Canonical Launches Ubuntu Pro with 10 Years' Updates, Offers Individuals Five Free Machine Licenses

Canonical has officially launched a public beta for Ubuntu Pro, an extension of its Ubuntu Advantage program, with the promise of 10-year security patching for not only its Linux distribution but over 25,000 packages on top — and it's making it free for personal users across up to five machines.

"Since we first launched Ubuntu LTS [Long Term Support], with five years free security coverage for the main OS, our enterprise customers have asked us to cover more and more of the wider open-source landscape under private commercial agreements," claims Canonical founder and chief executive Mark Shuttleworth. "Today, we are excited to offer the benefits of all of that work, free of charge, to anyone in the world, with a free personal Ubuntu Pro subscription."

Under the Ubuntu Long Term Support program Canonical promises security updates for the core operating system and around 2,300 software package in the Main repository for five years post-release; Ubuntu Advantage offered business users an extension to 10 years. In both cases, the promise didn't extend to software packages in the Universe repository — with 23,000 selected to receive security updates on a "best effort" basis instead.

Under Ubuntu Pro, the security patch lifespan of an Ubuntu LTS release is extended from five years to 10 — and that pledge covers both the 2,300 packages in Main as well as more than 23,000 in Universe. Subscribers also receive support for kernel livepatching, where security updates can be applied to the running Linux kernel without rebooting, and the ability to manage systems through Canonical's Landscape platform.

Those who had already subscribed to Ubuntu Advantage are being shifted to "Ubuntu Pro (Infra-only)," which is effectively the same thing under a different name. To gain the features of Ubuntu Pro proper, subscribers will need to sign up for the beta — with the promise of access for the remainder of their contract or "up to one year," after which they can choose to pay an additional subscription fee to remain on Ubuntu Pro or fall back to the Infra-only version at their existing Ubuntu Advantage pricing.

For individual users, though, the features are being made available free of charge — with only one small catch: it covers up to five machines, after which they'll need to upgrade to a paid subscription at $25 per year per workstation or $500 per year per server. Those using Ubuntu on cloud platforms, meanwhile, will be charged "approximately 3.5 per cent of the average underlying compute costs." An additional subscription is offered for weekday or 24/7 support, starting at $150 for desktop users.

More information is now available on the Ubuntu Pro landing page, where individual users can sign up for their five free machine licenses.