Ubuntu Linux is already the most popular cloud operating system on Amazon Web Services Inc.’s cloud, but Canonical Ltd., the company that develops it, is hoping to extend its dominance by offering “premium” Ubuntu Pro Linux images to AWS users.

The new Ubuntu Pro images are supported on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and cover the three most recent long-term releases, including Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Further, they enable enterprises to purchase longer updates and security maintenance, as well as broader security coverage, with no contract needed.

“The new Ubuntu Pro images will deliver a further optimized experience to our customers, providing additional security and performance to their Ubuntu instances,” Deepak Singh, AWS’s vice president of Compute Services, said in a statement. “Available directly through AWS Marketplace, Ubuntu Pro can be purchased, deployed and launched on AWS in a seamless and effortless manner, removing the need for additional provisioning or procurement processes.”

Reasons to consider buying an Ubuntu Pro image include the 10 years of feature and security updates Canonical will provide for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, and eight years of support for the older 16.04 and 14.04 releases. Other benefits include kernel and Livepatch support for rebootless kernel patching and higher uptime, plus customizations that allow the OS to be used with compliance regimes such as FedRAMP, HIPAA, ISO and PCI.

Canonical also provides patches for Ubuntu’s application repositories and infrastructure with the new images. In addition, Canonical is to launch a new fleet-wide systems management feature via Landscape, which will give users the ability to view and apply updates selectively.

Ubuntu Pro is also said to be integrated closely with some of AWS’ security and compliance tools, such as AWS CloudTrail and AWS Security Hub.

“As Canonical assists enterprises moving their mission-critical workloads to AWS, the feedback we receive is that they demand expanded security coverage, greater operational efficiency and native compatibility with AWS features,” said Canonical Vice President of Public Cloud Christian Reis.

The Ubuntu Pro images are available now on the AWS Marketplace.

Image: Canonical