ubuntu, Long term support and interim releases

Version numbers are YY.MM

Releases of Ubuntu get a development codename (‘Oracular Oriole’) and are versioned by the year and month of delivery - for example, Ubuntu 24.10 was released in October 2024.

LTS or ‘Long Term Support’ releases are published every two years in April. LTS releases are the ‘enterprise grade’ releases of Ubuntu and are used the most. An estimated 95% of all Ubuntu installations are LTS releases.

Ubuntu LTS releases receive 5 years of standard security maintenance for all packages in the ‘Main’ repository. With an Ubuntu Pro subscription, you get access to Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) covering security fixes for packages in both the ‘Main’ and ‘Universe’ repositories for 10 years. Phone and ticket support is also available and can be optionally added on top of an Ubuntu Pro subscription, covering the same packages covered by ESM, for the same time frame.

Add on optional Legacy Support to Ubuntu Pro and expand security maintenance and support for an additional 2 years, resulting in 12 years of coverage overall.

Every six months between LTS versions, Canonical publishes an interim release of Ubuntu, with 24.10 being the latest example. These are production-quality releases and are supported for 9 months, with sufficient time provided for users to update, but these releases do not receive the long-term commitment of LTS releases.

Ubuntu releases

ESM and phone and ticket support require Ubuntu Pro subscription.

Interim releases will introduce new capabilities from Canonical and upstream open source projects, they serve as a proving ground for these new capabilities. Many developers run interim releases because they provide newer compilers or access to newer kernels and newer libraries, and they are often used inside rapid devops processes like CI/CD pipelines where the lifespan of an artefact is likely to be less than the support period of the interim release. Interim releases receive full security maintenance for ‘main’ during their lifespan.

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Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that offers an operating system predominantly focused on desktop computers but also provides support for servers. Based on Debian GNU / Linux, Ubuntu focuses on ease of use, freedom in usage restriction, regular releases (every 6 months) and ease of installation.