I wanted to pass this announcement along to everyone so that they are aware of the support ending for Exchange 2010. I personally have noticed a large number of Exchange 2010 environments starting to show age as the newer Outlook clients are having performance issues with Exchange 2010. If your team has not planned an upgrade to Exchange 2016 (you cannot upgrade directly from Exchange 2010 to 2019), I would advise that your team do so very soon. Exchange 2010 has been a great product for many years, but it is finally time for it to retire and allow the next generation of Messaging Services take the stage.
Formal Announcement:
Exchange 2010 End of Support extended to October 2020
Announced today, and in alignment with Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010, and after investigating and analyzing the deployment state of an extensive number of Exchange customers, Microsoft has decided to move Extended Support date for Exchange Server 2010 from January 14th 2020 to October 13th 2020.
After October 13th 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for problems that may occur with Exchange 2010 including:
– bug fixes for issues that are discovered and that may impact the stability and usability of the server
– security fixes for vulnerabilities that are discovered and that may make the server vulnerable to security breaches
– and time zone updates
Customer installations of Exchange 2010 will, of course, continue to run after this date; however, due to the changes and potential end of support risks, Microsoft strongly recommends customers migrate from Exchange 2010 as soon as possible.
FAQ’s
- Can customers upgrade directly to Exchange 2019?
Customers cannot upgrade directly from Exchange 2010 on-premises to Exchange Server 2019. They may upgrade to Exchange 2013 or 2016 directly from Exchange 2010 and we of course recommend Exchange 2016. - Since Exchange 2010 runs on Server 2008 and 2008R2, are those operating systems still supported?
On January 14, 2020, support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end. That means the end of regular security updates for these Windows customers. Since Exchange Server 2010 runs on top of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, it’s important for customers to consider how they will obtain security updates for the underlying operating system. Extended Security Updates for Server 2008 and 2008 R2 are now available for purchase and can be ordered from Microsoft or a Microsoft licensing partner. The delivery of Extended Security Updates (ESU) will begin after the End of Support dates, if and when available. - Does Microsoft support Exchange 2010 on any other Server versions?
Exchange Server 2010 SP3, with Update Rollup 26 or higher, installed on Windows Server 2012 R2 is supported until October 13, 2020. - That didn’t quite answer my question. If a customer calls between January 14 and October 13 2020, and is running Exchange 2010 on Server 2008 or 2008 R2, and does not have an ESU for Windows, can they still be assisted?
Yes. Per the Lifecycle FAQ.
If I am running a Microsoft product that is currently supported under the Lifecycle Policy, but my operating system is no longer supported, can I still receive support?
If the problem is specific to the Microsoft product and it is within the Lifecycle Policy, Microsoft will provide support.
If the problem is a result of the combination of the operating system and the Microsoft product, the problem will not be supported.
More simply::
Exchange 2010 on Server 2008 or 2008 R2: Starting January 14, 2020, provide support until a proven issue is found with the OS. This ends in October 2020.
Exchange 2010 SP3 RU26+ on Server 2012 R2: We support regardless, but Exchange support still ends in October 2020. - Will Microsoft be offering Extended Support Updates (ESU’s) for purchase for Exchange 2010 customers?
No. - What resources are available for customers?
– An upcoming Exchange Team blog post, titled “Exchange On-Premises Best Practices for Migrations from 2010 to 2016,” will provide great technical guidance for customers and support agents with their on-premises migrations.
– If migrating to Office 365 and Exchange Online, customers may be eligible to use the free Microsoft FastTrack service. FastTrack provides best practices, tools, and resources to make migration to Office 365 and Exchange Online as seamless as possible.
– For customers that run into any problems during their migration to Office 365 and are not eligible for FastTrack, or if migrating to a newer version of Exchange Server, customers can of course utilize Support or the Exchange Technical Community.
– Customers may also choose to engage a partner to help. Microsoft has a great number of partners with deep skills in Exchange, and you can browse a list of Exchange partners at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/solution-providers/home.
