Windows Server removed features

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Microsoft's edit · 9 Mar 17:07 UTC

Add build number to deprecation note to make it make sense in context

Microsoft's commit message in MicrosoftDocs/windowsserverdocs · commit 0850495 · +1 −2 lines · also on GitHub

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3434 | Failover Clustering Cluster Sets |The Failover Clustering Cluster Sets feature is no longer in active feature development and is deprecated. |

3535 | Network Load Balancing (NLB) | NLB is no longer in active feature development and is deprecated. Consider using a Software Load Balancer (SLB) as an alternative. To learn more about SLB, see [What is Software Load Balancer (SLB) for SDN?](/azure/azure-local/concepts/software-load-balancer?context=/windows-server/context/windows-server-edge-networking) |

3636 | NTLM | [NTLMv1](/windows/win32/secauthn/microsoft-ntlm) is removed. LANMAN and NTLMv2 are no longer under active feature development and are deprecated. NTLMv2 will continue to work but will be removed from Windows Server in a future release. Replace calls to NTLM with calls to [Negotiate](/windows/win32/secauthn/microsoft-negotiate), which tries to authenticate with Kerberos and only fall back to NTLM when necessary. For more information, see [The evolution of Windows authentication](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/the-evolution-of-windows-authentication/ba-p/3926848). |

37 −| Remote Mailslots | Remote Mailslots are deprecated. The Remote Mailslot protocol, which was initially introduced in MS DOS, is a dated and simple IPC method that is both unreliable and insecure. This protocol was first disabled by default in [Windows 11 Insider Preview Build](https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25314/). For more information on Remote Mailslots, see [About Mailslots](/windows/win32/ipc/about-mailslots) and [[MS-MAIL]: Remote Mailslot Protocol](/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-mail/8ea19aa4-6e5a-4aed-b628-0b5cd75a1ab9). |

37 +| Remote Mailslots | Remote Mailslots are deprecated. The Remote Mailslot protocol, which was initially introduced in MS DOS, is a dated and simple IPC method that is both unreliable and insecure. This protocol was first disabled by default in [Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25314](https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/03/08/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-25314/). For more information on Remote Mailslots, see [About Mailslots](/windows/win32/ipc/about-mailslots) and [[MS-MAIL]: Remote Mailslot Protocol](/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-mail/8ea19aa4-6e5a-4aed-b628-0b5cd75a1ab9). |

3838 | TLS 1.0 TLS 1.1 | TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1 are deprecated per internet standards and regulatory bodies due to security concerns mentioned in [RFC 8996](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8996). These versions are disabled by default in Windows Server 2025. For more information on TLS deprecation, see [TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 deprecation in Windows](/windows/win32/secauthn/tls-10-11-deprecation-in-windows). |

3939 | WebDAV Redirector service | The WebDAV Redirector service is deprecated. The service isn't installed by default in Windows Server. For more information on the WebDAV Redirector service, see [WebDAV - Win32 apps](/windows/win32/webdav/webdav-portal). |

4040 | Windows Internal Database (WID) | WID is used by several roles, including AD FS, AD RMS, IPAM, RD Connection Broker, and WSUS. Consider using a free or full version of SQL Server for these roles. WID will be removed from Windows in a future release. To learn more, see [SQL Server editions](/sql/sql-server/editions-and-components-of-sql-server-2022). |

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100100 |--|--|

101101 | Data Encryption Standard (DES) | DES, the symmetric-key block encryption cipher, isn't considered secure against modern cryptographic attacks. It's replaced by more robust encryption algorithms. DES was disabled starting with Windows Server 2008 R2 and is removed from Windows Server 2025 and later releases. |

102102 | IIS 6 Management Console (Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console) | The console is removed after being no longer developed in Windows Server 2019. You should also start migrating from IIS 6.0 or earlier versions to the latest version of IIS, which is always available in the most recent release of Windows Server. |

103 −| Internet Explorer | The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application is <a href="https://aka.ms/IEJune15Blog">retired and out of support</a> as of June 15, 2022. The standalone Internet Explorer application is removed from Windows Server 2025. **IE mode in Microsoft Edge**: You can still access older, legacy sites that require Internet Explorer with <a href="https://aka.ms/IEmodewebsite">Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge</a>. IE mode in Microsoft Edge remains supported for the duration of Windows Server 2025 support and continues to receive security updates. **Disabling IE mode**: If your organization requires IE mode to be disabled for compliance purposes, you can disable it via Group Policy. For detailed guidance, see <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/deployedge/edge-ie-mode-policies">Configure IE mode Policies</a>. **Optional feature**: The Windows optional feature `Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64` no longer exists in Windows Server 2025. DISM and PowerShell commands to remove this feature are not applicable to Windows Server 2025. **Residual artifacts**: Some Internet Explorer components, such as `iexplore.exe` stubs and COM automation objects, remain in Windows Server 2025 for compatibility purposes. Attempting to launch `iexplore.exe` redirects to Microsoft Edge. These components are part of the operating system and shouldn't be manually removed. **FAQ**: - *Why is `iexplore.exe` present in Windows Server 2025?* Residual IE components remain for backward compatibility with scripts and applications that reference IE paths or COM objects. These components redirect to Microsoft Edge when invoked. - *How do I validate that standalone Internet Explorer can't be used?* Run `dism /online /get-features | findstr /i "Internet-Explorer"` to confirm the `Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64` feature isn't listed. Attempting to launch `iexplore.exe` will redirect to Microsoft Edge. - *How do I ensure IE mode is disabled fo…

104103 | NTLMv1 | Replace calls to NTLM with calls to [Negotiate](/windows/win32/secauthn/microsoft-negotiate), which tries to authenticate with Kerberos and only falls back to NTLM when necessary. For more information, see [The evolution of Windows authentication](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/the-evolution-of-windows-authentication/ba-p/3926848). |

105104 | Windows PowerShell 2.0 | Starting with the [September 2025 update](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/september-9-2025-kb5065426-update-for-windows-server-2025-os-build-26100-6584-6a59dc6a-1ff2-48f4-b375-81e93deee5dd), Windows Server 2025 no longer includes Windows PowerShell 2.0. If Windows PowerShell 2.0 was installed before the September update, you can no longer use it. Windows PowerShell 2.0 applications and components should be migrated to PowerShell 5.0 or later. To learn more about the deprecation, see [Windows PowerShell 2.0 Deprecation](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/powershell/windows-powershell-2-0-deprecation/). |

106105 | SMTP Server | Because SMTP Server features were removed from Windows Server 2025, there's no replacement within the operating system. Consider using Exchange Server or a non-Microsoft SMTP server as an alternative. To learn more about enabling SMTP connection in Exchange Server, see [Receive connectors in Exchange Server](/exchange/mail-flow/connectors/receive-connectors). |

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