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As expected, Canonical has released the newest version of its Ubuntu Linux distribution, Ubuntu 20.04. This version of Long Term Support (LTS) is more than just the latest version of one of the most popular Linux distributions; It is a major upgrade for desktop, server, and cloud users.
Let’s start with the central operating system. Here you will find that Ubuntu 20.04, also known as Focal Fossa, is now based on the Linux 5.4 kernel of November 2019. This kernel includes significant new features.
Thanks to Linux 5.4, Ubuntu 20.04 now has:
- Kernel lock mode: This optional LSM (Linux Security Module) prevents the root account from working with the kernel code in some cases. It makes it much more difficult for compromised root accounts to compromise Linux systems.
- ExFat support: Ubuntu now supports this popular Microsoft device file system.
The core operating system also includes many other new features:
- WireGuard – The new simplified and very popular virtual private network (VPN) with updated crypto defaults. In addition to being included in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, WireGuard will be compatible with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. In a statement, WireGuard creator Jason A. Donenfeld said: “Including WireGuard by default in all recent versions of Ubuntu means that users will finally have a large secure tunnel ready to use in Ubuntu.”
- Z File System (ZFS): Focal Fossa now supports the latest version of this Oracle based file system. Now includes disk encryption and performance improvements.
Canonical is also taking Linux security more seriously than ever. In addition to kernel lock mode, it now incorporates Kernel Self Protection. This is a variety of improvements designed to protect against kernel security flaws. It also includes a Secure Boot (SSH) Fast ID Online (FIDO) multi-factor authentication and secure boot utility. With the latter, users will be able to log in securely without using a password.
At a press conference, Canonical founder and CEO Mark Shuttleworth explained that Canonical now “thinks of security as part of operations, rather than security, separate from operations.” This approach to “DevSecOps” is new, but by making it easier for “organizations to incorporate security features into the application development and deployment process,” security will be integrated not into the operating system but across the entire platform. This, in turn, will make not only Ubuntu, but any operation running on Ubuntu more secure than ever.
Shuttleworth also noted that Snap apps, easy-to-install Linux apps, are more secure than native Linux apps. This is because by strictly limiting Snap programs to containers, a misbehaving application cannot affect the overall operating system.
Ubuntu 20.04 also includes, as noted by Robert Gomer, director of AMD Datacenter Alliances, “native support for AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization with accelerated memory encryption designed for data protection in use, as well as high-performance scaling for AMD EPYC processors with 256 threads and beyond “.
The most important change in this version of Ubuntu is not in the technology, per se. Historically, Ubuntu LTS versions come with five years of support. So you can safely plan to use Ubuntu 20.04 through 2025. And, if you pay for Ubuntu Advantage support, you’ll be able to run Ubuntu compatible for a decade (that is, until 2030). But, now, Canonical also offers support for up to 10 years, not only for the core operating system but for 30,000 other open source applications, which have not been supported before.
Shuttleworth explained, “We are offering full 10-year coverage for all packages, including 30,000 packages that we have never covered with security updates before. This represents a major improvement in business security.”
Ubuntu desktop
Shuttleworth is aware of how important the Linux desktop is to Ubuntu users. He said Ubuntu is the “most popular open source desktop operating system in the world, and this is our best release to date.” Ubuntu 20.04 LTS offers a secure, cost-effective, enterprise-level operating system for workplaces and home users. There are a couple of important things to understand about desktop success. But the people who use the Ubuntu desktop are often passionate people who are making big waves in their industry.
Focal Fossa uses GNOME 3.36 for its default desktop. This comes with a dark theme, an improved shell theme, new lock screens, faster performance, a Do Not Disturb toggle feature and an improved settings panel.
It also includes stand-by applications from the Linux desktop such as PulseAudio 14.0 for audio, Firefox 75.0 for web browsing, Thunderbird 68.7.0 for email and LibreOffice 6.4 for its office suite. It also includes support for cloud-based applications such as Google G Suite and Microsoft Exchange support.
For gamers, Ubuntu 20.04 comes with Feral Interactive’s GameMode performance tool, which will be installed by default. GameMode is a Linux daemon that allows games to request things like more CPU power, I / O priority, and other optimizations. In practice, this means that Linux games will work much better. Nvidia’s proprietary drivers have also been added to improve graphics performance. The user interface for presenting and selecting these drivers has also been improved.
