Canonical, the name behind the popular Linux distro Ubuntu, announced the lifecycle extension of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and 16.04 LTS. Canonical also stated that these extensions allow organizations to balance the infrastructure upgrade costs, by providing them additional time to implement their upgrade plan. The prolonged Extended Security Maintenance phase of these releases enables a secure and low-maintenance infrastructure with security updates and kernel live patches.
Ten years
With the extensions, the end of life for Ubuntu 14.04 which was released in April 2014, will be April 2024 and the end of life for Ubuntu 16.04 which was released in April 2016, will be April 2026. End of life dates of Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 are remaining unchanged for now. The extended lifecycles are an opportunity for the organizations currently implementing their transition to new applications and technologies.
Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos, Product Manager at Canonical said,
“With the prolonged lifecycle of Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04 LTS, we’re entering a new page in our commitment to enabling enterprise environments. Each industry sector has its own deployment lifecycle and adopts technology at a different pace. We are bringing an operating system lifecycle that lets organizations manage their infrastructure on their terms.”
FAQ
What is the latest version of Ubuntu?
The latest LTS version of Ubuntu is 22.04, also known as "Jammy Jellyfish" and it was released on 21 April 2022. Ubuntu 22.04 will be supported until 2027.
What are the system requirements for Ubuntu?
The latest version of Ubuntu's system requirements are:
- 2 GHz dual-core processor or better
- 4 GB system memory
- 25 GB of free hard drive space
- Internet access is helpful
- Either a DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media
Can Ubuntu run on older hardware?
If you have the above requirements, you can run Ubuntu. We do not recommend using the latest version of Ubuntu for older hardware, but you can try older versions of Ubuntu.
Can I run Ubuntu on a virtual machine?
Yes, you can install and use Ubuntu in virtual machines like VMWare or VirtualBox.
How do I enable Ubuntu on Windows 10?
To enable Ubuntu on Windows 10, you should be using at least Windows build 1709. Then you should enable Windows Subsystem for Linux from the Windows Features interface. Now you can download and install Ubuntu from Microsoft Store.
Can Ubuntu be installed on a virtual machine?
Yes, Ubuntu can be installed on a virtual machine. A virtual machine (VM) allows you to run an operating system within another operating system. This means that you can install Ubuntu on a virtual machine and run it on top of your current operating system, without the need to replace it or partition your hard drive. To install Ubuntu on VMWare, you can refer to our article: How to create VM and install a Linux distro on VMWare Workstation