Windows Server 2022 left mainstream support on October 13, 2026. Nothing breaks. Microsoft keeps shipping security updates for it until October 14, 2031, so a 2022 server you patch every month is still a safe server.
What ended is new features and non-security fixes. That changes what you should install on the next server, not what you should do with the one you have. Here’s the whole lifecycle, what 2025 adds, and when moving is worth the work.
Windows Server support dates
These are Microsoft’s dates. Mainstream support means new features and all fixes. Extended support means security updates only.
| Version | Mainstream support ends | Extended support ends | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2016 | Ended | January 13, 2027 | Three months of security updates left |
| Windows Server 2019 | Ended | January 10, 2029 | Security updates only |
| Windows Server 2022 | October 13, 2026 | October 14, 2031 | Security updates only, as of this week |
| Windows Server 2025 | November 13, 2029 | November 14, 2034 | Fully supported |
Sources: Microsoft’s Windows Server 2025 lifecycle page; Microsoft’s 2022 announcement as reported by BleepingComputer.
Look at the top row before anything else. If you still run 2016, that’s your real deadline. After January 13, 2027 it gets no security fixes at all, and an unpatched Windows server on the internet is the kind of problem you hear about from someone else first.
What end of mainstream support means for a 2022 server
Your server keeps getting the monthly security updates. What stops is everything else: no new features and no non-security fixes. For a server that’s been stable for years, you won’t notice.
Where you will notice is software support. Vendors tend to certify new releases on the newest Windows Server first. A line-of-business app that ships its 2028 version for 2025 only is the more likely reason you end up moving, and that’s still a couple of years out.
Windows Server 2025 vs 2022: what’s new
2025 is an incremental release, not a rewrite. The changes that matter on a hosted server:
- Faster NVMe storage. Microsoft says 2025 delivers up to 60% more storage IOPS than 2022 on identical hardware. That’s Microsoft’s lab number, so treat it as an upper bound, but databases on NVMe do benefit.
- Hotpatching. Some monthly security updates install without a reboot. Outside Azure it needs the server connected to Azure Arc and costs $1.50 per CPU core per month, according to Petri’s report on Microsoft’s pricing. You still reboot for the quarterly baseline updates.
- SMB over QUIC. Secure file share access over the internet without a VPN.
- Active Directory updates. An optional 32k database page size, object repair, and better protection for confidential attributes and machine account passwords.
- Credential Guard on by default on hardware that supports it.
Hardware needs are modest. Microsoft’s minimum is a 64-bit CPU with SSE4.2 support, 2 GB of RAM for the desktop experience (512 MB for Server Core) and 32 GB of disk. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are only required for certain security features.
Should you upgrade now?
My rule is simple.
- On 2016: move now. You have until January 13, 2027, and migrations always take longer than planned.
- On 2019: plan it for 2027. Security updates run to January 2029, which is time to test properly.
- On 2022: stay put unless you want a 2025 feature. You have five years of security updates.
- Building a new server: install 2025. Starting a new box on a version that’s already out of mainstream support makes no sense.
Microsoft supports in-place upgrades to 2025, but for anything important I’d build a fresh server next to the old one, move the workload, and keep the old box for a week as a fallback. That’s easy to do when you rent: you run both for a month and cancel one.
A checklist for moving to 2025
Most failed Windows migrations fail on something nobody wrote down. Before you touch the new server, list these:
- Every role and feature installed. IIS, DNS, file shares, Hyper-V, print services.
Get-WindowsFeature | Where Installedin PowerShell gives you the list in seconds. - Every app and its vendor’s support statement for 2025. If the vendor hasn’t certified 2025, find out before you move, not after.
- Licenses tied to the old machine. Some software licenses bind to a hostname, MAC address or hardware ID. Ask the vendor how a move works.
- Scheduled tasks and services running under named accounts. They’re easy to miss and they break quietly.
- Certificates, DNS records and firewall rules. Export the certificates with their private keys, and lower DNS TTLs a day before cutover.
- A tested backup of the old server. Restore one file from it before you start, so you know it works.
Then build the new server, move one service at a time, and test each one from outside your network. Cut DNS over last. Keep the old server running, untouched, for at least a week.
The step people skip is the last one. A week of overlap costs a week of hosting. Finding out on day three that a nightly job only ran on the old box costs a lot more.
Windows Server versions at GigeNET
On our Windows dedicated servers, 2016 and 2019 are on the order form today, and 2022 and 2025 are available on request through the quote form while we add them to the forms. Windows Server Standard is $50 a month and Datacenter is $300, billed with the hardware, and servers start at $126 a month.
One thing to know if you want us to manage it: our managed plans cover Windows Server 2016 and 2019 today. On 2022 or 2025, ask us on the quote form what management covers.
Need something smaller? A Windows VPS runs Windows Server 2019 or 2016 Standard from $55.28 a month, license included. For 2022 or 2025 today, a dedicated server is the route.
FAQ
When does Windows Server 2022 support end?
Mainstream support ended on October 13, 2026. Extended support, with security updates, runs until October 14, 2031.
Is Windows Server 2022 still safe to use?
Yes, as long as you install the monthly security updates. Microsoft keeps releasing them until October 2031.
Should I install 2022 or 2025 on a new server?
2025. It has mainstream support until November 13, 2029 and security updates until November 14, 2034.
Which Windows Server is ending support soonest?
Windows Server 2016. Its extended support ends January 13, 2027, after which it gets no security updates.
Planning a move to 2025? Tell us what you run today and we’ll spec the new server and help with the move.