Ubuntu rules the cloud. According to The Cloud Market, Ubuntu is the most widely used cloud image used on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (with nearly 370k images deployed). Not one to be satisfied with being at the top of the digital heap, Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) has released a new version of their venerable Ubuntu platform. 

Ubuntu Pro was created specifically for Amazon Web Services. This new image ships with the Canonical standard Ubuntu Amazon Machine Image and layers on top of that security and compliance subscriptions. Specifically, Ubuntu Pro includes:

• Up to 10 years of package and security updates for Ubuntu 18.04, and up to 8 years for 14.04 and 16.04. 

• Kernel Livepatch for continuous security patching without reboots.

• Customized FIPS and Common Criteria EAL-compliant components (for environments that require FedRAMP, PCI, HIPAA, and ISO compliance).

• Patch coverage for Ubuntu’s infrastructure and app repositories for all types of open source services.

• System management with Landscape

• Integration with AWS security and compliance features, such as AWS Security Hub and AWS CloudTrail (applicable from 2020).

• Subscriptions available for Ubuntu Advantage support packages.

Ubuntu Pro is available via the AWS Marketplace and the prices range from free to $0.33 per hour (for software plus AWS usage fees).