Canonical extends security support for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distros in the world today, and not just for consumers. Many businesses and enterprise-grade services are powered by Ubuntu. As a result, Canonical (the organization behind Ubuntu) rolled out what they call Extended Security Maintenance years ago for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS in order to keep security patches rolling for that version of the OS. Earlier this week, Canonical announced that Ubuntu 14.04 LTS will get the same treatment.

A quick note: the “LTS” at the end of an Ubuntu version name stands for “Long Term Support” and denotes that the version will be supported for at least 5 years. The Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) extends this End of Life as far as security goes. While support for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS was set to end April 30, 2019, ESM will keep security patches rolling out for the OS, but there is a catch.

The service is included with Canonical’s commercial support packages, which are paid solutions designed for enterprise users. Individual users can purchase ESM separately, but most 14.04 users will be better off upgrading to 16.04 LTS or the recently released 18.04 LTS.

If you or your business are still running on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and are interested in the ESM coming for it next year, check out Canonical’s site for more details.

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