Insights
Infrastructure
8 articles
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Windows Server 2016 support ends on 12 January 2027: planning the exitTechnical Guidance
Security updates for Windows Server 2016 stop on 12 January 2027. Here's how to find out what you're running, choose between upgrading, rebuilding, moving to Azure and paid extended updates, and handle the server that can't move in time.
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Secure Boot certificates issued in 2011 begin to expire in June 2026: what to checkTechnical Guidance
Microsoft lists three Secure Boot certificate expiries between June and October 2026. Here's what they cover, how to find out which of your physical and virtual machines are affected, and how to pilot the update.
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Recovering when identity is what failed: Active Directory and Entra ID recovery planningAdvanced Engineering
Restoring a server is routine. Restoring the directory that decides who can sign in to everything else is not. Here's what Microsoft's guidance says a forest recovery and an Entra ID recovery involve, and where your own design decides the outcome.
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Disaster recovery that has been rehearsed: a runbook outlineTechnical Guidance
A green backup report tells you copies exist, not that anyone could rebuild the business from them. Here's what a recovery runbook should hold, the order to restore things in, and how to rehearse it until it's true.
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Two-site high availability: the failures a second site does not coverAdvanced Engineering
Buying a second site duplicates your components, but not what both sites depend on, and with only two of them nobody can break a tie. Here's where two-site designs really fail, with the timing and quorum arithmetic and a test plan.
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Common Data Backup Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemBusiness Advice
We’ve seen businesses lose data because of backup mistakes. Sometimes it’s hardware failure. Sometimes it’s ransomware. Sometimes it’s human error. The common factor is that the backups weren’t set up correctly, or…
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Essential Backup Strategy for Small BusinessesBusiness Advice
“But we have backups!” Businesses tell us this. And then we ask to see them restore a file, and… well, let’s just say it doesn’t always go well. Our experience includes helping…
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Windows Server 2012 R2 after October 2023: keeping a server you can’t retire yetTechnical Guidance
Support for Windows Server 2012 R2 ended in October 2023, but one application keeps the server running. Here's what Extended Security Updates cover, how they're obtained and how to cut the risk while you plan the exit.