End Of Life!

Mainstream Support

The mainstream support phase refers to the first 5 years of a product’s life cycle. During this period, the product receives feature updates, security patches, and service packs. Users can also request non-security updates, incident support, or product feature changes.

For Microsoft Windows Server 2016, the mainstream support phase was from 15th October 2016 to 11th January 2022, with Extended End Date being later.

Extended Support

The Extended Support phase is the final five years of a product's lifecycle. During this period, a product only receives security updates, and users can no longer request new design changes or non-security updates.

Microsoft Windows Server 2016 is currently in the extended support phase.

End of Support

As stated, after a product reaches the end-of-life phase, Microsoft will stop providing most forms of updates and support for it, making it a security risk.

For customers who are still in the upgrade process or those who need to keep using legacy products, Microsoft offers one final option: the Extended Security Update (ESU) program.

The end-of-life date for Microsoft Windows Server 2016 is 12th January 2027.

Why Can’t I Just Keep Using Windows Server 2016?

As stated, once Microsoft Windows Server 2016 reach the EOL phase, they will no longer receive critical security updates. This puts them at increased risk of cyberattacks and non-compliance. The option to receive a few more years of security updates comes with a premium.

To add to this, the newer versions like Windows Server 2019 and 2022 simply offer way more features and better performance.