Microsoft adds another way to get Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 Extended Security Updates

Mary Jo Foley is the Editor in Chief at Directions on Microsoft. Before joining Directions, Mary Jo has worked as... more

Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 will no longer be supported after October 10, 2023. This means organizations still using these server editions won’t be eligible for security updates after that date — unless they acquire Extended Security Updates (ESUs).

ESUs provide up to three years of security updates rated “critical” or “important” by Microsoft. Until recently, customers had two options to buy ESUs for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2: Maintain Software Assurance (SA) and pay for each year of coverage or move their Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 workloads to Azure to get ESUs for no additional cost (beyond the costs associated with Azure).

Customers who want to run Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 on premises and in hosted environments are charged 100 percent of the full license price annually for each of the three years in addition to SA, which is a change from Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 which was 75%, 100%, and 125% for years one, two and three respectively. Customers interested in the Azure option can opt to use Azure VMs, Azure Dedicated Host, Azure VMware Solution or Azure Stack HCI.

In July, Microsoft added another option to get ESUs for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2. By enrolling their servers in Azure Arc, organizations can buy and activate their ESUs via the Azure portal and pay monthly rather than annually, if they choose. They also can manage the enrollment of ESUs in the Azure portal and forego keys to activate them.

A couple of caveats worth noting: This new Arc option requires customers to have Enterprise Agreements and active SA and is not available via the CSP program. Customers should also make sure that the ESU core licenses required match how the underlying Windows Server is licensed (in terms of physical cores or virtual cores).

Microsoft is advising customers to onboard their Windows Servers to Arc by September 2023 to be ready for the end-of-support date.

SQL Server 2012: Arc to the ESU Rescue

It’s not just Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 customers who have the option to get ESUs by going the Azure Arc route. SQL Server 2012 exited support on July 12, 2022. In July this year, Microsoft announced it would allow users still holding onto this version to purchase ESUs for year 2 onwards. The SQL Server 2012 ESUs are only available for download through Azure Arc, but connecting the SQL Server instance to Azure is not required.

With ESUs for Windows Server and SQL Server, Microsoft continues to add more reasons to use Azure Arc, and customers could find it increasingly difficult to avoid the Azure-connected service in the years to come.

Update (September 11): It looks like Microsoft has been making some quiet changes to its policies around how organizations can get ESUs. A spokesperson sent me this statement today when I asked whether Enterprise Agreement customers can still buy ESUs without going the Azure Arc route.

“Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc is a new, primary offering we recommend for most customers. While the traditional, licensing ESU is no longer listed on the EA Price List, it is still available for sale directly through Microsoft for EA customers. Additionally, the licensing ESU will be made available via CSP, starting October 1, 2023, and the ESU enabled by Azure Arc has been available via CSP since September 1, 2023. The licensing ESU is recommended only for customers with workloads that need to be completely air-gapped or cannot connect to Azure Arc.”