Windows 10 powered to its third anniversary this year, but one branch, identified by the initials L-T-S-B, remained an enigma to most corporate users. LTSB, which stands for "Long-term Servicing Branch," was among the pillars of Windows 10 in the months leading up to, and for months after, the mid roll-out of the operating system.
For a time, it seemed that it had a shot at becoming the Windows 10 for enterprise because it was seen as a calm port in a storm of radical change. Officially, LTSB is a specialized edition of Windows 10 Enterprise windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb n vs windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb free download promises the longest intervals between feature upgrades of any version of the operating system.
Where other Windows 10 servicing models push feature upgrades to customers every six months, LTSB does so only every two or three years. That means fewer changes during a set timeline, a less-involved upgrade effort, and fewer disruptions as well as fewer possibilities for applications breaking because of a modification of the OS.
Although LTSC could be viewed as the mechanism that updated and upgraded the actual operating system, which went by the LTSB moniker, Microsoft has shifted to using the former exclusively and ditching the latter. Yes, it's confusing. But then, it is Microsoft we're talking about. But it's not. That's because just four days later, on Oct. So when the Redmond, Wash. The firm has given users no new information about progress in re-releasing in more than a month.
For the time being, then, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB, which was based on the mid Windows 10remains the latest available version. The even earlier Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB — based on the July debut version of the operating system — still receives security updates, of course. A lot that makes Windows 10, well, Windows No one will be fooled into thinking it's Windows 7. Plainly put, it was a sop to the criticism very early on about Windows 10's accelerated development and release tempo.
Customers had become accustomed to upgrading Windows every three or more years, with the emphasis on more in the enterprise. The announcement that that would change to multiple releases each year - initially, three annually - was a shock. Microsoft tried to soften the blow by offering a schedule very similar to the slower cadence familiar to IT: Upgrades that appeared every three years or so, with little or no feature changes in between, and an update model that provided only security fixes.
Although Microsoft always opined that LTSB was suitable only as a minority choice - one for special situations, such as machines that simply should not be frequently touched, like those that control industrial systems or ATMs - early in Windows 10, there was significant talk among IT administrators about choosing LTSB for broad swaths of their PC inventory. Because they weren't convinced they could, or even should, snap to and adapt to Microsoft's pitch of "Windows as a service" WaaS.
Over a year and a half ago, Microsoft added another law to the Windows 10 support scene, one that analysts contended invalidated LTSB's advantages over the shifting features that mark the other versions. But in earlythe company ruled that "LTSBs will support the currently released silicon at the time of release of the LTSB [ emphasis added windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb n vs windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb free download and that as new processors appeared from the likes of Intel and AMD, "support will be created through future Windows 10 LTSB releases that customers can deploy for those systems.
The bland language disguised a huge change. Rather than be able to stick with a single LTSB edition for five, even 10, years, enterprises will need to adopt virtually every LTSB version as they buy new PCs powered by newser processors.
But there are conditions and stipulations. No surprise, really, what with Microsoft's overall attitude toward the long-term build. You basically have to do a full OS deployment.
There's no special tools that say, 'Just do the upgrade for me. Where do you get the next LTSC then? If an enterprise has been running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB, for example, it can shift only to Windows 10 Enterprise or later meaningor Second, starting Jan.
Ten years is usually the answer you see to that one. But it would be, if not wrong, then misleading. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB is guaranteed only five windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb n vs windows 10 enterprise 2016 ltsb free download of support - from the time of its release, not its installation - if the underlying license does not have SA attached.
It cannot later upgrade that version to a newer LTSB when one is released. Here are the latest Insider stories. More Insider Sign Out. Sign In Register. Sign Out Sign In Register. Latest Insider. Check out the latest Insider stories here. More from the IDG Network. Microsoft slashes Windows 10 long-term support by half.
Windows 10 update and retirement calendar: Mark these dates. Microsoft: All things must end Just what is LTSB? And what has Microsoft done to make it an afterthought? We have answers.
