Ubuntu 12.04 was the first long-term support (LTS) version of Ubuntu. Like all Ubuntu LTS releases — Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 are the others — it had five years of support. However, people don’t replace server operating systems as often as they do, say, socks or smartphones, so Canonical found they had enough 12.04 legacy users to justify offering “important security fixes for the kernel and the most essential user space packages”.
Why do Linux server administrators do this when there have been two major LTS updates since then? For the same reason 18 percent of Windows server administrators were still using the no-longer-supported Windows Server 2003 last summer: It’s still working.
Dustin Kirkland, Canonical’s head of Ubuntu strategy, would love it if people were to upgrade to a newer enterprise edition of Ubuntu. But, if you can’t update before Ubuntu 12.04’s LTS period ends on Friday, April 28, 2017, you can purchase an Ubuntu 12.04 Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) license. Unlike the newer versions of Ubuntu, these updates won’t be free. Instead, Ubuntu 12.04 patches will be available only through the Ubuntu Advantage support plan. Prices start at $150 per year per server and $250 per year with a minimum of 10 virtual servers. The latter plan includes work week online and phone technical support. There’s also a desktop plan, which will run you $150 per year per desktop with a minimum order of 50 desktops. These updates will be delivered in a secure, private archive available only to customers on a per-node basis.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/canonical-extends-ubuntu-12-04-support-for-paying-customers/
Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
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