Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions available. The Ubuntu Linux operating system has releases published regularly on an interval of every six months. Every few releases are designated as Long Term Support or LTS releases. These LTS releases of Ubuntu are published on an interval of every 2 years.

What is Long Term Support (LTS)?

Long Term Support (LTS) is a software product release lifecycle concept where a stable release offers maintenance and updates for a longer time than other standard releases. While standard releases are only supported for 9 months, an LTS release is supported for 8 years total.

Long Term Support (LTS) releases are the “enterprise grade” releases of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu LTS releases are covered under Standard Support for 5 years. During this period there will be regular patches and updates to the OS. After this five year period, the LTS release transitions into Extended Security Maintenance (EMS) support that offers the ability for organizations to pay for continued security coverage.

For example, here’s a table of some recent Ubuntu releases and their end of support dates:

The release dates and support dates in the above table are listed on the official Ubuntu list of releases page.

About the Author