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Three options to prepare for Windows Server 2012/R2 end of support

PatWidjaja's avatar
PatWidjaja
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Oct 12, 2022
  Windows Server 2012/R2 reaches end-of-support in one year on October 10, 2023. To help you prepare, here are 3 great options to keep your Windows Server 2012/R2 workloads protected:   ...
Updated Jan 31, 2023
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jameswonderguy's avatar
jameswonderguy
Copper Contributor
Nov 13, 2023

We have a customer with a Windows Server 2012 based domain controller system; they have currently no infrastructure on Azure.

 

They now plan to create an Azure tenant and create a domain controller such that it replicates with the existing on-premises Windows Server 2012 DC on a regular basis.

 

Requirements:

  1. To make users authenticate to the Azure-based DC.
  2. To failover from the Azure-based DC to the on-premises DC in the event the former goes offline or malfunctions.

 

Based on the below article, customers get 3 years free Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows Server 2012 if they migrate to Azure.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/windows-server-2012-r2-end-of-support

 

Questions:

  1. Since Windows Server 2012 has already become EOL, can the customer now create a Windows Server 2012 DC on Azure, and also, get 3 years of free ESU?
  2. If answer to the above is 'no', what are the options available to set up a DC in Azure, and also, to regularly replicate it with the on-premises Windows Server 2012 DC?

 

Thanks!