Linux software company Canonical Ltd. today announced the release of its new Ubuntu Core 18 operating system for “internet of things” systems and devices.

Ubuntu Core, a superslim version of the popular Ubuntu Linux OS that weighs in at just 260 megabytes, is designed to run on all kinds of embedded devices. It’s suitable for small devices not just because it uses far fewer resources than a fully fledged OS, but also because its minuscule size means it has a much smaller attack surface.

Another key advantage of Ubuntu Core 18 is that it uses immutable and digitally signed “snaps” to install programs. Snaps are containerized software packages that are supposed to be “corruption resistant,” according to Canonical. That’s because each snap is confined to a sandbox, which means that even if it becomes compromised, it’s isolated from the rest of the system so as to minimize any possible damage. The snaps in Ubuntu Core are also regularly scanned for known vulnerabilities.

Snaps provide a second advantage in that they can run on Ubuntu cloud, desktop and server systems, which means apps for IoT can be built and tested anywhere within Canonical’s ecosystem. Further protections come from the fact that whenever a snap is updated, it preserves the earlier binaries and application data, which means it’s simple to rollback to an earlier state should anything go wrong with an update.

“Canonical’s Ubuntu Core puts the right code on a device with clean update and management semantics,” Ian Hughes, 451 Research’s IoT senior analyst, said in a statement. “Since snaps deliver everything from the kernel and device drivers to third-party applications, targeted upgrades can be orchestrated and delivered to IoT endpoints via a central app store with no user intervention. This manageability is essential to enhance the ongoing security and performance of devices in the field.”

Ubuntu Core also comes with 10 years of security support updates guaranteed. These updates can be controlled by both original equipment manufacturers and the companies that deploy devices running Ubuntu Core. What this means is that developers have the peace of mind that they’ll be getting long-term security support that’s sorely lacking in most IoT operating systems.

Canonical’s announcement is important because although the battle for desktop and smartphone OS dominance has already been decided, it’s still pretty much wide open in the case of IoT, said Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president of Constellation Research Inc.

“Ubuntu Core is a key release by one of the key players that’s interesting due to its lightweight nature and expandable architecture,” Mueller said. “Both of these are key capabilities for an IoT OS, but we will have to see how eager device makers are to use the snap architecture to bolt their code onto things.”

Canonical said Ubuntu Core is ready to run on numerous devices built by partner companies including Dell Technologies Inc., Intel Corp. NXP Semiconductor N.V., Qualcomm Inc. and Samsung Electronics Ltd. It can be downloaded for free starting today.

Image: Canonical