Windows

Say Farewell to the old SQL, Windows, and Exchange Servers

You’ve probably heard about SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2010 hitting end of life. A lot of our clients are asking us what End-of-Support really means for them and their business? The answer requires an understanding of Microsoft’s product lifecycle. All Microsoft products have a 10-year lifecycle. The first five years is called mainstream support and that’s where you are going to get things such as new features, security updates, and non-security updates. The second five years is called extended support where you are going to receive security updates and non-security updates. During this time there is no additional product feature functionality added to the product. Important End-of-Support dates you need to be aware of:  July 9th, 2019 – SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 January 14th, 2020 – Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Exchange Server 2010 We ...

2023-02-16T16:01:27+00:00

End of Support for SQL and Windows 2008

What could July 9, 2019 mean to you? What about January 14th, 2020? End of support if you are using SQL or Windows 2008.  That means Microsoft is no longer going to provide automatic fixes, updates, hotfixes or online technical support for any SQL or Windows 2008 servers, including R2. As a business, you want to upgrade or migrate to a newer version of these servers to ensure your servers are up to date and protected. To prepare your business for a seamless and smooth transition, whether you are planning on migrating or upgrading the servers, consider taking these actions: For SQL server -  You want to start the process by identifying what’s out on your SQL server and move things off. It may be as simple as creating a new SQL server; detaching the database, copying the database and files, re-attaching and changing the SQL collation. Then go to ...

2023-02-16T16:01:28+00:00

Windows Security Update Headache? Try This Fix.

Security matters – we all understand that.  No matter how highly refined an operating system or environment may be, there will always be some areas of vulnerability – and there will always be someone looking to take advantage of them. Generally, we can be grateful for the fact that Microsoft is pretty diligent about rooting out these vulnerabilities and addressing them; those periodic security updates have undoubtedly saved an incalculable amount of grief. That’s not to say, though, that the update process will always be hassle-free. Safety comes at an occasional cost, at least in terms of convenience. Many of us were reminded of this with the recent release of Windows Security Update Fix KB4103727. Users who have implemented the patch and who use remote desktop to connect to a server can find themselves shut out unexpectedly. An error message such as the following is typical:   The problem is ...

2023-02-16T16:01:38+00:00