Microsoft supports Windows Server 2008 for another 2 years

The reason is the release of Windows Server 2012 version, ZDNet page reported on September 24, 2012.

Microsoft supports Windows Server 2008 for another 2 years Picture 1
Photo: The Next Web

Microsoft products are usually officially and freely supported for 5 years, and then there are 5 more years of conditional extension.

An additional 2 years of free support for Windows Server 2008 will extend the official support status of this version until January 2015.

The reason for Microsoft to do this is in the company's general policy.

Microsoft policy provides a minimum of 5 years of formal support or 2 years of formal support after the 'juniors' product is released, whichever is longer. Modifying the expiration date for Windows Server 2008 is the result of the launch of Windows Server 2012, giving customers an additional 2 years of support.

In short, Microsoft will provide normal support for its products until 2 years after the next version is released. So, with the release time gap of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012, the company will add 2 years to the official support for the old version.

This is good news for Windows Server 2008 users because they are probably not ready to upgrade to Windows Server 2012, as the new version has a new user interface and many other changes and upgrades.