HPE has stopped shipping OEM editions of Windows Server 2016, as of 31 October 2019, and has declared the OS “will be considered obsolete at the end of November 2019.”
Just why the company has done so is not clear. Windows Server 2016 was launched on 26 September 2016 and has more than two more years of mainstream support, which ends on 11 January 2022. Extended support runs for another five years and one day, ending on 12 January 2027. It's rather more accurate to describe Windows Server 2012 as done and dusted, given mainstream support ended in 2018 and extended support
HPE’s post revealing its move doesn’t offer a source to confirm Server 2016’s obsolescence, or offer any reason to consider the OS no longer fit for adoption or use.
The point of the company’s post seems to be suggesting that those moving from Windows Server 2009 should instead jump to Windows Server 2019 on HPE ProLiant Gen10 servers. The post also points out that buyers can acquire a new server with Windows Server 2019 onboard and then downgrade to Windows Server 2016.
Which suggests Windows Server 2016 might not be entirely obsolete after all, if paired with new HPE hardware!
HPE’s Alliances Blog turns up occasional oddities: early this year CRN noted a post in which it explained the difference between a server and a PC, a lesson we felt might not accurately reflect the level of knowledge attained by most of the company’s channel.
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