- [email protected]
- Mouthiers sur Boëme, France
- +33 972 508 828
Keeping a system that no longer receives updates is rarely a choice: it is often the only solution, for a while.
The publisher has disappeared, the new version does not exist or costs too much, and the software will not install on a recent system.
A machine tool, a measuring device or a controller is driven by a PC whose software only exists for an old version of Windows.
Old accounts, a customer database or technical files that must still be opened with the original software.
A replacement is planned, but not for several months: in the meantime, the old system must keep running.
When the vendor ends support, it no longer releases security patches. Windows 7 has received none since January 2020, Windows Server 2012 since October 2023 (paid extended security updates ended on 13 October 2026), Windows 10 since October 2025, and CentOS 7 since June 2024. Every vulnerability discovered since then remains open.
Then there is the hardware: an old PC eventually breaks down, and its parts become impossible to find. The day it stops, the software it runs stops with it.
ANSSI recommends isolating components that are no longer supported by their manufacturer from the rest of the system. That is exactly what we put in place. Dates and sources are detailed in our guide to obsolete systems and software.
We convert the physical machine into an identical virtual machine: no reinstallation, the software and its settings are kept. We check the licences with you, as some are tied to the original hardware.
The virtual machine is placed in a segregated network: only strictly necessary traffic is allowed, no web browsing or e-mail, and its own accounts and passwords.
A snapshot before every intervention, and a backup operated by WeDoBack: if the machine is damaged, it can be restored.
The machine is monitored like your other servers: disk space, availability, backups. An alert warns us before you are held up.
The virtual machine runs on the hypervisor that suits you, for example (non-exhaustive list): Proxmox, VMware, Virtuozzo or Hyper-V, on your premises or in a data centre.
Once the system is virtualised, a copy can be made at any time. This copy serves as a test bed: we can test a system upgrade, a new version of the software or a data migration to another tool, while the original keeps running normally.
So virtualisation is not just a way to extend the life of an old system: it is also the best way to prepare to move away from it.
The failure of a fifteen-year-old PC no longer brings your business to a halt.
The obsolete system can no longer see the rest of the network or the internet.
Snapshots and backups let you return to a known state.
Tests are carried out on a copy, at the pace that suits you.
In most cases, yes. Current hypervisors can still run these systems. We do a trial before touching your original machine.
No. We convert the existing machine into a virtual machine, with its system, software and data. Nothing needs to be reconfigured on your side.
It will not be up to date: no patches exist any more. However, it will be isolated, backed up and monitored, which greatly reduces the risk of it being attacked or used as an entry point into the rest of your network.
A USB key can usually be passed through to the virtual machine. Some older expansion cards cannot: we check this during the study, before any commitment.
On your premises, on a server we install, or in a data centre. The choice depends on the use: a machine that controls equipment often has to stay on site.
It depends on the number of systems, their size and the hosting chosen. Describe your situation and we will send you a written proposal.
Tell us what it does, which machine it runs on and why you are keeping it. We will propose a solution to protect it, and then to move away from it when the time comes.
Backup and restoration are operated by WeDoBack.
