LTS doesn’t stand for “stabler than Feisty”

From the Ubuntu website:

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Support) will be supported with security updates for 5 years on the server and 3 years on the desktop after its release, and professional technical support is available from many companies around the world.

I’ve seen it oftentimes recommended to new users on the Ubuntu Forums to install 6.06 (an older version of Ubuntu) instead of 7.04 (the current, as of this writing, version of Ubuntu). I even saw someone say that LTS stood for long-term stability. I’ve used Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog), 5.10 (Breezy Badger), 6.06 (Dapper Drake), 6.10 (Edgy Eft), and 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), and I have answered literally thousands of support threads over the years. I have seen absolutely no evidence that Dapper Drake is stabler than Feisty Fawn.

LTS or Long-Term Support means that Dapper Drake will be supported until June 2009 on the desktop/laptop. Feisty Fawn, however, will be supported until October 2008. Dapper Drake gives you an extra eight months of security updates and no added stability.

So unless you plan on using Firefox 1.5 until the middle of 2009, install the newest version of Ubuntu. If you’re worried about stability, make sure the release has been out at least a month and a half (so don’t install 7.10 until December 2007).

10 comments

  1. hi.. i also have been confusing with the term of LTS on Ubuntu website. I think the latest release one is more stable than the old one, don’t you? For example softwre drivers such as wireless, graphics card were not detected by LTS and when you replace with latest release like 7.04 it works

  2. koro… sorry, but support for newer drivers does not equate to ‘stability’..
    With any software there is always a risk that some hardware will not play with the intended drivers. Newer drivers for newer hardware = more risk. Dapper has been ‘stable ‘ for my requirements (which do not include any wireless cards) for a long time so I will spare myself the excitement of re installing until a) I get new equipment
    b)People report that the Gibbon will recognise and play with my PodXT live.. or
    c) a Hungry Heron comes along ;)

    If , however, I was a newcomer to Ubuntu , then Ubuntucat’s advice would be absolutely spot on. Because by Oct 2008 they will be ready to practise their skills re-installing the next LTS release :)

  3. right on, especially in my situation using 64-bit ubuntu, the older versions are much less useful, and things ‘just work’ in Fiesty that I had been buggy in Dapper. That said, I’m as excited as anyone for then next LTS distro to come out

  4. Thanks for this post, I’ve been confused on this very topic myself.

    When I was first shown Linux December ’06 my friend said, “Download Dapper–it’s more stable”. Somehow I got the same impression from reading the forums about Edgy.

    From my own experience Edgy was very buggy on my P4 desktop and Sony laptop, and a specific Feisty update (I don’t know which) left Kubuntu unbootable after fresh installs. However I haven’t had any problems with Dapper all.

    I figured they’ve been trying to tell us something with these release names all along. :)

  5. I migrated to Ubuntu back when Edgy was out. Diffcult choice: take the version made in 4 months, or the one made in 8?

    And even then, LTS is not about stability at all. It’s about being able to deploy Ubuntu without burning a new CD twice a year and reinstall your OS.

    Today there might not be much point to go with 6.06; I’d say wait for October and then install Gutsy, then move up to Hardy and stay there. But back when Edgy was new, it sucked, hard. Dapper had less issues, and was supported longer. Sure, you miss out on cutting edge, but I’d rather wait until CompizFusion stables out a bit and wait for KDE4 while I’m at it than jump at the latest and greatest; else I’d be running Gentoo!

    And you don’t have to waste a ton of CDs (RWs suck, not everyone can boot from USB). Yes, CDs aren’t expensive, but still, I have trouble justifying buying a spindle of CDs and spending it entirely on updates twice a year, when I can just use a single one for 3 years.

  6. I’m never going to want to migrate because of the names. Who wants to go from Dragonkin (drake) to a miniscule monkey? Or a spunky dear?

    As for myself, I find dapper meets my needs better. I like to take time and tinker, and with my schedule I hadn’t even gotten to know Dapper when Edgy came out. I could have upgraded to Fiesty, but saw too many upgrade issues at first. I’m sure most people had a seemless transition, but I didn’t have time to fight with it if it didn’t, so I held off. I’ll probably install the next LTS a month or two after it’s been out.

  7. Rillip, the next LTS will be Hardy Heron. Yes, it’s a bird, not a dragonkin, but it is a hardy bird in this case.

    The animals and their names represent their “roles”:

    Warty Warthog — Warts, smells, but it needed to be there
    Hoary Hedgehog (IIRC) well it’s still a bit hairy.
    Breezy Badger — Things are getting better nicer, breezier
    Dapper Drake — The brave and (often) noble dragonkin
    Edgy Eft — A pissed-off edition (Heck, they only had 4 months!)
    Fesity Fawn — Feisty. Compizfusion, better drivers, better configurations.
    Gutsy Gibbon — Well, it’s a gutsy release because this is their last chance.
    Hardy Heron — Because that heron’s going to be around for a looooooong time.

    Oh, and you can easily upgrade to a latter Firefox. It’s just not as easy as with later releases. I hope 3.0 will be out before or during Hardy’s glory moments.

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