Ubuntu Pro - FAQ

A post was split to a new topic: Remove Pro advertising from Apt

Reason: Not a question about Pro or Pro documentation. Opinions are welcome in opinion topics.

Our organization uses a “flavor,” specifically UbuntuMATE LTS. How does Pro support interact with the LTS support for the flavors–especially since support period for some portions of these is 3 years instead of five?

5 Likes

Hello there,
the documentation (https://ubuntu.com/legal/ubuntu-pro-description) mentions that its possible to use a physical host license to license virtual machines that run on a supported hypervisor and that those would all be covered using the same license. I would like to understand how I can license guest Ubuntu VMs running on Proxmox in KVM. Sadly I could not find any kind of documentation on how to apply Ubuntu pro licenses to virtual machines running on anykind of hypervisor. And would this work with the free license?

6 Likes

The service description contains this explanation for the Desktop subscription:

A subscription limited to Desktop use-cases. It covers packages in the base Ubuntu desktop image as well as packages necessary for basic network authentication and connectivity using sssd, winbind, network-manager, and network-manager plugin.

What exactly does “limited to Desktop use cases” mean? Does it really cover only the mentioned packages, or does it also include the full set of packages in Universe? From the Pricing page it looks like the latter, but nowhere else I could find an explicit list of differences between Desktop and Server.

Please provide a clear list of differences between the Desktop and Server subscriptions and any relevant requirements. For example, an open question is whether I would be allowed to use a Desktop subscription on a rack-mount machine.

3 Likes

4 posts were split to a new topic: Security updates for non-Ubuntu packages

There are well written instructions to ATTACH a machine to my free Ubuntu Pro subscription token. However, it seems logical that the instructions to reverse the process ( DETACH a machine ) should also be available. I’ve searched everywhere, but I couldn’t find anything. I frequently uninstall and then reinstall Ubuntu flavors, such as Xubuntu and so on. If I don’t DETACH a machine before wiping out the installation instance, wouldn’t that mean I’ll run out of my 5 free ATTACHed machines pretty quickly? I’m not sure how to handle this! Please make it a part of the FAQ, if you wish. Thank you.

5 Likes

Community flavours are maintained by the community, not Canonical.

Ubuntu LTS gets security maintenance for Ubuntu Main for 5 years from Canonical, and community maintenance for the Universe.

With Ubuntu Pro subscription both Main and Universe are security maintained by Canonical for 10 years. You can also add 24/7 enterprise-grade phone/ticket support.

3 Likes

Hey!

The free license works for up to 5 machines (can be 5 VMs) and is limited to personal and small-scale commercial use. For details, check the Ubuntu Pro Personal - terms of service, but the unlimited VMs offer doesn’t apply here.

Paid licenses can benefit from unlimited VMs if:
(1) all physical nodes are covered,
(2) you’re running on a “covered hypervisor” (any of: KVM | Qemu | Boch, VMWare ESXi, LXD | LXC, Xen, Hyper-V (WSL, Multipass), VirtualBox, z/VM, Docker.)

You will receive a token to attach an Ubuntu Pro subscription to your machines. The token is the same for each machine you attach to a single subscription. Check this tutorial to find out how to obtain a token and attach a subscription to your Ubuntu machines.

On the commecial note, let’s say you have 50 physical machines. Then, if you buy 50 x Ubuntu Pro subscription, you can attach the token to 50 physical machines and an unlimited number of VMs running on top of those machines.

hope it helps!

1 Like

Hey!

We are very proud to see many organisations moving to Ubuntu Desktop, which continues to be the preferred Linux OS for experienced developers. Thanks to features such as AD integration, developers find it easier than ever to use Ubuntu officially in their workplace.

As you know technically Ubuntu Desktop is an Ubuntu Server with the GUI, and you can install it on your rack-mount server machine in the datacenter. That’s why, in the service description, we specifically called out “a desktop use-case”.

The easiest way to test if Ubuntu Pro Desktop is applicable is by asking 2 questions:

  • is there a human in front of the screen, or can the machine run “on its own”?
  • is the software installed on this machine typical for desktop use-cases, or is it something typical for servers?

Therefore, if you run a server use-case you should buy the servcer subscription, because our support will be limited to the desktop use-cases.

hope it helps!

1 Like

Thank you, that’s a great question.

Technically, you can detach a subscription, same way you attach it. simply use ‘sudo pro detach’ command.

That said, it’s possible that you’d get rid of a VM without detaching a subscription. Then, you might struggle to find a way to detach it.

This is why we don’t prevent you from attaching more machines than the number of entitlements you have (either free or paid). Instead, we monitor how many active machines you have at any given moment. In other words, you should ensure that the number of active machines does not go over the limit.

4 Likes

Thank you for your response. It would be great if you could answer a few more clarification questions:

  • Do the terms of service forbid using Ubuntu Pro Desktop for non-desktop use cases (e.g., a web server), or is it just not recommended? (I.e., is the “should” in your last sentence actually a “must”?)
  • Is the set of packages that receives security updates the same for Ubuntu Pro Desktop and Ubuntu Pro Server, or does Desktop receive less updates?
  • Does the restriction “our support will be limited to the desktop use-cases” of Ubuntu Pro Desktop has any further effect if I buy the Ubuntu Pro Desktop without support, i.e., where I would not get support anyway?
1 Like

Hi Philipp,

Using Ubuntu Pro Desktop on non-desktop use cases would violate the terms of service and is not allowed.

Security patches are the same for Ubuntu Pro, whether running a desktop or a server.

I hope it helps!

3 Likes

5 posts were split to a new topic: Pro on Non-Ubuntu Systems

Thanks for clarification. :+1:t4:

Good Morning,

is this correct?

If there are 10 physical Hypervisor Hosts in a cluster and we use anti-affinity-rules so that the VMs can only be moved between 2 pysical hosts of the 10 hosts cluster, then we only need 2 licenses for unlimited Ubuntu 18.04 Guests on those 2 physical hosts?

1 Like

FYI: I can’t finish the order form, the button is inactive even though there are no errors in the form and the captcha is solved. I am using the latest version of chrome, no proxy.

2 Likes

Just one box to check-mark left.

Hi, thanks for posting! There was an issue discovered with this button which we’re in the process of fixing and it should be resolved by next week.

The main cause of this problem is the information entered into section 1 of the form not being saved. This then blocks the button and makes it un-clickable.

To solve it, please can you check that the information has been saved in the earlier sections. If it hasn’t saved, please re-enter any missing information and save it, and you should then be able to submit the form without any problems.

If you’re using Ubuntu on 10 Hypervisor Hosts, then it should be 10 licenses, even if not all Guest VMs are Ubuntu VMs. If you only use Ubuntu Guests VMs on 2 physical hosts in your cluster, then it should be 2 licenses, as you suggested.

1 Like

Thank you for the response. I can’t get the button to work, everythings seems to be saved. I’ll wait till next week.