For close to 10 years now, Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 has been a trusted and preferred server platform for our customers. With millions of instances deployed worldwide, our customers run many of their business applications including their most critical ones on the Windows Server 2008 platform.
With the end of support for Windows Server 2008 in January 2020 fast approaching, now is a great opportunity for customers running Windows Server 2008 to modernize your applications and infrastructure and take advantage of the power of Azure. But we know that the process of digital transformation doesn’t happen overnight. There are some great new offers that customers running their business applications on Windows Server 2008 can benefit from as they get started on their digital transformation journey in Azure. One of the options available to customers is the option to migrate servers running Windows Server 2008 to Azure and get extended security updates for three years past the end of support date, and this offer is available at no additional cost. In other words, if you choose to run your applications on Windows Server 2008 on Azure virtual machines, you get extended security updates for free. Further, with Azure Hybrid Benefit you can realize great savings on license costs on Windows Server 2008 machines you migrate to Azure.
How do I migrate my servers?
This is where Azure Site Recovery comes in. Azure Site Recovery lets you easily migrate your Windows Server 2008 machines including the operating system, data and applications on it to Azure. All you need to do is perform a few basic setup steps, create storage accounts in your Azure subscription, and then get started with Azure Site Recovery by replicating servers to your storage accounts. Azure Site Recovery orchestrates the replication of data and lets you migrate replicating servers to Azure when you are ready. You can use Azure Site Recovery to migrate your servers running on VMware virtual machines, Hyper-V or physical servers.
I’m running the 32 bit version of Windows Server 2008. Can I use Azure Site Recovery?
Absolutely. Azure Site Recovery already supports migration of servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 to Azure. In order to make it easier for customers to take advantage of the new offers available to you, Azure Site Recovery has now added the ability to migrate servers running Windows Server 2008, including servers running 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008 to Azure.
Customers eligible for the Azure Hybrid Benefit can configure Azure Site Recovery to apply the benefit to the servers you are migrating and save on licensing costs for Windows Server. Azure Site Recovery is also completely free to use if you complete your migration within 31 days.
Ready to migrate Windows Server 2008 32-bit and 64-bit machines to Azure? Get started.