Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" Release

Ubuntu 16.04 Long Term Support (LTS) release of the popular Linux distribution is scheduled for later today. The release codenamed Xenial Xerus will feature ‘snap’ package format, LXD pure-container hypervisor, and be the very first release with support for converge with IoT, phone, desktop and server versions running on the same base.

Some of the key changes listed by Canonical include:

Introduces “snaps” for new robust, secure app format which can still be used along ‘deb’ packages
Introduces LXD pure-container hypervisor with OpenStack Mitaka
Supports IBM Z and LinuxONE systems with flat pricing
Steps towards converged Ubuntu across IoT, Phone, Desktop and Server
Introduces ZFS and CephFS for large-scale cloud storage

Ubuntu 16.04 will also run updated version of packages with Linux 4.4, Python 3.5, OpenSSH 2.0, PHP 7.0, MySQL 5.7, etc.. More details about the changes can be found on Xenial Xerus release notes. I’ve also noticed the system recommends apt instead of apt-get when a command is not installed.

Since an LTS release is now supported by 5 years, Ubuntu 16.04 will get updates at least until April 2021. If as I do, you are Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, there’s no rush to update, as support will only end in April 2019, and you won’t actually be notified of the upgrade until Ubuntu 16.04.1 release in July. But if you want to upgrade manually later today, open a terminal and make sure the system is up-to-date.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-update

1 2	sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get dist-update

and then run the update manager:

sudo update-manager -d

1	sudo update-manager -d

which should inform you if Ubuntu 16.04 is ready to be installed.

If instead you’d like to install from scratch, you should be able to download the ISO and flash it to a USB drive or DVD drive. Canonical also used to sell Ubuntu installation DVDs, but OMG Ubuntu reports that Ubuntu 16.04 is the first release for which an official installation DVD won’t be sold, and instead the company is selling a bootable USB drive with Ubuntu 16.04.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.