The AchieVer Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 LTSC, which was once called LTSB, is a specialized edition of Windows 10 Enterprise that promises the longest intervals between OS feature upgrades. Microsoft has again disparaged Windows 10 Long-term Servicing Channel (LTSC), the OS feature-fixed version that most resembles the now-discarded traditional Windows maintenance model. "All too often, I have seen strategic decisions about Windows 10 servicing options and the use of the Long-Term Servicing Channel driven by the wrong criteria, for example, IT professional familiarity prevailing over end user value and impact," John Wilcox, a Windows-as-a-Service (WaaS) evangelist for Microsoft, complained in a post to company blog last week. Elsewhere in his epistle, Wilcox spelled out Microsoft's position on LTSC's suitability (MRI imaging equipment, air traffic control devices and others), its cadence (every three years or so) and omissions (no Edge, no Cortana). He also recounted instances when he had worked with customers who had adopted LTSC (dubbed LTSB at the time, for "Long-term Servicing Branch") at Windows 10's mid-2015 release. These customers, Wilcox said, were "looking to unwind their LTSC deployments and shift to SAC," referring to the twice-a-year Semi-annual Channel release rhythm as he described the second-guessing. Officially, LTSC is a specialized edition of Windows 10 Enterprise that promises the longest intervals between feature upgrades of any version of the OS. 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. At least, that's what IT admins saw in LTSC. But not Microsoft. Wilcox saved his hardest-hitting punches against LTSC for his list of reasons why the static OS is a poor choice for general use. He trumpeted Windows 10 SAC - and so critiqued LTSC - on topics ranging from security ("Windows 10, with the latest feature update installed, is always the most secure release") to peripheral support ("LTSC ... may not support new hardware or peripherals that you need"). The most serious knock against LTSC, Wilcox said, putting it first on his list, is its short-lived support for specific PC processors. "You must (make) sure you have a long-term supply of devices and service components for the life of your expected usage of the device," Wilcox asserted. "If the hardware your device is using needs to be replaced in five years, do you have a replacement supply to support the version you are running?" Left unsaid is that the problems he raised are entirely due to Microsoft's own out-of-the-blue decision in early 2017. According to Gartner's analysts, in the face of essentially annual silicon upgrades by Intel, enterprises would have to ditch the idea of sticking with a single LTSC for, say, five years. Instead, they might have to adopt virtually every LTSC version as they buy new PCs powered by new generations of silicon. In one fell swoop, Microsoft obliterated the allure of LTSC for all but the narrowest use cases. Wilcox's repudiation of LTSC is not the first time Microsoft laid into the channel. In June, a U.K.-based consultant with the Windows team drew attention with a posttitled "Say No to Long Term Servicing Channel," which Wilcox's message largely resembled. "The point of this article is...to help you understand why wide adoption of LTSC is a bad idea," wrote Greg Nottage. In a Wilsonian 14 points, Nottage iterated why LTSC should be shunned, including items like "loosely-defined LTSC release cycles make planning ahead more difficult" and "no support for the modern Edge browser." Those two were the reddest of herrings, since LTSC is derived from the more-or-less-regular-as-clockwork SACs - nor is it any more loosely defined in its release than were pre-Windows 10 editions - and Edge has been roundly rejected by nearly 90% of all Windows 10 users. It's unclear what prompted Wilcox's jeremiad. It may have been the debacle surrounding Window 10 October 2018 Update, aka 1809, which Microsoft last month withdrew from distribution just days after release. The SAC spent more than a month on hold because of a grievous bug that destroyed some users' data. Some customers questioned Microsoft's quality control efforts. In reaction, there might have been a small swelling of support for the unchanging LTSC. One user thought so. "I think LTSC believers won't disappear soon, as many may prefer stability (real stability) over theoretical improvements and possible problems. If anything, the[ir] numbers may grow after the 1809 blunder," wrote someone identified as Oleg K in a comment added to Wilcox's post. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 2 hours ago, The AchieVer said: "All too often, I have seen strategic decisions about Windows 10 servicing options and the use of the Long-Term Servicing Channel driven by the wrong criteria, for example, IT professional familiarity prevailing over end user value and impact," John Wilcox, a Windows-as-a-Service (WaaS) evangelist for Microsoft, complained in a post to company blog last week. Perhaps users adopting LTSC prefer stability over the bug-infested crappy-new-features mess that is being rolled out every 6 months? 2 hours ago, The AchieVer said: "Windows 10, with the latest feature update installed, is always the most secure release" And the least stable. 