Canonical Announces Livepatch Support for Ubuntu Hardware Enablement Kernels

The offering will be made accessible to Ubuntu LTS users using the HWE kernel starting July 2023.
Marius Nestorby Marius Nestor0
Canonical Livepatch Ubuntu

Canonical announced the expansion of its Livepatch rebootless Linux kernel offering to long-term supported Ubuntu systems running the official HWE (Hardware Enablement) kernels starting July 2023.

Until now, Canonical offered its Livepatch service to Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) systems running the standard Linux kernel that came with the initial release. In case you didn’t know, Livepatch lets you apply Linux kernel updates on your Ubuntu system without restarting it for uninterrupted service and minimal downtime.

Of course, Livepatch makes sense mostly in Ubuntu Server installations, but it may also come in handy in mission-critical systems, and it’s supported for up to 10 years. Canonical offers the Livepatch service as part of its Ubuntu Pro offering, which is available for free for up to 5 computers or up to 50 machines for official Ubuntu Community members.

With this expansion, which kicks off on July 2023, Livepatch will also work on newer HWE kernels that are backported from more recent Ubuntu releases. For example, this means that you will be able to apply rebootless kernel updates on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) systems running Linux kernel 6.2 from Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar Lobster).

Why July 2023? Because that’s when Canonical will start rolling out the Linux 6.2 HWE kernel from Ubuntu 23.04, which is expected to hit the streets next week on April 20th, to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS users. Linux kernel 6.2 will also be the default kernel in the upcoming Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS point release, due out in August 2023.

“We’ve listened to your feedback and are pleased to announce that Livepatch will now be available on HWE kernels. This will debut with the release of kernel version 6.2, which will initially accompany Ubuntu’s interim release of 23.04 Lunar Lobster, in April 2023,” said Canonical. “This change means that you’ll be able to keep your kernel updated and secure with Livepatch, regardless of which kernel you choose to run with your Ubuntu LTS release.”

Therefore, if you ever wanted to use Canonical’s Livepatch service for rebootless kernel updates even if you’ve upgraded to an HWE kernel from a newer Ubuntu release, you’ll be able to do so this July by enabling Ubuntu Pro. Canonical did not mention if this offering will also be available for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or previous Ubuntu LTS systems.

Image credits: Canonical

Last updated 1 year ago

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com