Each release of Ubuntu Linux is supported for nine months, with long-term support (LTS) versions receiving five years of updates and security fixes. Canonical is now pushing it even further, starting with a new program aimed at enterprise deployment.
Canonical already sells Ubuntu Pro as an optional subscription for home users and businesses, which adds another five years of updates and software support for Ubuntu LTS releases, on top of the existing (free) five years of support. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was released in April 2018 and mainstream support ended after May 2023, but will continue to receive updates via Ubuntu Pro until April 2028.
Canonical has announced a new Legacy Support program, which extends the life of Ubuntu LTS releases to 12 years. The program is an optional subscription on top of Ubuntu Pro, starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr LTS. That update will hit the end of standard Ubuntu Pro updates in April 2024, and then get another two years of legacy support. The program will expand to other LTS releases after they reach ten years — the next will be Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus in 2026.
The blog post explains: “Long-term supported releases of Ubuntu receive five years of standard security maintenance in the main Ubuntu repository. Ubuntu Pro extends that commitment to 10 years on both the main and universal repositories, providing businesses and end users with access to a vast, secure library of open source software. The subscription also comes with phone and ticket support. Ubuntu Pro subscribers can purchase an additional two years of security maintenance and support with the new Legacy Support add-on.”
Microsoft already offers extended support for certain editions of Windows, so this seems like a move to keep Ubuntu systems functional as Windows PCs for long periods of time. Microsoft has a Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), which is supported for ten years, but is only intended for use by businesses (unlike Ubuntu Pro). Microsoft also continues to update some versions under expensive support contracts – the US military had multimillion-dollar contracts to keep Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 alive as recently as 2018.
It is unclear whether the Legacy Support program will ever be offered to home users. It is primarily intended for embedded devices, servers and other hardware that is too expensive to update normally. This is a common problem for factories, hospitals and other industries with specialized software and equipment, but not so much for home desktops and laptops. Most people using Ubuntu at home will be fine with standard or LTS Ubuntu updates.
Source: Canonical