The main problem: The approximately 1,000 official Debian developers were stretched to full capacity with what they were doing already.ĭebian's LTS support does not include support for all of the software: Around 40 packages in the web application and virtualization sector are excluded, since support for these tools cannot be guaranteed for the entire period. To regain momentum in the enterprise space, the Debian security team decided in February 2014 to experimentally release Debian LTS for then-current Debian 6 "Squeeze." The plan was to extend the support period from three to five years for Debian 6, 7, and 8 ( Figure 1). Red Hat and Suse also offer LTS editions that appeared to have snatched some of Debian's thunder. For example, in 2014, Spotify migrated 5,000 servers from Debian to Ubuntu LTS. When Ubuntu, which is based on Debian, began to offer an LTS edition, the option of running Debian in the enterprise started to lose its appeal, and companies began to migrate to other systems. Since Debian released a new version approximately every two years, the traditional Debian release schedule meant that each new version would be maintained for three years.Ī three-year support period is too short for many companies. That support mainly meant integrating and providing security updates and bug fixes. Because Debian is not backed by a company that can make money on selling support contracts (like SUSE, Red Hat, and Canonical), they had never gotten around to implementing some form of long-term support.īefore 2014, each Debian release was supported for one year beyond its "end of life," which was heralded by a new release. In 2014, the Debian developers woke up and realized the recent trend for Long-Term-Support (LTS) releases had left them behind. Better to make such events as infrequent as possible. Rolling out a new operating system in the enterprise can take many months, and the process is quite complex and prone to complications. But after many years of Linux in the enterprise, admins have a pretty clear idea of what they want: a system that will operate for several years without requiring an upgrade. Unlike many other leading Linux distros, Debian is not backed directly by a company, and it is managed democratically by the many volunteers who populate the Debian mailing list.ĭespite its reputation as an all-free, counter-cultural collection for hackers, Debian is also quite stable and reliable, which makes it a viable option for many corporate networks. Debian was one of the first Linux distributions, and it remains one of the largest, with over 43,000 software packages. Debian Linux, which calls itself "The Universal Operating System," is a huge and popular Linux variant.
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