Canonical has announced it will not ship stable release kernel updates during September.
Critical security and bug fixes will be packaged up and pushed out to users when/if needed, but the routine rollup releases which typically arrive every few weeks will …not.
Announcing the break in an e-mail to the Ubuntu kernel team mailing list, Canonical’s Roxana Nicolescu says that the temporary pause is due to a “critical infrastructure change”, and that:
This adjustment will allow us to focus on ensuring a smooth and stable transition. Our next SRU cycle will start when the infrastructure is back online. The current estimation is at the beginning of October. Once we know more details, we will let you know the exact date.
Canonical’s Roxana Nicolescu, Ubuntu Kernel Team
Maintaining, building, packaging, testing, and publishing kernel updates across all supported Ubuntu releases, and all supported architectures, requires solid, reliable infrastructure. Even the most well-oiled machines need a pit-stop once in a while.
At face value this announcement sounds big, but will it actually impact end users?
Nah, not really.
For one, this is not the first time Ubuntu’s needed to skip a cycle in its every-rolling kernel SRU cadence for supported Ubuntu releases — and on those occasions, the world kept turning.
Secondly, critically important security patches, bug fixes, and others issues will be covered ‘if necessary’, according to Nicolescu, which is reassuring.
All this temporary break really means is a short delay in getting a bundle of miscellaneous and mostly minor fixes, tuneups, and security tweaks on the usual schedule.
Heck, if you’re the type to always have unattended upgrades enabled, you might not be aware of how routine minor kernel updates are – they filter down the update pipes at a regular clip.
As always, anyone can check the current and upcoming kernel schedule on the Ubuntu website.