Microsoft Windows Server LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) is a servicing option for Microsoft's server operating system that follows the familiar track of two to three years between feature updates.
The LTSC is available in two installation options: Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience mode, which provides a GUI for point-and-click management. Server Core has no GUI and requires the use of a remote server management tool. Microsoft's documentation also states Nano Server is available as a container OS on the LTSC platform.
Long-Term Servicing Channel releases could be released at the same time as a new version of the Annual Channel. To determine whether a server is running Annual Channel release, you must look at the operating system version. The product name doesn't reflect the servicing channel. To determine whether a server is running an LTSC or AC release, you can run the Get-ComputerInfo PowerShell command. The following example is a computer running Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Edition (LTSC).
Citrix decision not to align its current LTSR with current LTSC of windows server offers a very fragmented support structure. Organizations now have to adopt the LTSC of Windows Server with the current branch of the XenDesktop/XenApp software if they plan to deploy windows server 2019. CR doesnt follow the support of the LTSC of windows server. It would require significant testing, planning, of releases to stay within the citrix supported lifecycle model after the deployment .
This is a big deal and its unfortunate as LTSR has mixed VDA support for other operating systems. what this means is organizations will end up waiting longer to deploy and test applications for citrix xenapp LTSR running windows 2019 server.
I also find it unfortunate citrix would decide to support windows 10 1809 with LTSR 7.15 CU3, but not Windows Server 2019 when both are released at the same time. I am in agreement with the poster frustration, especially since the statement 'we will support on day one', but the part of switching XD release channels was left out of the statement.
The only explanation is that it has to do with the Microsoft support timelines. Windows 10 Spring releases are only supported for 18 months and Windows 10 Fall releases are now supported for 30 months. If they did NOT support the new windows 10 releases, eventually 7.15 LTSR would not support Windows 10 at all considering the 10 year life span of 7.15 LTSR. Microsoft is also recommending customers to use the SAC vs LTSC releases for Windows 10 which further pushes this theory. Windows Server releases are 5+5 which makes sense as to why they don't support the new Windows Server right away. with LTSR. LTSR customers typically don't jump to the latest and greatest which is why I assume this decision was made. I also assume there was a lot of code that changed between Server 2016 and 2019 and they are unwilling to back port the code to 7.15 LTSR as that could alter the product in a way that would make it more CR than LTSR.
Windows Server 2019, the latest version of the server operating system from Microsoft, is available and introduces important new features that allow you to more easily extend the datacenters to Azure to obtain hybrid environments, modernizing your applications and infrastructure, and maintaining a high level of security and efficiency. This article provides detailed versions available in Windows Server 2019 and possible installation variants, to address better the choices related to the implementation of the new operating system.
Windows Server 2019 is available in two main versions: Standard or Datacenter. The Datacenter version is ideal in the presence of data centers with a high density of virtualization and cloud computing environments, while the Standard version is typically used for physical servers, or in areas with a limited number of virtualized systems. For these versions the licensing model is based on the cores and is no longer based on the processors, choice taken by Microsoft to provide greater linearity in the management of licensing, in the presence of multi-cloud environments. There is also the version Essentials, designed for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. For this edition, the licensing is for server. For more details concerning the licensing and cost of Windows Server 2019 you can download this Microsoft's document.
If Windows Server Core mode is not a valid choice for application compatibility issues, is recommended that you consider installing the Server Core App Compatibility FOD before opting for Windows servers with the Desktop Experience.
With Windows Server 2019 Microsoft has introduced important changes and has dramatically improved the experience of new server operating system, with the ability to manage it remotely, easily and intuitively, with Windows Admin Center and focusing on issues related to application compatibility. As reported in this article, there are substantial differences between the various versions and methods of deployment, that should be taken into consideration at every deployment of Windows Server 2019.
LTSC releases of Windows happen every few years. The most recent Windows 10 client and server releases designated as LTSC were Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 (released alongside Windows 101809) and Windows Server 2019.
Dedicated infrastructure provides servers that are physically isolated for use by a single customer. Amazon EC2 has two dedicated infrastructure options: Dedicated Hosts and Dedicated Instances. If you bring existing licenses to Dedicated Hosts or Dedicated Instances, then you are using hardware that is fully dedicated to your use.
