Microsoft has announced the end of support for Itanium servers. Windows Server 2008 R2 will be the last version of Windows Server to support the Intel Itanium architecture.  SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010 are also the last versions to support Itanium.

"I’ve written previously about 64-bit and Windows Server and the long, steady adoption of 64-bit computing over the years.  Having been involved in Windows Server support for Alpha processors in the past, and seeing many of the early chapters of 64-bit Windows Server written on Intel’s Itanium architecture, it’s with a sense of nostalgia that I pass on some important news".Dan Reger, Senior Technical Product Manager, Windows Server, wrote in the windoes server blog.

Current support for Itanium will remain unchanged.  Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010 fully support Itanium, also recently-released Itanium 9300 (“Tukwila”) processor, will continue to recieve Microsoft’s support – following the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy.  Mainstream support for Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems (and R2) will end, in accordance with that policy, on July 9, 2013, while extended support will continue until July 10, 2018.  That’s 8 more years of support.

Why the change? The blog says that the natural evolution of the x86 64-bit (“x64”) architecture has led to the creation of processors and servers which deliver the scalability and reliability needed for today’s “mission-critical” workloads.  Just this week, both Intel and AMD have released new high core-count processors, and servers with 8 or more x64 processors have now been announced by a full dozen server manufacturers.  Such servers contain 64 to 96 processor cores, with more on the horizon.

According to the blog, Microsoft will continue to focus on the x64 architecture, and it’s new business-critical role.