Secure Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on Azure
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial) will reach the end of its free initial five-year security maintenance period on April 30, 2021. It is supported until 2026 through Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) with Ubuntu Pro.
Out of standard support, upgrade to ESM support.
Keep your Azure Ubuntu 16.04 LTS systems secure
You should evaluate if you can easily move your instances to either Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS before April 30, 2021.
If you would like to keep using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Canonical is delighted to offer at least five-additional years of Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) available with the Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS premium image.
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 is priced at 3.0-4.5% of your average compute cost of your existing 16.04 LTS instances with hourly billing.
Upgrading Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on Azure to Ubuntu Pro
New or redeployed instances
For fresh Ubuntu 16.04 instances, or if you are able to redeploy your workload, we recommend using Ubuntu Pro images. Ubuntu Pro for Azure is a premium image, optimized for Azure with security and compliance features built in, and optimized for the public cloud.
Ubuntu Pro includes security coverage for the entire collection of software packages shipped with Ubuntu, tracking high and critical CVEs. It is ideal for companies that have embraced open source for their new products.
Upgrading existing instances
If you are looking to upgrade your existing Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Azure instances you can upgrade your existing Ubuntu instances to Ubuntu Pro.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS support lifecycle
Webinar on 16.04 migration strategies and options
The webinar covers the following topics:
- The benefits and risks of an in place upgrade from LTS-LTS
- Redeployment and migration of workloads to later LTS releases if they support it
- Application version differences between Ubuntu 16.04 and later LTS releases and the impacts this may have on migration
- Backup strategies before migration
- Easy migration of Azure pipelines from Ubuntu 16.04 to 18.04
- Commercial options for remaining on Ubuntu 16.04 with security maintenance