Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008, codenamed "Longhorn Server", is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on February 27, 2008. Derived from Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 is the successor of Windows Server 2003 and the predecessor to Windows Server 2008 R2.
| Version of the Windows NT operating system | |
Screenshot of Windows Server 2008 showing the Server Manager application which is automatically opened when an administrator logs on. | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows Server |
| Source model | |
| Released to manufacturing | February 4, 2008 |
| General availability | February 27, 2008 |
| Latest release | Service Pack 2 with March 19, 2019 or later update rollup (6.0.6003) / March 19, 2019 |
| Marketing target | Business |
| Update method | Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM |
| Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, Itanium |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (Windows NT kernel) |
| Default user interface | Windows shell (Graphical) |
| License | Proprietary commercial software |
| Preceded by | Windows Server 2003 (2003) |
| Succeeded by | Windows Server 2008 R2 (2009) |
| Official website | Windows Server 2008 |
| Support status | |
| Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015 Extended support ended on January 14, 2020 Windows Server 2008 is eligible for the paid (Azure) ESU (Extended Security Updates) program. This program allowed volume license customers to purchase, in yearly installments, security updates for the operating system until January 10, 2023, only for Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter volume licensed editions. The updates were included with a Microsoft Azure purchase and Azure customers received ESU updates until January 9, 2024. Installing Service Pack 2 was required for users to receive updates and support after July 12, 2011 | |
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Windows Server 2008 removed support for processors without ACPI. It is the first version of Windows Server that includes Hyper-V and is also the final version of Windows Server that supports IA-32-based processors (also known as 32-bit processors). Its successor, Windows Server 2008 R2, requires a 64-bit processor in any supported architecture (x86-64 for x86 and Itanium).
As of July 2019, 60% of Windows servers were running Windows Server 2008.