long term support Canonical expands Long Term Support to 12 years starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

[Ubuntu]

Today, Canonical announced the general availability of Legacy Support, an Ubuntu Pro add-on that expands security and support coverage for Ubuntu LTS releases to 12 years. The add-on will be available for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS onwards. 

Long term supported Ubuntu releases get five years of standard security maintenance on the main Ubuntu repository. Ubuntu Pro expands that commitment to 10 years on both the main and universe repositories, providing enterprises and end users alike access to a vast secure open source software library. The subscription also comes with a phone and ticket support tier. Ubuntu Pro subscribers can purchase an extra two years of security maintenance and support with the new Legacy Support add-on. 

“We’re thrilled to offer our customers additional years of security maintenance and support for Ubuntu LTS releases”, said Maximilian Morgan, Global VP of Support Engineering at Canonical. “Drawing on 20 years of excellence in open source, Canonical delivers expert security maintenance and support for customers around the world. With Legacy Support, we empower organisations to navigate their operational needs and investments into open source with confidence, ensuring their systems remain available, secure, and supported for many years to come”. 

Ideal for stability and peace of mind

Running the latest operating system (OS) offers new features and enhanced performance, which is a good choice for new deployments. However, for large, established production systems, the transition to a new OS version presents a challenge as it may involve updating the entire software stack running on top of it. This complexity is amplified by modern software architectures that incorporate containerisation, microservices, extensive data management features, as well as integration with third-party APIs. 

Given these multifaceted challenges, ensuring the system remains operational, secure, and supported is paramount. Organisations looking to gain peace of mind and stability while they plan and execute their migration strategy can trust Canonical.

12 years of timely security fixes and support

Security maintenance is part of a continuous process that proactively protects systems. It includes regular vulnerability scanning, evaluation and patch management. With Ubuntu Pro, Canonical provides continuous vulnerability management for critical, high and medium Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) across all software packages shipped with Ubuntu. Canonical’s security team actively backports these crucial fixes to all supported Ubuntu LTS releases, giving enterprises and end users peace of mind to keep their systems secure without requiring a major upgrade.

Support is a user-triggered service that comes into play when incidents occur or additional expertise is required to address complex issues. Customers looking to strengthen their business continuity strategy with open source expertise can rely on Canonical support for troubleshooting, break fixes, bug fixes and guidance.

Available for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr and future LTS releases

Ubuntu Pro coverage for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS will end in April 2024. With Legacy Support, organisations running their systems on top of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS can obtain an additional two years of expanded security maintenance and phone and ticket support. This enables IT managers to prepare a detailed upgrade plan for the next LTS, and software architects to concentrate on the application level with the support offered by Canonical’s team.

Learn more about Ubuntu Pro and the Legacy Support add-on at https://ubuntu.com/pro,  https://ubuntu.com/support or contact Canonical  for more information.

View the full article