What Is Ubuntu Pro, and Is It Worth It? (2024)

Ubuntu Pro guarantees security updates for ten years for Ubuntu Linux desktops and servers. That's attractive for corporations and anyone providing critical infrastructure. For the rest of us, it's free for personal use.

What Is Ubuntu Pro?

Ubuntu Pro is a security-hardened version of Ubuntu targeted at enterprise and corporate users who cannot compromise on stability. It is sold as a subscription, but it is free for non-commercial use on up to five computers.

Ubuntu Linux is free, both as a server and on the desktop. It's released twice a year, in April and October. The version numbers are the year and the month. Every two years, the April release is an LTS, or Long Term Support, version.

The interim releases get nine months of support from Canonical for patches and updates, the LTS versions get five years of support.

Corporate consumers of Ubuntu require enterprise-grade support. They need stability and security. They want as little operating system churn as possible, but they do need patches and updates to keep their systems secure. Needless to say, they'll use the LTS releases, and skip the interim releases.

Providers of critical services or infrastructure, amongst others, can't afford downtime. Ubuntu users who fall into that category can upgrade their LTS installations to Ubuntu Pro, for a fee. This provides security and other critical updates for a whopping 10 years. But there's more to Ubuntu Pro than an extended support life.

Related: What Is the Latest LTS Version of Ubuntu?

What You Get From Ubuntu Pro

Enterprise and corporate customers may have to comply with standards such as FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) or HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Ubuntu Pro helps to attain compliance by providing a security-hardened version of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Pro incorporates NIST-certified FIPS cryptographic modules, and implements the recommendations in the Ubuntu Security Guide to CIS (Center for Internet Security) and DISA-STIG (Defense Information Systems Agency Security Technical Implementation Guides) guidelines and best practices.

One of the most appealing aspects of Ubuntu pro is the depth of its security patching. It doesn't just cover the operating system itself. It includes over 23,000 applications, too.

At the time of writing, a subscription for Ubuntu Pro is $25 USD per year, and for servers it's $500 USD, with unlimited virtual machines on the server. These can be enhanced with different levels of support too, up to 24/7 access to Canonical support personnel.

But, as we've said, it is free on up to five computers for non-commercial use.

Why Patching Is So Important

Security patches address vulnerabilities. If they're not patched, vulnerabilities can be exploited by cybercriminals and malware. When a vulnerability is exploited, a system is compromised.

If I leave my home empty, I lock the windows and doors before I go out. Let's imagine there's a window I don't know about, and it is wide open. That would be a vulnerability. If you needed a ladder to reach the window, the ladder is the exploit. And the result is my home has been compromised.

There's an obvious knowledge race here. If the bad guys know about the vulnerability before I do, I'm totally exposed and wide open. If I know about the vulnerability before they do, I can address the issue and close it off.

If there is a vulnerability in an application or an operating system, then it won't just affect me. It'll affect countless thousands. So even if the bad guys know about the vulnerability before me, if I know quickly enough that I can apply a patch and remove the vulnerability before their malware hits me, I've won that particular battle.

Related: Why Are There So Many Zero-Day Security Holes?

The day that the good guys learn about the vulnerability is called day zero. It's when the clock starts ticking until the release of the applicable patch. Vulnerabilities are cataloged and given an ID number, known as a CVE (common vulnerabilities and exposures) number.

Canonical say that many zero-day vulnerabilities will be addressed under embargo---meaning they get special early warning that the vulnerability exists---and that, on average, critical CVEs will patched within 24 hours. That gives a massive security boost.

Ubuntu Pro also makes use of live kernel patching, meaning kernel patches can be applied without your system needing to be rebooted.

How to Enable Ubuntu Pro

Here's the thing. Actually a couple of things.

The first is, Ubuntu Pro is free for non-commercial use by private individuals. What we'd call home users.

The second is that although it applies to LTS builds and gives 10 years of support, you're not locked into using that LTS build for 10 years. If you want to, you can hop from the latest LTS to the newest LTS every two years, enjoying the enhanced security wrap-around of Ubuntu Pro in the meantime.

Ubuntu Pro is not enabled by default, you need to activate it. To do so, you'll need an Ubuntu Pro account. You can get one by visiting the Ubuntu Pro subscription page, and clicking the "Register for Personal Use" button.

Slightly confusingly, this takes you to the Ubuntu One login page. You need to either log in or sign up for Ubuntu One, which is free. Once you're signed into Ubuntu One, click your name in the top right corner, and select "Ubuntu Pro Dashboard" from the context menu.

Click the "Your Subscriptions" link at the top of the page, and you'll see your free personal token.

We'll need to copy and paste this in a moment. In a terminal window of an LTS version of Ubuntu, such as 22.04, type the following command to install the Ubuntu advantage tools.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-advantage-pro

Now we need to use your token. In the terminal window type the following command, pasting in your copied token. You can use "Ctrl+C" top copy it from your browser, but you'll need to use "Ctrl+Shift+V" to paste it into the terminal.

sudo pro attach <your-free-token>

It takes a little while, but you'll eventually see a list of the actions that have been taken, and a status for the services that are enabled or disabled.

You'll notice that in the screenshot there's a message that says "Current kernel is not supported" for live patching. Currently, live patching works on the version of the kernel that was released with each LTS version of Ubuntu. Hardware Enablement kernels are kernels that have been updated to support hardware that wasn't available when the LTS was released.

Historically, these haven't been able to use live patching. But, coming in July 2023, live patching will be supported on HWE kernels in 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish and later releases.

Checking Your Status

To see that summary page of information again, type:

pro status

To see your position regarding security updates, use:

pro security-status

You might notice that this computer is covered by Ubuntu Pro until 2032, but this article is being written in 2023. Why are we only getting nine years? It's because the 10 year support period starts when the LTS is released, not the date on which you enable Ubuntu Pro.

Is Ubuntu Pro It Worth It?

Although Ubuntu Pro is free for non-commercial use, it still might not be worth you enabling it.

If you look forward to each new Ubuntu release and upgrade eagerly every six months, then no, Ubuntu Pro doesn't make sense for you.

If you're someone who hops from LTS release to LTS release, skipping the interim builds, you've already got an eye on stability and security, so yes it is worth considering. And, considering what you get for free, it has to be worth it.

Related: 5 Ubuntu Linux Features You Should Be Using