What is LTS

If you use the Ubuntu distribution, then sooner or later you will have to face such a term as LTS. Experienced Linux users, in particular owners of Ubuntu distributions, are well acquainted and know what LTS is. But novice users may have certain difficulties when faced with this term for the first time. To avoid this, in this article we will talk about what LTS is in the Linux operating system environment, in particular in Ubuntu.

What is an LTS release?

To begin with, it is worth deciphering the term LTS, and it stands for Long-Term Support, and translated into Russian - long-term support. In fact, this means that the application or operating system will be updated and receive security updates and sometimes even functionality updates for a long time, much longer than usual. Distributions of the LTS version are considered extremely reliable and stable, because before they go into release, they are thoroughly tested and tested. And here it is worth noting that the user of the LTS version will not necessarily receive functionality updates, but security updates and bug fixes will be guaranteed to arrive.

This means that there are reasons to use LTS in production, business and enterprises, because the system will be maintained for several years and critical changes will not be made to it. An LTS release is usually supported for 3-5 years, when in a non-LTS release, where the latest functionality and tools are available, support lasts only six months, a maximum of nine months.

Advantages of the LTS release:

programs are updated for security for a long time;

they are thoroughly tested before release;

there are no major changes that break compatibility;

the user will have a lot of time to prepare for the transition to the next LTS release.

Disadvantages of LTS releases:

the newest features and capabilities are missing;

there is no support for the newest hardware;

the latest software versions are missing.

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux operating system distributions, which can be either in LTS or non-LTS release. For a better understanding, we will tell you about its main features.

What is Ubuntu LTS?

The creator of Ubuntu releases non-LTS with a set frequency - once every six months. In LTS, a release occurs every two years.This has been happening since 2006. One of the latest LTS releases was Ubuntu 20.04. Its support is scheduled until April 2025. And non-LTS releases are only supported for nine months.

In the name of the Ubuntu LTS release, you will always see the LTS symbols. To do this, you can go to the official Ubuntu website and you will find LTS releases. Look at Ubuntu 16.04 - it appeared in 2016 and will be supported until 2021. The versions work the same way.