Ubuntu LTS releases to 15 years with Legacy add-on

(canonical.com)

69 points | by taubek 2 days ago

9 comments

  • k_bx 42 minutes ago
    I'm now deploying all my projects in Incus container (LXC). My base system is upgradeable, ZFS-based, in future will be IncusOS but now just Ubuntu. Incus is connected in cluster so I can: backup/copy projects, move between machines etc.

    Containers reuse host system's new kernel, while inside I get Ubuntu 22.04. I don't see a good reason, if 22.04 will get 15-year life support, to upgrade it much. It's a perfect combination for me, keeping the project on 22.04 essentially forever, as long as my 22.04 build-container can still build the new version.

    • HansHamster 22 minutes ago
      Isn't Incus/LXD separate from and running on top of LXC? People sometimes seem to use the names interchangeably which can be annoying because I run just plain LXC but when looking stuff up and come across "this is how you do XYZ on LXC" they are actually talking about LXD and it doesn't really apply. I can't recall what is was last time, but this has happened a couple of times already...
  • nebula8804 2 hours ago
    The person having to maintain this must be in a world of hurt. Unless they found someone who really likes doing this kind of thing? Still, maintaining such an old codebase while the rest of the world moves on...ugh...
    • asteroidburger 17 minutes ago
      You're not adding new features and such like that. Just patching security vulnerabilities in a forked branch.

      Sure, you won't get the niceties of modern developments, but at least you have access to all of the source code and a working development environment.

    • pram 1 hour ago
      On the other hand: dealing with 14.04 is practically cutting edge compared to stuff still using AIX and HPUX, which were outdated even 20 years ago lol
    • SoftTalker 2 hours ago
      Some people just want a job, they don’t wrap up their sense of self worth in it.
    • al_borland 17 minutes ago
      Most people I know don’t like chasing the latest framework that everyone will forget about in 6 months.
    • kijin 32 minutes ago
      > Unless they found someone who really likes doing this kind of thing?

      There are more people like that than one might think.

      There's a sizable community of people who still play old video games. There are people who meticulously maintain 100 year old cars, restore 500 year old works of art, and find their passion in exploring 1000 year old buildings.

      The HN front page still gets regular posts lamenting loss of the internet culture of the 80s and 90s, trying to bring back what they perceive as lost. I'm sure there are a number of bearded dudes who would commit themselves to keeping an old distro alive, just for the sake of not having to deal with systemd for example.

    • begueradj 16 minutes ago
      They will assign that task for someone they want to get rid of. Then they will abandon the task after the unwanted worker leaves. That's one of the classic behaviors at all workplaces around the world.
  • Vortigaunt 1 hour ago
    From what a quick google search told me, RHEL caps out at 13 years.[0] I'm curious what caused Canonical to offer 2 more years of lts support than Red Hat?

    [0]https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata

  • Animats 2 hours ago
    Nice.

    Should be mandatory for home automation systems. Support must outlive the home warranty.

  • therealfiona 2 days ago
    How many customers did this take? Wow...
    • ycombinete 1 hour ago
      These kinds of demands are becoming more common in b2b software.
    • unsnap_biceps 2 hours ago
      It could just have been one with a very large check.
      • MiddleEndian 2 hours ago
        It doesn't seem unreasonable to me if you have the resources. If I could've paid Apple to somehow just support OS X 10.6 forever I'd probably still be a Mac/Hackintosh user lol
      • paulddraper 2 hours ago
        There’s at least one customer somewhere willing to pay $1 million for that.

        Plus adding a general feeling of confidence to the product as a whole. And safety knowing that you can upgrade for an extra 5 years of support if you need it.

        • odie5533 1 hour ago
          The level of confidence is pretty incredible. Coming from someone who got hurt by CentOS.
          • naniwaduni 18 minutes ago
            One of the dirty secrets is that you don't need to back up confidence to sell it if you don't plan to be around when it falls apart.
  • superkuh 2 hours ago
    I've used Canonical's free 3-seat extended service mantainence (ESM) support on my one 14.04 LTS machine for a long time. It's so nice having a stable target for more than decade for my personal projects. I have so much software defined radio software that absolutely does break in ways I can't fix on a newer version of any Debian-alike. The ESM program has been a provider of peace of mind when still leaving that SDR machine connected to the internet and running javascript.

    >30-day trial for enterprises. Always free for personal use. >Free, personal subscription for 5 machines for you or any business you own

    This "Pro" program also being free is a suprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

    • cpncrunch 1 hour ago
      Its unclear if this legacy patch will be free for personal use.
  • benatkin 1 hour ago
    This gives me a good sense of how old these versions are:

    https://documentation.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-for-developers/refer...

    14.04 LTS has Python 3.4 as well as Python 2.7.