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Ubuntu Bionic ESM Option

The start of the ESM period for Ubuntu Bionic on 01. June 2023 heralds the second half of Canonical's 10-year support period.

In this article we have answered many basic questions about Canonical's ESM program and give an overview of the support periods for the different Ubuntu versions.

In the following, we answer the most important questions about the continued operation of servers during the Bionic ESM period and the associated additional costs should you decide not to upgrade to a newer Ubuntu version.

Status Quo: Ubuntu Bionic​

Nine will no longer provide new versions or services for systems using Ubuntu Bionic.

The versions listed here will no longer be expanded for Ubuntu Bionic.

For systems using Ubuntu Focal or Ubuntu Jammy, however, newer PHP versions will be made available by us when released.

Ubuntu Focal will receive one more PHP version and Ubuntu Jammy will receive two more releases.

Recommendation for upgrades​

Nine advises to upgrade systems regularly. For you as a customer, smaller but more frequent innovation steps mean a more predictable, and per increment lower, effort than it would be the case with larger changes.

We have comprehensive overview regarding the upgrade for you in this support article.

Continued operation during the ESM period​

Continued operation during the ESM period will be possible without restrictions. No adjustments are required on your part from the start of the ESM period.

Nine will make all necessary adjustments to ensure the reliable operation of your servers.

What are the costs associated with the ESM period?​

Costs of the ESM licence​

In order to be able to use the "Expanded Security Maintenance", Canonical requires the purchase of a licence. Nine passes these licence costs on to the specific customers who use the license.

The amount of the licence costs differs between virtual and dedicated servers. Nine will notify customers of the additional costs before the start of the ESM period. Subject to price adjustments by Canonical and exchange rate fluctuations, the cost of the licence charged by Nine as of writing in August 2022 is:

  • CHF 20 per month for virtual servers
  • CHF 35 per month for dedicated servers

The additional costs are charged for each server operated at the start of the ESM period.

Additional costs for PHP environments​

Canonical only delivers one PHP version per release. However, this does not reflect the needs of our customers.

Nine therefore provides a more diverse PHP environment on its managed servers. This allows our customers to choose between multiple PHP versions without having to run multiple servers.

With the start of the ESM period, licence fees are incurred for ensuring the PHP environment is up to date.

The charge is applied to all customers who use a PHP environment on their server. As the number of ESM environments decreases, the cost per installation increases.

Nine informs customers semi-annually about the amount of the fees for the coming billing period.

For 2023, costs of CHF 10 - 15 per month and server are to be expected. We will likely be able to communicate the exact costs in May or June.

Support period for Ubuntu Bionic at Nine​

Nine will not be able to offer Ubuntu Bionic until the end of official support (April 2028) by Canonical.

How long Ubuntu Bionic will be supported by Nine cannot be determined with certainty as of January 2023; However, an end of support in 2025 or 2026 seems likely.

We advise upgrading to a newer version in the next 12 to 24 months.