A Dedicated Host is a physical EC2 server fully dedicated to you. Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts allow you to use your eligible software licenses from vendors, including Microsoft, on Amazon EC2, so that you get the flexibility and cost effectiveness of using your own licenses, but with the resiliency, simplicity and elasticity of AWS. With Dedicated Hosts, you have an option to control instance placement and gain visibility into the number of sockets and cores installed on a host. You can use these features to bring your own software licenses bound to virtual instances, sockets, or cores, including Windows Server, SQL Server, and SUSE Enterprise Server.
There are various factors to consider when licensing passive failover for SQL Server. The information below pertains only to the SQL Server licenses and not the Windows Server licenses. In all cases, you must license Windows Server. For more information on SQL and failover server scenarios, visit this Microsoft SQL Server Licensing guide.
In contrast, when System Center products are purchased individually as Client Management Licenses, and are not purchased as part of System Center Standard or System Center Datacenter suites, the licenses are intended for managing end user clients rather than server environments.
The latest server OS released by Microsoft, Windows Server 2022, offers a variety of features and improvements in performance, connectivity and security. AWS customers can make the best out of running Windows Server 2022 on EC2 by leveraging the elasticity and breadth of resources offered on AWS. Customers can start using various features of Windows Server 2022 readily by accessing the Windows AMIs offered by AWS.
Glossary
AMI (Amazon Machine Image): Is a template for the root volume for the instance (for example, an operating system, an application server, and applications), manages launch permissions that control which AWS accounts can use the AMI to launch instances. Contains a block device mapping that specifies the volumes to attach to the instance when it's launched.
AWS (Amazon Web Services): offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, analytics, application, and deployment services that help organizations move faster, lower IT costs, and scale applications.
AWS Management Console: access and manage Amazon Web Services through a simple and intuitive web-based user interface.
BYOL (Bring Your Own License): is a process you can use to deploy software that you have previously licensed on physically dedicated AWS hardware. If you BYOL, you do not pay for instances with licensing included in the cost. Instead, you pay the same rate as EC2 instances with Amazon Linux pricing. When you BYOL, you are responsible for managing your own licenses.
CloudEndure: offers reliable business continuity solutions that minimize data loss and downtime due to human errors, network failures, external threats, or any other disruptions. Our Disaster Recovery and Migration solutions are powered by innovative workload mobility technology, which continuously replicates applications from any physical, virtual, or cloud-based infrastructure into Amazon Web Services (AWS). As such, CloudEndure is uniquely qualified to support large-scale, heterogeneous environments with diverse applications and infrastructure.
Custom AMI: is an AMI created in your account either built from an imported image or captured from an existing instance. For example, you can launch an instance from an existing AMI, customize the instance, and then save this updated configuration as a custom AMI. Instances launched from this new custom AMI include the customizations that you made when you created the AMI.
EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud): provides scalable computing capacity in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.
EMP (End-of-Support Migration Program) for Windows Server: program that helps customers with migration of their legacy Windows Server applications to the latest, supported versions of Windows Server on AWS, without any code changes.
EOS (End of Support): is a term used to reference Microsoft ending support for a product, in accordance with their Product Lifecycle policy.
Hyperscale: refers to the facilities and provisioning required in distributed computing environments to efficiently scale from a few servers to thousands of servers. Hyperscale computing is usually used in environments such as big data and cloud computing.
In-Place Upgrade: upgrades the operating system files while your personal settings and files are intact.
Instance (EC2 Instance): is a virtual server in the AWS cloud. Its configuration at launch is a copy of the AMI that you specified when you launched the instance.
LI (License Included): refers to the use of Amazon's Microsoft Licensing Agreement for Windows Server and SQL Server.
LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel): is a release channel of Windows Server released once per 2-3 years with stability and long term support in mind. LTSC releases provide a predictable OS experience and provide 5 years of traditional support starting from initial release, plus an additional 5 years of extended support for security updates.
VMIE (AWS VM Import/Export): is an AWS Service used to import Operating System Images to AWS EC2 in an offline mode.
RDS (Amazon Relational Database Service): is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.
SA (Software Assurance): is a comprehensive program offered by Microsoft to help deploy, manage, and use Microsoft products efficiently.
SAC (Semi-Annual Channel): is release channel of Windows Server released twice per year with a limited support life cycle, ending 18 months from initial release. SAC releases allow customers to pilot the latest OS features quickly, but are not intended for long term use.
SMS (AWS Server Migration Service): is an AWS Service used to import Operating System Images to AWS EC2 in an online mode.
WorkSpaces (Amazon Workspaces): is a managed, secure cloud desktop service. You can use Amazon WorkSpaces to provision either Windows or Linux desktops in just a few minutes and quickly scale to provide thousands of desktops to workers across the globe.