A new version of Ubuntu Core is available to download.
For those unaware, of it Ubuntu Core is Canonical’s streamlined Ubuntu spin targeted at embedded devices, IoT, and other industrial hardware. It is a containerised version of regular Ubuntu boasting a small footprint, super-secure design, and support for transactional software updates using Snaps.
Ubuntu Core 22 is the latest release and as you may be able to tell from its version number it’s based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. It is backed by 10 years of security maintenance of kernel, OS and application-level code updates from Canonical.
To be clear: Ubuntu Core isn’t the pared back, no-fat version of Ubuntu some regular home users dream of. It’s a security-hardened, hyper-minimal Ubuntu core to aid real-time computing, robotics, network gateways, automative makers, digital signage, and that sort of things.
“Ubuntu Core 22 helps manufacturers with an ultra-secure, resilient, and low-touch OS, backed by a growing ecosystem of silicon and ODM partners. As security remains at the forefront for professionals in the space, Ubuntu Core 22 also introduces measures that can protect the network,” the company says of the release.
Among new features in Ubuntu Core 22 is beta access to a real-time kernel (this feature is available with the regular flavour too so no jealousy is required).
Also new are validation-sets that install a specific version of a Snap(s) package; quota groups to set resource limits on services inside Snaps; factory reset support; and the addition of Piboot as one-stage boot-loader on the Raspberry Pi.
And Ubuntu Core 22 supports MAAS, or Metal As A Service, allowing devs to deploy the system to bare-metal devices in the field using the tech.
You can find details, download links, and plenty of marketing talk over on the Ubuntu Core website.