Technical Bulletin: Microsoft Server Announcement

CaseAware Technical Bulletin
PHP? End of lifecycles? LINUX? What does it all mean? Should I care?
In July 2020, Microsoft announced they will discontinue Windows builds of PHP. PHP is a programming language that is used by almost 80% of all websites, including a few you might recognize like Facebook, Yahoo, Zoom, WordPress and CaseAware.

​Microsoft hasn't shared a motive behind their announcement, however, a majority of PHP programs are run on LINUX servers so one could reason it is because it is no longer worth their efforts to continue to support PHP programming. In an abundance of caution, we want to inform you there may be an impact on you if you are running CaseAware on a Windows server. 

If you are running a server that is Windows then Microsoft will no longer support or provide security patching for PHP at the end of 7.4 lifecycle, scheduled for November 6, 2022. As CaseAware moves to PHP version 8.0 and beyond, your version of CaseAware cannot be supported with continuous upgrades on a Windows server beyond November 2022.

Disregard if you fall into one of these categories:

1. You are a CaseAware Gold client: we host and perform builds on LINUX and there will not be any impact to supporting LINUX as we transition into PHP 8.0 and beyond
2. You are a CaseAware Bronze/Silver subscriber running on LINUX with no intentions to replace or migrate to Windows in the future

What happens if I don't switch?
If you are running on Windows or planning to switch to Windows, we strongly recommend a move to LINUX due to the discontinuance of support. 
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We will continue to code and support in PHP as we prepare to move to 8.0 within the next year as the broader community uses LINUX. If you choose not to switch and an issue is encountered that requires an update will not be able to perform the update and you may face issues maintaining security protocols and compliance. 

Recommendation and Support
We recommend switching over to LINUX no later than November 2022. If you would like to talk through your options and recommended timelines, we are here to help. Contact us for a consultation.