End of support for Windows 2000 and Extended Support phase transition for Windows Server 2003
If you missed my last post, we recently discussed the upcoming end of support for Windows Vista with no service packs installed and Windows XP SP2.  In a similar vein, in this post I want to discuss support transitions that will primarily impact our enterprise customers.

First, let’s discuss the upcoming changes for Windows 2000.  All editions of Windows 2000 will reach the end of the Extended Support phase on July 13, 2010.  This will be the end of support for Windows 2000.

As you may recall, at the end of the Extended Support phase, Business & Developer products are no longer publicly supported, although Self-Help Online support (such as Microsoft online Knowledge Base articles, FAQs, troubleshooting tools, and other resources) will be available for a minimum of 12 months after the product reaches the end of its support.  This means that there is no more paid support, no support assistance and no further security updates.  Due to this, customers are highly encouraged to move to a supported product as soon as possible.

Those enterprise customers who are unable to complete their migration to a supported product before July 13, 2010 may also want to consider the Custom Support program.   Custom Support provides customers with the opportunity to receive support on legacy versions of some Microsoft products and service packs that have reached the end of support.  This program may help fill the gap for customers who are actively migrating, but will not be able to finish prior to the end of support deadline.  For additional details on Custom Support, please contact your local Microsoft representative or Technical Account Manager Cisco CCNA Training.

Windows Server 2003 will also undergo a support transition later this year.  On July 13, 2010 all editions of Windows Server 2003 will be moving from the Mainstream Support phase to the Extended Support phase.

For most of our customers, this transition change will not have a significant impact on their environment.  The key differences between the Mainstream Support phase and Extended Support phase are that the “no-charge” support options are no longer available and that we no longer provide new non-security hotfixes.  This means that customers will need to open paid support cases (such as Premier, Pro or Pay-Per-Incident cases) to obtain support for their product.

For those customers who need non-security hotfixes during the Extended Support phase, a special program called Extended Hotfix Support is available.  If you want the insurance of being enrolled in Extended Hotfix Support, please contact your local Microsoft representative or Technical Account Manager as soon as possible.  Enrollment in the program must occur within the first 90 days after the end of the Mainstream Support phase, so you’ll want to consider this soon.

I hope this has been a useful reminder of the upcoming support transitions and their specific impacts.    Through the timelines of our support Lifecycle policy, we strive to help our customers plan ahead for support transitions, maximize their IT investments, and migrate when they are ready.  Our goal is for there to be no surprises when it comes to support transitions like this.

If you have questions about the policy, you can contact your Technical Account Manager for more information Cisco CCNA Certification.

Additional Resources for Windows 2000 / Windows Server 2003:

* Windows 2000 End-of-Support Solution Center
* Windows Team Blog
* Windows Server 2003