Base image servicing lifecycles

Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016

Note

Microsoft has delayed the scheduled end of support and servicing dates for a number of products to help people and organizations focus their attention on retaining business continuity. See Lifecycle changes to end of support and servicing dates entry from April 14, 2020 for more information.

Windows container base images are based on either Long-Term Servicing Channel releases or Semi-Annual Channel releases of Windows Server. This article explains how long support will last for different versions of base images from both channels.

The Semi-Annual Channel is a twice-per-year feature update release with eighteen-month servicing timelines for each release. This lets customers take advantage of new operating system capabilities at a faster pace, both in applications (particularly those built on containers and microservices) and in the software-defined hybrid data center. For more information, see the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel overview.

For Server Core images, customers can also use the Long-Term Servicing Channel that releases a new major version of Windows Server every two to three years. Long-Term Servicing Channel releases receive five years of mainstream support and five years of extended support. This channel works with systems that require a longer servicing option and functional stability.

The following table lists each type of base image, its servicing channel, and how long its support will last.

Base image	Servicing channel	Version	OS build	Availability	Mainstream support end date	Extended support date
Server Core, Nano Server, Datacenter Container	Long-Term	2022	20348	08/18/2021	10/13/2026	10/14/2031
Server Core, Nano Server, Windows	Semi-Annual	20H2	19042	10/20/2020	08/09/2022	N/A
Server Core, Nano Server, Windows	Semi-Annual	2004	19041	05/27/2020	12/14/2021	N/A
Server Core, Nano Server, Windows	Semi-Annual	1909	18363	11/12/2019	05/11/2021	N/A
Server Core, Nano Server, Windows	Semi-Annual	1903	18362	05/21/2019	12/08/2020	N/A
Server Core	Long-Term, Semi-Annual	2019, 1809	17763	11/13/2018	01/09/2024	01/09/2029
Nano Server	Semi-Annual	1809	17763	11/13/2018	01/09/2024	01/09/2029
Windows	Semi-Annual	1809	17763	11/13/2018	01/09/2024	01/09/2029
Server Core, Nano Server	Semi-Annual	1803	17134	04/30/2018	11/12/2019	N/A
Server Core, Nano Server	Semi-Annual	1709	16299	10/17/2017	04/09/2019	N/A
Server Core	Long-Term	2016	14393	10/15/2016	01/11/2022	01/11/2027
Nano Server	Semi-Annual	1607	14393	10/15/2016	10/09/2018	N/A

For servicing requirements and other additional information, see the Windows Lifecycle FAQ, Windows Server release information, and the Windows base OS images Docker hub repo.