Explore Your AWS Options for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 End of Support
Strategic Planning for Legacy Workloads
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Achieving operational excellence requires a comprehensive perspective that transcends individual projects or solutions. Infrastructure and operations leaders must adopt a holistic approach, particularly when dealing with legacy workloads like Microsoft Windows Server. It’s crucial to contemplate the future trajectory of these workloads to effectively support your organization’s objectives.
Windows Server customers should recognize that Microsoft routinely ceases support and mandates upgrades every few years. Currently, the most pressing event is the end of support (EOS) for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, set for October 10, 2023. Post this date, customers will no longer receive security updates, leaving their infrastructure and applications exposed. Such critical junctures provide a unique opportunity to assess your organization’s future, explore available options, and decide on the most suitable direction.
In this article, I will outline several common pathways AWS offers to tackle the Windows Server end-of-support challenge, facilitating migration, optimization, and modernization of these workloads, thereby enabling our customers to leverage the cloud to drive business innovation.
Temporary Fix versus Sustainable Cloud Solutions
A short-term fix is not a viable answer for addressing recurring end-of-support challenges. Microsoft is incentivizing customers facing EOS to migrate to Azure by offering three years of free Extended Security Updates (ESUs). While this may seem like a generous offer, it’s merely a temporary solution that postpones the inevitable, keeping you tethered to outdated software and hindering your capacity for modernization and innovation. Before making decisions that could significantly affect your long-term business and operational strategies, shouldn’t you assess all available options?
AWS Pathways for Overcoming the EOS Challenge
AWS has established a proven track record in simplifying and reducing costs associated with migrating, optimizing, and modernizing Windows Server workloads. Let’s examine the business advantages of each pathway—migrate, optimize, and modernize:
Migrate – Quick Wins through Upgrading End-of-Support Workloads
The straightforward migrate-and-upgrade route presents an excellent opportunity for quick wins if you aim to harness the cloud while upgrading with minimal effort. Transitioning to the cloud is no longer a question of if, but rather when and how. With the Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 end-of-support approaching, now is the time to migrate and upgrade your end-of-support workloads to AWS before October 10, 2023.
Most customers initiate this process with a complimentary AWS Optimization and Licensing Assessment (AWS OLA). This assessment empowers customers to make informed migration choices based on actual resource usage, licensing considerations, and application dependencies, ensuring they provision the precise amount of cloud resources and software licenses needed. For instance, the organization TechCorp achieved a remarkable 35% reduction in operating costs through this assessment. “Our migration was seamless and simple thanks to the tools and insights from Migration Evaluator and the AWS OLA,” states Alex Johnson, Cloud Strategy Director at TechCorp.
The Windows Server 2012 Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is accessible on AWS until October 10, 2023. Customers can migrate their Windows Server 2012 workloads to AWS using either the License Included (LI) option or Bring Your Own License (BYOL). Services such as AWS Application Migration Service and AWS Migration Hub Orchestrator can automate the migration process without requiring code changes. After migration, AWS Systems Manager Automation runbooks can facilitate automated upgrades to newer, supported versions of workloads. For applications incompatible with the latest Windows Server versions, AWS provides the End-of-Support Migration Program for Windows Server to future-proof your legacy applications on AWS.
Optimize – Leverage Cloud Flexibility and Efficiency
This pathway extends beyond simple lift-and-shift approaches and encourages continuous optimization of costs, usage, and licensing to align with your business needs. The cloud offers flexibility and efficiency; in uncertain economic times, customers are becoming increasingly prudent with their cloud expenditures.
AWS can assist in two key areas—licensing optimization and infrastructure optimization—before, during, and after your cloud migration. Through the AWS Optimization and Licensing Assessment (AWS OLA), both new and existing customers can discover ways to save an average of 45% on SQL Server and 77% on Windows Server licensing, according to research from an authority on the topic, SHRM. Additionally, AWS provides ongoing infrastructure optimization through services such as AWS Compute Optimizer to resize workloads and reduce costs by up to 25%.
With dedicated services, tools, and programs, AWS focuses on delivering cost optimization and has garnered the trust of millions of customers.
Modernize – Drive Business Innovation by Updating Windows Server Workloads
The EOS for Windows Server presents an ideal opportunity to reassess your broader transformation goals and determine if Windows Server OS is the best platform for your needs. As organizations evolve their operations in the cloud, AWS plays a vital role by offering purpose-built and open-source technologies to modernize Windows workloads, helping customers accelerate innovation and escape the cycles of software upgrades and refreshes.
Customers across various sectors are modernizing their Windows workloads on AWS to unlock the benefits of the cloud. It’s not just enterprises and startups like Autodesk and SeatGeek embracing this approach; government agencies, including the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts (AR-AOC), have achieved their .NET modernization goals and saved 40% on their total cost of ownership (TCO).
Some available modernization options for Windows Server include:
- Replatforming to Windows containers. This approach is particularly beneficial for commercial off-the-shelf applications where refactoring is not feasible due to limited resources or unavailability of source code. Transitioning to Windows containers enhances infrastructure density and utilization, ensures consistency across environments, controls application boundaries, and supports the adoption of DevOps practices with a standardized set of tools.
- Refactoring to open-source Linux. For customers looking to escape Microsoft licenses or where Windows is no longer necessary, AWS provides a path to refactor applications, which could result in substantial cost savings and increased flexibility.
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In conclusion, embracing AWS options for Windows Server 2012 EOS is not just about addressing immediate concerns; it’s about laying the groundwork for long-term success and innovation.