This article discusses the importance of upgrading your server software to keep up with the constant improvements in server operating systems. While Windows Server 2003 was a great operating system, it is antiquated and plans should be considered for upgrading the software and replacing the hardware it is running on.
As a consultant who sees quite a few servers, I’m shocked at the number of offices still depending on their aging equipment running Windows Server 2003. I’m not dogging Server 2003, through its lifespan it was a very powerful operating system that brought us quite a few advancements over the years. We’ve run several versions of Microsoft Exchange, SQL, and many other powerful platforms on this operating system version; it has lasted a long time in the marketplace.
There are several issues that come up when running an older operating system. Most offices running 2003 are running either the Standard 32 bit, or Small Business Server edition, which has a limit of 4 GB of RAM. Memory hungry applications and database servers eat up 4 GB of ram like an appetizer in a four course meal. This is a physical limit set by the software itself, adding more ram to the server will not be recognized by the server. Another major issue is the age of most of the hardware still running Server 2003. If you upgraded early on in the lifecycle, your hardware is likely 5-8 years old at this point. Let’s face it, hard drives suffer extreme wear and tear, and do tend to show signs of age. You may be noticing the hard drives in your server’s storage array failing a little more often than you’d like. Parts for your older server such as RAID cards, processors, fans, and motherboards are a little harder to come by these days; they tend to come from the second hand market and are pretty expensive to acquire. Your server is likely no longer under warranty, so gone are the days of quick 24 hour turnaround on getting your server repaired.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Server 2003 hit end of mainstream support on 7/13/2010, with complete extended support over on 7/14/2015. What does this mean to you? End of mainstream support means no more service packs, and no more free support calls for technical issues. Security patches and fixes will be distributed until the extended support period expires, at which point no technical support is available.
What is the current upgrade path? Windows Server 2008 R2, which was released in late 2009, is the most current Windows server operating system available. A complete package with Exchange 2010 and Sharepoint Foundation 2010 is available by purchasing Windows Small Business Server 2011. Here at Infostream we have been migrating servers and networks with minimal downtime for our clients since the first release of Windows Server 2008. If you are ready to move on from your current server solution, please don’t hesitate to give us a call, or check out InfoStream's website
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