Announced by Microsoft on March 12, on January 14, 2020, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 will go out of support, and soon thereafter Office 2010. Out of support means that there will no longer be any development or security patches released for these operating systems.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard - YC6KT-GKW9T-YTKYR-T4X34-R7VHC Windows Web Server 2008 R2 - 6TPJF-RBVHG-WBW2R-86QPH-6RTM4. This will give them a 30 or 60 day grace.
Windows server 2008 Activation. Archived Forums Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility and Certification. Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility.

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No personally identifiable information is required to activate Windows Server 2008. The activation wizard securely connects to a Microsoft server to transfer your installation ID when you submit it. A confirmation ID is passed back to your computer, automatically activating Windows Server 2008.

Applies to: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 reached the end of their support lifecycle on January 14, 2020. Windows Server Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) has a minimum of ten years of support—five years for mainstream support and five years for extended support. This support includes regular security updates.

End of support also means the end of security updates. This scenario can cause security or compliance issues and put business applications at risk. Microsoft recommends that you upgrade to the current version of Windows Server for the most advanced security, performance, and innovation.

If you haven't already upgraded your servers, the following options will help protect your apps and data during the transition:

Migrate existing Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 workloads as-is to Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).
- This migration to Azure automatically provides an additional three years of extended security updates (ESU). There's no additional charge for extended security updates on top of Azure VM's cost, and there's no additional configuration required.
Purchase an extended security update subscription for your servers and remain protected until you're ready to upgrade to a newer Windows Server version.
- These updates are provided for up to three years after the end of support lifecycle date.

After the three year period of extended updates, we'll stop updating for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. We recommend you update your version of Windows Server to a more recent version as soon as possible.

What are extended security updates for Windows Server?

Extended security updates (ESUs) for Windows Server include security updates and bulletins rated critical and important, for a maximum of three years after January 14, 2020. Extended security updates don't include the following:

New features
Customer-requested non-security hotfixes
Design change requests

For more information, see the Extended Security Updates frequently asked questions.

How to use Extended Security Updates

If you run Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 VMs in Azure, they're automatically enabled for Extended Security Updates. You don't need to configure anything, and there's no additional charge for using Extended Security Updates with Azure VMs. Extended Security Updates are automatically delivered to Azure VMs if they're configured to receive updates.

Note

Microsoft.ClassicCompute VMs require additional configuration for Extended Security Updates deployment since they don't have access to the Azure Instance Metadata Service that determines Extended Security Updates eligibility. Please contact Microsoft support for more help.

For other environments, such as on-premises VMs or physical servers, you need to manually request and configure Extended Security Updates. You can purchase Extended Security Updates through Volume Licensing Programs such as Enterprise Agreement (EA), Enterprise Agreement Subscription (EAS), Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES), or Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE).

When you've purchased Extended Security Updates, you can use one of the following methods to get your keys:

If you want to get Extended Security Update keys from the Azure Portal, you can register for Extended Security Updates in the Azure Portal.
You can also sign in to the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center to get your keys without using the Azure Portal.

Register for Extended Security Updates on Azure Portal

To use Extended Security Updates on non-Azure VMs, create a multiple activation key (MAK) and apply it to Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 computers. The MAK key lets the Windows Update servers know that you can continue to receive security updates. You register for Extended Security Updates and manage these keys using the Azure portal, even if you only use on-premises computers.

Note

You don't need to register for Extended Security Updates if you're running Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on Azure VMs. For other environments, such as on-premises VMs or physical servers, purchase Extended Security Updates before you try to register and use them.

To register your VM for Extended Security Updates and create a key, open the Azure Portal and follow these instructions:

Sign in to the Azure Portal.
In the search box at the top of the Azure Portal, search for and select Extended Security Updates.
If you haven't use extended security updates before, select + Create to create an Extended Security Updates resource first. Otherwise, select your resource from the list.
Under Register for Extended Service Updates, select Get started.
To create your first key, select Get key.
You need an Azure subscription associated with your account to create the Extended Security Update resource and key. If you don't have an Azure subscription associated with your account, sign in with a different user account or create an Azure subscription in the Azure Portal.
Your Azure subscription must also be assigned the Contributor role for the security update to work. To check your role, enter 'Subscriptions' into the search box. You'll see a table that will show you your role next to your subscription ID and name.
If you aren't a Contributor, you can ask the subscription owner to change your role. To find out who owns your subscription, go to the role table described in the previous paragraph and select your subscription's name. Next, go to the menu on the left side of the page and select Access control (IAM) > Role assignments and look for the 'Owners' section in the table.
If you see a page that says 'Register to get a Multiple Activation Key,' that means you need to request access to the private preview before you can use Extended Security Updates. If you don't see this page, skip ahead to step 6.
To request access, select join the private preview. An email message window will open. This email is your access request to the product team.
Include the following information in your request:
- Customer name
- Azure subscription ID
- Agreement number (for ESU)
- Number of ESU servers
When you're done, send the email.
The team will review the information you provide in your request email. If everything looks okay, they'll add you to the approved list.
If the team doesn't approve your request, you'll see the following error:

Under Azure details, select your Azure subscription, a resource group, and location for your key.

Under Registration details, enter the following information:

Setting	Value
Key name	A display name for your key, such Agreement01.
Agreement number	Your agreement number generated by the volume licensing contract management system, or MSLicense for Enterprise Agreement programs.
Number of computers	Choose the number of computers on which you want to install Extended Security Updates with this key.
Operating system	Choose the operating system to use this key with, such as Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

When ready, select

Windows Server 2008 Activator