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Releases

Ubuntu will make a new release every six months. In addition, we may make an Enterprise Release every 12 to 24 months, which will receive additional testing.

Ubuntu releases work on a time-based release schedule. We release Ubuntu every six months. While that requires an almost superhuman effort, we have the advantage of a core team of full time Ubuntu contributors who do an excellent job of the base Ubuntu platform. We then depend on contributions from the community (that's you by the way) to make each release goader, slicker and more polished than we could alone.

Each Ubuntu release is supported for 18 months with security patches, fixes for critical bugs that could cause data loss, and extra translations.

You don't have to upgrade to the next release when it comes out, you can stay on your particular release for 18 months (skipping two other releases) and continue to get security fixes on a regular basis. After that, you will want to update your computer to one of the newer versions of Ubuntu in order to continue to receive security patches.

Upgrades are supported from each release to the next. If you wish to skip a release, and then update to the latest one, then it is necessary to update the system from your existing release through each intermediate release to get to the release you wish to run.

Enterprise releases

In addition to the regular six-monthly releases, the Ubuntu team may make an Enterprise Release (based on an existing time-based release), also known as a "Long Term Support (LTS)" release, that has received additional stabilization, polish and translation work. These Enterprise Releases will be supported for a longer period than the standard 18 month support of the time based releases. Upgrades will be supported from enterprise release to enterprise release.

Release schedule

The following are the current planned releases:

  1. Ubuntu 8.10 (The Intrepid Ibex): October 2008

  2. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (The Hardy Heron): April 2008

  3. Ubuntu 7.10 (The Gutsy Gibbon): October 2007

  4. Ubuntu 7.04 (The Feisty Fawn): April 2007

  5. Ubuntu 6.10 (The Edgy Eft): October 2006

  6. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (The Dapper Drake): June 2006

  7. Ubuntu 5.10 (The Breezy Badger): October 2005

  8. Ubuntu 5.04 (The Hoary Hedgehog): April 2005

  9. Ubuntu 4.10 (The Warty Warthog): October 2004