With the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, the Minor Product release policy is again in the spotlight.

First, what is a Minor Release? It is in most cases a refresh of a Major Product in the marketplace with either additional minor functionality or feature enhancements as well as improvements in the stable operation of the product.

Key to understanding the Minor Product story is that minor releases follow the same Support Lifecycle as its parent product. As such, there is no change of when the product will leave various support phases such as Mainstream Support and Extended Support.

An example of this is Windows Server 2003 R2 which has the same Mainstream Support phase and Extended Support phase dates as the parent product, Windows Server 2003. Likewise, Windows Server 2008 R2 follows the exact same Support Lifecycle dates as the initial release of Windows Server 2008.

Minor versions can also include some so-called "point releases" such as when a product is released in its initial version 3.0 and eventually becomes version 3.1.

Thanks for your continued questions and comments. More information on Microsoft’s support policies can also be found on the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website.

*This posting is provided "AS- IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.*