Call for testing Ubuntu Frame, Mir Kiosk

Project Discussion Mir
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Following the releases of Mir 2.16 and 2.13.1 Ubuntu Frame and Mir Kiosk have been updated in the following channels:

snap channel version
Ubuntu Frame 22/candidate 123-mir2.16.0
Ubuntu Frame 20/candidate 104-mir2.13.1
Mir Kiosk latest/candidate 2.13.1-snap139

There has not been (and will not be) any update to the latest track for Ubuntu Frame. If you have Ubuntu Frame track latest deployed, please switch to track 20 for the least disruption (or track 22 for the latest features). For details see PSA: Retiring the latest tracks for ubuntu-frame*, graphics- and mir-test-tools (action required).

Ubuntu Frame track 22

The 22 track is the focus of ongoing development and contains the latest version of Mir: Mir Release 2.16.0

This contains a significant reworking of the graphics support. We expect systems with a single hardware graphics stack to be unaffected by these changes (but please verify this for your own systems). Existing deployments are likely to be in this category.

More complex systems (such as “hybrid graphics”) can be affected by the availability of support for more configuration may need configuration to specify the appropriate “display platform” and “rendering platform” configuration:

Platform configuration key Options
display platform-display-libs Comma separated list from [mir:gbm-kms, mir:eglstream-kms, mir:x11, mir:wayland, mir:virtual]
rendering platform-rendering-libs A single item (currently) from [mir:gbm-kms, mir:eglstream-kms, mir:egl-generic]

Testing Ubuntu Frame track 22

To test, just switch to the candidate channel. For example:

snap refresh --channel 22/candidate ubuntu-frame

And use as normal. Please let us know any results here.

Because of the significant changes to the Mir architecture in 2.16 we will allow an extended period for testing. If no problems are identified we aim to promote to stable in two weeks.

Ubuntu Frame track 20 or Mir Kiosk

These contain a bugfix release of Mir 2.13:

  • Unable to close miral-shell using keybind via VNC due to DecorationProvider (Fixes #3070)
  • [input] keyboard meta key state gets out of step (Fixes: #2837)
  • [platforms] Handle libinput device rejections better #2927
  • [platforms] Assume evdev platform is supported (Fixes: #2837)
  • [platforms] Fix naming of outputs on Nvidia cards (Fixes: #2968)
  • server/ShmBacking: Fix leak in install_sigbus_handler (Fixes: #2895)

Unless affected by one of the above, you are unlikely to see any differences.

Testing Ubuntu Frame track 20 or Mir Kiosk

To test, just switch to the candidate channel. For example:

snap refresh --channel 20/candidate ubuntu-frame
snap refresh --channel candidate mir-kiosk

And use as normal. Please let us know any results here.

If no problems are identified we aim to promote to stable in a week.

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No issues here with our two graphical snaps on Ubuntu Frame 22/candidate 123-mir2.16.0.

Question: What is the difference between ubuntu-frame vs the mir-kiosk? We used to use the mir-kiosk but moved away a few years ago when we saw that was no longer going to be supported and the ubuntu-frame was its replacement. Is that not the case?

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Super, thanks for letting us know!

Frame is the replacement for mir-kiosk. The latter is still supported (as in, security and select bug fixes), as we have devices using it in the wild. But it will not receive new features, and will be deprecated once we’re out of the support time frame for it (but that’s not until 2028 at least).

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A little later than planned…

The following have been promoted to stable:

snap track version
Ubuntu Frame 20 104-mir2.13.1
Mir Kiosk latest 2.13.1-snap139

We will leave the bigger changes (Ubuntu Frame/22 123-mir2.16.0) until after the holidays

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Before end of year we identified and fixed a regression in 2.16.0:

  • Changing scale factor at runtime leads to misrendering (#3165)

We’ve just tagged the 2.16.1 bugfix release, and will be publishing it in the 22/candidate channel when it gets through the build machinery.

We’ll then give it a few days for testing before pushing it to stable on January 10th next week.

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Ubuntu Frame and mir-test-tools candidate channels now contain the 2.16.1 builds.

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No new issues found, and Ubuntu Frame 22/stable now has 2.16.1.

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We’ve identified one more regression:

  • Display with orientation: left/right flipped (#3185)

We reverted 22/stable to the 2.15-based Frame, pending investigation - and will release the bugfixed version as soon as possible.

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@saviq Hi, now that #3185 appears to be closed, any ideas how long until a new 22/stable channel release? Many thanks

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@stuart-warren the fix is now on Mir’s main branch, the ubuntu-frame edge channel is built using this.

I’ll start a bug fix release of Mir today, which will be available on the ubuntu-frame beta channel until testing completes.

Once Mir is released, there will be another “call for testing” Frame on the candidate channel. Once that completes we promote to stable.

This process will take around a week (assuming no further problems are encountered).

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Following the release of a second bugfix release of Mir (2.16.2) Ubuntu Frame has been updated in the candidate channel:

snap channel version
Ubuntu Frame 22/candidate 123-mir2.16.2

The bugs found while testing Mir 2.16 are:

  • Display with orientation: left/right flipped on arm64 (#3185) (Fixed in 2.16.2)
  • Changing scale factor at runtime leads to misrendering (#3165) (Fixed in 2.16.1)

Testing Ubuntu Frame track 22

To test, just switch to the candidate channel. For example:

snap refresh --channel 22/candidate ubuntu-frame

And use as normal. Please let us know any results here.

If no problems are identified we aim to promote to stable in a week.

Ubuntu Frame track /22

The 22 track is the focus of ongoing development and contains the latest version of Mir: Mir Release 2.16

Ubuntu Frame /20 and /latest tracks

There has not been (and will not be) any update to the latest track for Ubuntu Frame. If you have Ubuntu Frame track latest deployed, please switch to track 20 for the least disruption (or track 22 for the latest features). For details see PSA: Retiring the latest tracks for ubuntu-frame*, graphics- and mir-test-tools (action required).

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For those following at home, we’ve encountered and started investigating another issue:

https://github.com/MirServer/mir/issues/3205

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Following the release of a third bugfix release of Mir (2.16.3) Ubuntu Frame has been updated in the candidate channel:

snap channel version
Ubuntu Frame 22/candidate 127-mir2.16.3

The bug affecting the previous Ubuntu Frame candidate was slower rendering on arm64 devices.

Testing Ubuntu Frame track 22

To test, just switch to the candidate channel. For example:

snap refresh --channel 22/candidate ubuntu-frame

And use as normal. Please let us know any results here.

If no problems are identified we aim to promote to stable in a week.

Ubuntu Frame track /22

The 22 track is the focus of ongoing development and contains the latest version of Mir: Mir Release 2.16

Ubuntu Frame /20 and /latest tracks

There has not been (and will not be) any update to the latest track for Ubuntu Frame. If you have Ubuntu Frame track latest deployed, please switch to track 20 for the least disruption (or track 22 for the latest features). For details see PSA: Retiring the latest tracks for ubuntu-frame*, graphics- and mir-test-tools (action required).

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The third time is the charm: Ubuntu Frame 127-mir2.16.3 has now been promoted to 22/stable

3 Likes