It’s time to inventory your network to identify your oldest server to replace or migrate away from.
Maybe your future IT plans probably include testing and planning on Windows 10 and Windows 11 deployments. Your desktop deployments are relatively under control, but where are your server deployments?There are planty of evidence that recent desktop Windows updates are interacting with older unpatched platforms and causing undue hardship. Your oldest Microsoft server can be the weak link of your network
IT professionals blame patching, but the real underlying problem is the server platforms you are using for authentication and storage. If you are still using Windows Server 2003 in your network, not only does it provide entry points in your network for attackers, it allows SMB v1 to be deployed in your network. That prevents networks from deploying more secure authentication techniques and the ability to roll out better ways to connect to your network.
There are network administrators reporting that when they have a Windows 2003 machine as a print server, printing issues ensued when the recent October and November security updates were applied to Windows 10 workstations. Administrators had to move the print server to a newer patched platform to solve printing issues triggered by the lack of updates on the Server 2003 platform and the deployment of updates on the Windows 10 platforms. There are also administrators reporting that older servers such as Server 2008 R2, Server 2008 and Server 2003 caused network file sharing issues if they were paired with Windows 10.
To sumarize, there are several reasons why an older server might be considered the “weak link” in a network:
Age
As a server gets older, it may not be able to keep up with the demands of modern networking and computing. This could make it more prone to crashes and other performance issues.
Lack of updates
Older servers may not have the latest security updates or patches, making them more vulnerable to cyber attacks and other security breaches.
Limited resources
Older servers may not have the same level of processing power, memory, or storage as newer servers, making them less capable of handling large amounts of data or traffic.
Compatibility issues
Older servers may not be compatible with newer hardware or software, which could cause problems when trying to integrate them into a modern network.
So please take into account analyzing those old servers that are still in the network, and create a plan to finally remove them making your network more secure.
