Merge pull request #313250 from AbhishekMallick-MS/3Mar-17-2026-WS

WS 2008 & 2008 R2 EOL - Added advisory note to VM backup and Offline backup articles

Author: prmerger-automator[bot]

articles/backup/backup-azure-policy-supported-skus.md

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 ---
 title: Supported VM SKUs for Azure Policy
-description: 'An article describing the supported VM SKUs (by Publisher, Image Offer and Image SKU) which are supported for the built-in Azure Policies provided by Backup'
+description: 'An article describing the supported Virtual Machine (VM) SKUs (by Publisher, Image Offer and Image SKU) which are supported for the built-in Azure Policies provided by Backup'
 ms.topic: reference
-ms.date: 10/16/2024
+ms.date: 03/17/2026
 ms.service: azure-backup
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
 ms.author: v-mallicka
@@ -12,14 +12,18 @@ ms.author: v-mallicka
 # Supported VM SKUs for Azure Policy
 
 > [!CAUTION]
-> This article references CentOS, a Linux distribution that is End Of Life (EOL) status. Please consider your use and planning accordingly. For more information, see the [CentOS End Of Life guidance](/azure/virtual-machines/workloads/centos/centos-end-of-life).
+> This article references CentOS, a Linux distribution that is End Of Life (EOL) status. Consider your use and planning accordingly. For more information, see the [CentOS End Of Life guidance](/azure/virtual-machines/workloads/centos/centos-end-of-life).
 
-Azure Backup provides a built-in policy (using Azure Policy) that can be assigned to **all Azure VMs in a specified location within a subscription or resource group**. When this policy is assigned to a given scope, all new VMs created in that scope are automatically configured for backup to an **existing vault in the same location and subscription**. The table below lists all the VM SKUs supported by this policy.
+Azure Backup provides a built-in policy (using Azure Policy) that can be assigned to **all Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) in a specified location within a subscription or resource group**. When this policy is assigned to a given scope, all new VMs created in that scope are automatically configured for backup to an **existing vault in the same location and subscription**. The following table lists all the VM SKUs supported by this policy.
 
 ## Supported VMs*
 
 **Policy Name:** Configure backup on VMs of a location to an existing central vault in the same location
 
+The following table lists the supported VM SKUs for the built-in Azure Policy provided by Azure Backup.
+
+[!INCLUDE [end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md](../../includes/end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md)]
+
 Image Publisher | Image Offer | Image SKU
 --- | --- | ---
 MicrosoftWindowsServer | WindowsServer | Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (2008-R2-SP1)

articles/backup/backup-azure-restore-files-from-vm.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 title: Recover files and folders from Azure VM backup
 description: In this article, learn how to recover files and folders from an Azure virtual machine recovery point.
 ms.topic: how-to
-ms.date: 09/18/2025
+ms.date: 03/17/2026
 ms.custom: references_regions
 ms.service: azure-backup
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ The VM on which you want to run the downloaded script must meet the following re
 
 The following table shows the compatibility between server and computer operating systems. When recovering files, you can't restore files to a previous or future operating system version. For example, you can't restore a file from a Windows Server 2016 VM to Windows Server 2012 or a Windows 8 computer. You can restore files from a VM to the same server operating system, or to the compatible client operating system.
 
+[!INCLUDE [end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md](../../includes/end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md)]
+
 |Server OS | Compatible client OS  |
 | --------------- | ---- |
 | Windows Server 2022    | Windows 11 and Windows 10 |

articles/backup/offline-backup-azure-data-box.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 title: Offline backup by using Azure Data Box
 description: Learn how you can use Azure Data Box to seed large initial backup data offline from the MARS Agent to a Recovery Services vault. 
 ms.topic: how-to
-ms.date: 04/18/2025
+ms.date: 03/17/2026
 author: AbhishekMallick-MS
 ms.author: v-mallicka
 ms.service: azure-backup
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ The process to seed data from the MARS Agent by using Azure Data Box is supporte
 | Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64 bit     | Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation                |
 | Windows Server 2008 SP2 64 bit        | Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter                            |
 
+[!INCLUDE [end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md](../../includes/end-of-support-notes-windows-server-2008.md)]
+
 ### Backup data size and supported Data Box SKUs
 
 | Backup data size (post-compression by MARS)* per server | Supported Azure Data Box SKU                                      |