2 hours ago, The AchieVer said: The most serious knock against LTSC, Wilcox said, putting it first on his list, is its short-lived support for specific PC processors. That problem is entirely of Microsoft's making. THEY are the ones deciding which processor families are compatible with which version of W10! If Wilcox is so concerned, why doesn't he loosen or remove Microsoft's restrictions? And finally, if LTSC is so evil, why doesn't Microsoft stop making it available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsychedelicShaman Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 I think that Microsoft is hating on LTSC just because it's getting more popular among home users than enterprises, they can't earn additional money on LTSC users, because LTSC lacks UWP apps and Cloud Content, so there are no ads on the lockscreen, no freemium apps such as Microsoft Solitaire Collection, no codecs selling, etc. It's all about the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylemessiah Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Yup, its the only verison of 10 ill allow on any of my PC's Im writing this on LTSC 2019 as we speak - i recently hacked spectre/meltdown protection into my (unsupported by vendor - MSI H81M-E34) bios and under Windows 7 the performance hit was noticeable -sure i could toggle it back off using InSpectre, but i thought, no why not bite the bullet and give Windows LTSC another go (id tried it LTSB a few months back and it was ok, but drove me nuts eventually) as i knew the spectre/meltdown performance hit was largely if not totally negated...so far LTSC is not making me hate it, so it *may* stay on here Why Microsoft isnt selling LTSC directly to home users is beyond me, have they learned nothing, people hate the bug ridden madness of retail branches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The AchieVer Posted December 6, 2018 Author Share Posted December 6, 2018 Seeing the current rate at which bugs are been released in disguise for features updates, it quite wise to use LTSB...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BimBamSmash Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 I take it adoption rate of the LTSB/C has been on the rise and that has them worried. I'd take a lesson or two from this trend instead of trash talking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Good LTSB/LTSC FAQ here... FAQ: Windows 10 LTSB explained (Computerworld - Gregg Keizer) Looks like the only W10 version I'd ever consider, have grabbed the latest gen2 version (1809 build 17763.134) from TPB to try out on a spare box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 54 minutes ago, Karlston said: Good LTSB/LTSC FAQ here... FAQ: Windows 10 LTSB explained (Computerworld - Gregg Keizer) Looks like the only W10 version I'd ever consider, have grabbed the latest gen2 version (1809 build 17763.134) from TPB to try out on a spare box. I'm to lazy to do all that I still never put a newer version of Ubuntu on my spare Linux Machine it still has 16.04 LTS on it and downloaded a newer version weeks ago and still i never felt like it . The last time installed any OS was back when Ubuntu 18.04 LTS And Windows 10 RS 4 came out I wiped Windows 10 off my system and put Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and Windows 8.1 on my daily driver and called it a year . Id rather be using my PC and than even be worrying about pirating Windows , all my OS have always been legal except for a copy of Windows XP i had for years and don't even use that since 2014 in a VM , witch is really cracked no work around like KMS or Mac key needed ... I got bored with testing and uploading cracks for leechers for any windows software in 2011. Today only cracks I download are for programs I use that can't be replaced on Windows with free or Open Source apps witch is only a problem i find on Windows for somethings, on Linux I only have one app that's not open source the software itself is free, I just pay for the service it provides just like a pay for a another service for open source Kodi and to use in open source Download Mangers on Linux, but I use a Closed source download Manger on Windows. The more I use Linux the more I see what a waste of time Windows is... Most of my Linux Programs update when I check for updates . Most windows programs I have to hunt around for installers , cracks if i don't already have one , and worry about botched Windows update , It don't matter what version of Windows you use Microsoft can still send you a bad update unless you don't do updates at all. I need to go on Windows now and update everything and I dread it because its been almost 30 days since i used Windows other than booting into it once to do something real fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsychedelicShaman Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 14 hours ago, Karlston said: Good LTSB/LTSC FAQ here... FAQ: Windows 10 LTSB explained (Computerworld - Gregg Keizer) Looks like the only W10 version I'd ever consider, have grabbed the latest gen2 version (1809 build 17763.134) from TPB to try out on a spare box. That's what im using right now, it's pretty solid after tweaking. You should update it to 17763.168, because .168 has Win32 file associations bug fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The AchieVer Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Quite a few bugs have been addressed in built 17763.168, but still it’s not as stable as LTSB..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.