Windows Server 2003 users need to upgrade before July

This message was sent to the IT Security Community and Windows administrators, as well as to some ITS staff groups, on March 30, 2015.

Hello Windows Administrators and IT Security Community,

After July 14, 2015, Microsoft will no longer issue security updates for any version of Windows Server 2003. See Microsoft: Migration is worth it! for information from Microsoft.

If machines or services you are responsible for still use Windows Server 2003, please upgrade before July. You can order Windows Server products for U-M through the university's Microsoft Campus Agreement. If your server is used to access or maintain U-M sensitive institutional data, be sure to follow the instructions in Windows Server Hardening Guide: Minimum Expectations for a Secure Server at U-M.

Depending on your needs, you might consider using the MiServer virtual server environment managed by ITS instead of running your own Windows Server.

IT staff at the U-M Health System (UMHS) expect to provide information about the future of Windows Server 2003 at UMHS in the coming weeks. We will share that information when it is available and post it on Safe Computing at Upgrade Windows Server 2003 Before July 2015.

We ask that you not connect devices running out-of-date, unsupported software to U-M networks or systems, so please start planning now.

Thank you for your help, 
Sol Bermann, 
Interim University of Michigan Chief Information Security Officer 
Privacy Officer and IT Policy, Compliance and Enterprise Continuity Strategist

For assistance or questions, contact the ITS Service Center.