Next April’s release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS will provide desktop users with five years of support and maintenance releases Canonical have announced.
Previous ‘Long Term Support’ releases provided 3 years of support for desktop users, whilst 5 for server users.
The increased support period is a ‘response’ to the popularity of LTS usage in businesses, Canonical have said.
The five year support period, which consists of 2 years of hardware updates and three years of maintenance updates, will make Ubuntu 12.04 a desirable choice for companies seeking to roll out or upgrade large deployment of Ubuntu, with a mind on costs and technology.
‘ability to keep pace’
“Ubuntu has always been known for its ability to keep pace with the latest applications and hardware”, Ubuntu’s Engineering Director at Canonical, Rick Spencer says.
“But as our user-base grows and matures the ability to plan for the longer term is vital. Ubuntu 12.04 LTS will give desktop users the perfect combination of keeping pace with hardware changes and extended support depending on their needs”.
Support for Ubuntu’s previous LTS release, Ubuntu 10.04, ends in April 2013.
Ubuntu 12.04 is scheduled for release in April 2012.