13 Ways to Sidestep Catastrophe as Windows 2003 Server Support Ends

Featured article by Kesav Nagaraj, Unisys

All good things must come to an end.

That’s true in all walks of life, but the potential consequences can be far worse in some than in others.

IT is one area where the end of a good thing can have far-reaching business impact – with especially dire outcomes for those who are unprepared.

One such consequential event is looming, and getting closer every day. That’s Microsoft’s termination of support for Windows Server 2003 – a linchpin in many enterprise data centers around the world.

As of July 15 this year, Microsoft will no longer issue security updates or patches for that version of the Windows operating environment. The company will discontinue support for applications and other software programs and will no longer provide telephone support.

Clearly, Microsoft’s move will have consequences for specific industries. Take financial services as an example. Systems running Windows Server 2003 will no longer comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), so major credit card companies may no longer do business with companies using non-compliant systems.

With only four months to go, companies that haven’t developed migration plans need to recognize the consequences of inaction and start on a course of action immediately.

The following are 13 key practices – the proverbial “baker’s dozen” – for a fast, successful migration from Windows 2003 Server to a more contemporary, compliant operating environment:

1. Develop a comprehensive migration plan that takes into account all relevant business, technical, regulatory and risk-mitigation requirements.

2. Determine the right long-term channel for application delivery: conventional data center, private cloud, public cloud or a hybrid infrastructure.

3. Standardize on Windows 2012R2, because support will last through 2023 – three years longer than for Windows 2008R2, the closest alternative.

4. Decide on the right middleware stack for your organization. This is a great opportunity to refresh the stack for the future if you’re still using older versions of .NET, Internet Information Services (IIS) and other components.

5. Decide whether you plan to virtualize physical servers. If so, collect utilization data on CPU, memory and I/O so you can easily standardize on the size of virtual machines.

6. Create an inventory of applications currently deployed on systems running Windows 2003 Server –both commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom software. Check whether the COTS vendors support the applications on newer versions of Windows. Determine whether custom applications can run on 64-bit operating systems, because all newer OS’s are 64-bit.

7. Determine the regulatory or compliance requirements and service-level agreements (SLAs) for all applications. Key SLAs include availability, recovery time objective (RTO), recovery point objective (RPO), business continuity and other critical factors.

8. Map application dependencies and ensure that application owners are available for the assessment and migration phases.

9. Establish security policies for migrated applications.

10. Map applications to relevant data storage components to streamline migration.

11. Check for installation and system test documents for applications. Create those which don’t exist and update existing documents that aren’t current.

12. Decide on post-migration VLAN and IP addressing schemes.

13. Develop a communications plan to keep all stakeholders informed.

Depending on the complexity and potential cost of your specific migration, you may want to enlist the support of a professional consultant or systems integrator specializing in Windows 2003 Server migrations. Upfront planning and carefully managed execution are crucial for completing the project on schedule and within budget.

You may find that there are other steps you need to take in your own organization’s migration from Windows 2003 Server, ranging from hardware/software standardization and virtualization to IT operational processes optimization and training your resources on the new Windows operating system or cloud computing.

Nonetheless, the key point is that you need to start following an orderly roadmap of activity right now and substantially complete your migration before Microsoft pulls the plug on support. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of walking the IT equivalent of a tightrope without a net. The longer you do, the greater the chance that you’ll experience a mishap with serous, if not catastrophic, consequences for your IT operations and your business.

Kesav Nagaraj is global director. Advisory and Plan, Design and Implement Solutions for Data Center Transformation, Unisys