Canonical recommends the ESM package starting May 2019

Feb 5, 2019 15:49 GMT  ·  By

Canonical today reminded Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) users that it would make its commercial Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) offering available series starting May 2019.

Released on April 17, 2014, the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) operating system series will reach its end of life in about three months from the moment of writing, on April 30, 2019. Ubuntu 14.04 was an LTS (Long Term Support) release, which means that it received software and security updates for five years.

Last year on September 19, Canonical informed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) users that they would be able to purchase additional support for the operating system through its commercial offering called Extended Security Maintenance (ESM), which proved to be a huge success among Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) users.

With the Extended Security Maintenance offering, Canonical offers corporate users and enterprises alike a new way for them to receive security updates if they don't want to upgrade to a newer LTS version of Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver).

"The availability of ESM for Ubuntu 14.04 means that the End of Life of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr in April 2019 should not negatively impact an organization’s security and compliance efforts," said Canonical. "Canonical puts security at the heart of Ubuntu, in our practices, processes, compliance and the architecture of our products."

Ubuntu 14.04 ESM will be available starting May 2019

Organizations and businesses interested in purchasing the Extended Security Maintenance package to keep their Ubuntu 14.04 infrastructures up-to-date should check out Canonical’s Ubuntu Advantage commercial support package or contact the sales department to start planning for the upcoming end of life on April 30, 2019. More details are available in today's announcement.

Starting May 2019, the Ubuntu 14.04 ESM package will become available for purchase. However, don't forget that you are free to upgrade to either Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus), which will be supported until April 2021 or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver), which will be supported until April 2023 or April 2028.