End of Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 (4374010)

Microsoft announced that the end of support date for Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 is October 10, 2023.  In order to continue to receive any security updates for Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2, it would be necessary to enroll in the Extended Security Update (ESU) Program.  As such, any updates for Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 as of October 10, 2023 from the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) will also require the same ESU verification from Microsoft.

Any device that is not recognized directly from Microsoft as being part of this ESU Program will not have accurate detect or deploy results with security updates delivered by the KACE SMA after this date.

Pre-requisites for successful ESU patch detection:

1. Servicing stack Updates:

   • For Windows Server 2012 R2, servicing stack update (SSU) (KB5029368) dated August 8, 2023 or a later must be installed.  For more information about the latest SSU updates, see ADV990001 | Latest Servicing Stack Updates.

   • For Windows Server 2012, servicing stack update (SSU) (KB5029369) dated August 8, 2023 or a later must be installed.  For more information about the latest SSU updates, see ADV990001 | Latest Servicing Stack Updates.

2. The Extended Security Updates (ESU) Licensing Preparation Package 

   • For Windows Server 2012 R2, see the Extended Security Updates (ESU) Licensing Preparation Package that is dated August 10, 2022 (KB5017220).

   • For Windows Server 2012, see the Extended Security Updates (ESU) Licensing Preparation Package that is dated August 10, 2022 (KB5017221)
      

To avoid disruption in patching of Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 systems:

1. Upgrade all Microsoft operating systems to a supported version
2. Enroll in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) Program with Microsoft. 

NOTE: KACE will continue to provide updates for those devices which are recognized by Microsoft as being enrolled in the ESU program. If you do not have an ESU MAK add-on key installed and activated, after installing a patch which requires an ESU subscription and restarting your device, you will receive the error, “Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting Changes. Do not turn off your computer”. If you have purchased an ESU MAK and have encountered this issue, please verify you have applied all prerequisites and that your key is activated.

For further details see the procedure to continue receiving Security Updates after the end of extended support for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 .