Comparing the Release Cadence in Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Amit Paunikar2 min read
Release cadence is the frequency with which updates to a software or new features are released for the end users. Here we will compare the release cadence being followed by the two most popular Linux distributions - Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux and any support being provided by them for their releases.
| # | Ubuntu | Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) |
| Release Cadence | Long Term Support (LTS) releases are published every two years in April. These are the ‘enterprise grade’ releases of Ubuntu. An estimated 95% of all Ubuntu installations are LTS releases. | No fixed release cadence. |
| Recent and Past Major Releases | Ubuntu 20.04 was released in April 2020, Ubuntu 22.04 in April 2022, and Ubuntu 24.04 was released in April 2024 | RHEL 7 was released in June 2014, RHEL 8 in May 2019, and RHEL 9 was released in May 2022 |
| Standard Support and Maintenance | Ubuntu LTS releases receive 5 years of standard security maintenance for all packages in the 'Main' repository. | RHEL Version 8 and 9 delivers a ten year life cycle in Full Support and Maintenance Support Phases followed by an Extended Life Phase. |
| Extended Support | With an Ubuntu Pro subscription, you get access to Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) covering security fixes for packages in both the 'Main' and 'Universe' repositories for 10 years. Phone and ticket support is also available and can be optionally added on top of an Ubuntu Pro subscription, covering the same packages covered by ESM, for the same time frame. | RHEL 8 and 9 customers may purchase annual Add-on subscriptions called Extended Life-cycle Support (ELS) to extend limited subscription services beyond the Maintenance Support Phase. |
| Minor Releases | For each Ubuntu LTS release, Canonical maintains the Base Packages and provides security updates, including kernel livepatching, and optional phone and ticket support, for a period of ten years. | During the life cycle for each major version, software changes to Red Hat Enterprise Linux are delivered via individual updates known as errata advisories through the Red Hat Customer Portal or other authorized Red Hat portals. Errata advisories may be released individually on an as-needed basis or aggregated as a minor release. |
| Links for More Details | The Ubuntu lifecycle and release cadence | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Lifecycle |
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