To add new applications, Snap Store has replaced “ubuntu-software” as the default tool for finding and installing packages and snapshots. You can still install traditional Linux packages through this tool. Six thousand Snap apps are already available. This includes Slack, Skype, Plex, Spotify, JetBrains, and Visual Studio Code.
Looking ahead, there will be more Snap apps. These will also have a better startup time, and Canonical’s performance is also making it easier to create own and general enhancements.
For developers, Python 3.8 is now the default Python. Python 2.7 has been moved to the universe. It is not included by default in any new installation. In case you haven’t received the hint yet, Python 2.x is ready. The remaining programs, which require Python 2.7, have been updated to use / usr / bin / python2 as their interpreter. If you upgrade from a previous version, / usr / bin / python will continue to point to python2 for compatibility.
This version has also updated most of the other popular languages. It comes with the new ascending releases of glibc 2.31, OpenJDK 11, rustc 1.41, GCC 9.3, Python 3.8.2, ruby 2.7.0, php 7.4, perl 5.30 and golang 1.13.
For AI and ML developers, Unbutu supports KubeFlow. This tool (AI / ML) enables programmers to quickly create, train, and tune neural networks within Kubernetes for dynamic resource provisioning. It works with TensorFlow and other modern AI / ML frameworks like PyTorch, MXNet and Chainer.
It has always been possible to install Ubuntu on almost any PC. If you want to buy and run Canonical certify multiple Dell, HP and Lenovo workstations. The only exception is the old 32-bit x86 architecture. Ubuntu 19.10 is the last Ubuntu that supports this ancient architecture.
For Windows Subsystem on Linux (WSL) users, Ubuntu 20.04 is now available. Shuttleworth said: “WSL enables deep integration with Linux applications on Windows 10. This gives Windows users a first-class engineering workstation experience in minutes.”
Ubuntu Server and Cloud
The server has many improvements under the hood. This includes making encryption easier, better support for multi-path disk installation, more reliable installation, and better crash reporting. The changes you will probably notice is the compatibility with automatic installations.
In the cloud, Ubuntu through Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro program extends Ubuntu’s security maintenance to cover every package in Ubuntu for a full 10 years. Ubuntu Pro also includes FIPS and Common Criteria EAL to meet FedRAMP, PCI, HIPAA, and ISO compliance requirements.
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS includes the latest version of the OpenStack cloud, Ussuri, as a preview. It will be fully compatible with the next version 20.04.1 LTS.
Canonical, which has partnerships with all the major public clouds, claims that it remains the most popular cloud-based Linux. In fact, according to the latest analysis of Cloud Market operating systems on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Ubuntu is the main Linux distribution. With 10 years of support in both its distribution and programs, Ubuntu is likely to stay ahead.
Microsoft certainly likes Ubuntu in the cloud. “We are excited to partner with Canonical to bring Ubuntu 20.04 LTS innovations across our entire tool chain, from developers at WSL to scaling enterprise production deployments on Azure,” said John Gossman, a distinguished Microsoft engineer. “In this release, we’ve made it easier than ever to manage workstation environments and enjoy the long-term stability and security of Ubuntu Pro for Azure across a wide range of computing options.”
And while Red Hat is now a vital part of IBM, Michael Desens, vice president of IBM offering management on IBM mainframes, said: “Canonical and IBM continue to work together to offer cloud solutions with Ubuntu on IBM LinuxONE and IBM Z Today’s announcement of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS running on IBM LinuxONE and IBM Z continues to provide our support for containers and Kubernetes, driving our customer’s journey to a hybrid cloud to support their mission-critical workloads. “
Canonical also supports IBM Secure Execution for Linux, a trusted execution environment for IBM Z and LinuxONE. IBM Secure Execution for Linux provides enterprise-class confidentiality and protection support for sensitive data and is designed to run large numbers of workloads in complete isolation at scale, with protection against internal and external threats across the hybrid cloud environment.
Shuttleworth summed it up: “Accelerating open source globally is our mission. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is the new cutting-edge open source platform for the business and the entrepreneur. We have brought together thousands of collaborators and the world’s largest technology companies to make Ubuntu 20.04 LTS the standard reference platform for secure cloud and edge computing. ”
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is available for download and in the main public clouds now. Go take a look and enjoy. I think you will find many things that you will like.
