LTSC: What is it, and when should it be used?

CarterF 

Hi Carter

First to your question,  as a general rule, yes,  current version of Windows 10 work on older hardware. If you purchased a new machine in 2015,  the current version of Windows 10, if your using MS update service, has been updated to your machine, moving it forward.  That is the general principal, but as  in all of life, there are footnotes in small print at the bottom of the page.

1.  You mention devices as old as 2010 or older., but not the specifics.  There are driver support requirements that may be potential issues for you. That would be for Win10 regardless of LTSC or SAC, no difference there, We certainly updated 10's of millions of devices in 2015 and 2016 that were at the time 5-6 years old, so it was a common scenario, but again in general, its was the very old devices that had the higher rates if issues, not surprising. So its likely to install and run, but cant say for sure.  The OEM I'm pretty sure is no longer supporting it .

2.  Depending on how the device is being used, you will see perf impact.  A pre-2010 device is far from todays in terms of RAM/Proc speed and capability, storage speeds.  Depending on the applications/usage.  

3.  You did not give details on the use case , but sense you did call out your security manager,  I do want to call out and be clear for you and other readers,  The most secure option with Windows 10 will be SAC, and not LTSC. Both get security patches each month, but SAC editions get new security features and functionality, many targeting and or addressing the latest attack  strategies.  LTSC is often, incorrectly thought to be the choice for secure, locked down devices, and that really is a SAC build, where we continue to innovate and advance the security capabilities of Windows, every 6 months.  An LTSC devices will stay at the security baseline of its release for the life of the device, or until it get update to a new LTSC, or converted to a SAC edition.

JW