End of support for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2:
Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are approaching the end of their support life cycle (14th Jan 2020). It seems like 2020 is a way’s off but updating an IT infrastructure can be a large task. If you are still running Windows Server 2008 R2 the time to start planning is now.
No patches leaves your operating system vunerable to security issues
End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance. Vulnerabilities in the operating system that are discovered after this date will not be fixed by Microsoft. Furthermore, after that date Microsoft will no longer off any type of support for the operating system. It won’t be long before those systems are specifically targeted and exploited.
Customers who use Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 products and services should migrate to Microsoft Azure to take advantage of 3 additional years of Critical and Important security updates at no additional charge and modernize when ready. For environments other than Azure, we recommend customers upgrade to the latest version before the deadline. For customers who cannot meet the end-of-support deadline may purchase Extended Security Updates to keep server workloads protected until they upgrade (some restrictions apply).