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In this guest blog post, Jehudi Castro-Sierra, Public Cloud Alliances Director at Canonical, examines the technical and strategic benefits of deploying Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS and explains how Canonical and Microsoft Azure are working together to provide scalable and flexible infrastructure for enterprises and developers and drive increased automation and security, cost optimization, and sustainable IT practices.
IT departments continually seek ways to enhance efficiency, scalability, security, and innovation. As organizations plan their strategies, leveraging secure Linux, open source software (OSS), and technologies like AI and ML has become imperative. To support these goals, the collaboration between Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) and Microsoft Azure offers a powerful synergy. This partnership focuses on optimizing security, performance, and automation within Azure environments through robust Linux and OSS solutions. By embracing this collaboration, IT departments can drive increased automation and efficiency, scalable and flexible infrastructure, enhanced security and compliance, innovation, cost optimization, data-driven decision-making, developer productivity, and sustainable IT practices.
Enterprises face several challenges in their cloud infrastructure, whether they are migrating existing workloads or starting new projects. These challenges include:
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS is designed to meet these challenges, providing enhanced security, stability, and performance. Here’s how it addresses the key needs of modern enterprises:
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS is fine-tuned to enhance compatibility and performance on Azure. This ensures the Ubuntu images support the latest cloud features, boosting system efficiency and reliability. Optimized for Azure, Ubuntu is a reliable choice for enterprises, powering mission-critical workloads on Azure with confidential computing virtual machines.
The integration with Azure tools such as Azure Guest Patching and the Azure Update Manager facilitates streamlined and continuous system updates, reinforcing overall security and stability.
Security is a top priority for enterprises, and Ubuntu Pro excels in this area. Features like Kernel Livepatch allow organizations to apply kernel patches without rebooting, significantly reducing downtime. Expanded Security Maintenance provides 10 years of security updates, extending coverage to over 25,000 packages, including critical applications such as Apache Kafka, NGINX, and PostgreSQL. This comprehensive security maintenance helps businesses meet internal security, governance, and compliance requirements.
![[Option 1] Ubuntu Pro Image Blog Guest Post.png](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/625974i5964A8F48EE05912/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "[Option 1] Ubuntu Pro Image Blog Guest Post.png")
Additionally, Ubuntu Pro offers certified automation tools for hardening and compliance profiles, including CIS, DISA-STIG, FIPS 140, and Common Criteria. These tools reduce operational risk by ensuring that systems adhere to stringent security and compliance standards.
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS supports a wide array of libraries and tools, enhancing developer productivity and innovation. Notably, .NET 8 is available from launch day, directly accessible through the official Ubuntu feeds. This collaboration between Canonical and Microsoft facilitates seamless integration of the latest .NET enhancements, optimizing both development and deployment workflows. Additionally, the release includes optimized container images for .NET 8, TCK-certified Java versions, and the latest Rust toolchains, providing a robust environment for developers.
![[Option 2] Ubuntu Pro Image Blog Guest Post.png](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/625975i8799C51E36CF19C5/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "[Option 2] Ubuntu Pro Image Blog Guest Post.png")
Ubuntu continues to lead in confidential computing with support for Confidential VMs, including capabilities for confidential AI. Utilizing advanced hardware security extensions in both CPUs and GPUs, Ubuntu Pro helps safeguard data at runtime from system vulnerabilities and unauthorized access. This makes it particularly suitable for AI training and data inference involving sensitive information.
Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS, available in the Azure Marketplace, provides a robust, secure, and high-performance platform that addresses the critical challenges faced by modern enterprises. By leveraging the optimized features of Ubuntu Pro, businesses can enhance their cloud infrastructure, ensuring reliability, security, and scalability. This makes Ubuntu Pro on Azure an indispensable tool for enterprises looking to drive their digital transformation and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business landscape.
For more information and latest announcements check out our blog or reach out to us and talk to an expert.
Continue reading...
IT departments continually seek ways to enhance efficiency, scalability, security, and innovation. As organizations plan their strategies, leveraging secure Linux, open source software (OSS), and technologies like AI and ML has become imperative. To support these goals, the collaboration between Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) and Microsoft Azure offers a powerful synergy. This partnership focuses on optimizing security, performance, and automation within Azure environments through robust Linux and OSS solutions. By embracing this collaboration, IT departments can drive increased automation and efficiency, scalable and flexible infrastructure, enhanced security and compliance, innovation, cost optimization, data-driven decision-making, developer productivity, and sustainable IT practices.
Challenges in modern cloud infrastructure
Enterprises face several challenges in their cloud infrastructure, whether they are migrating existing workloads or starting new projects. These challenges include:
- Security vulnerabilities and compliance: Protecting sensitive data against ever-evolving cyber threats while maintaining compliance with stringent regulations.
- System stability and performance: Ensuring that cloud infrastructure is reliable and performant to support mission-critical applications.
- Operational efficiency: Managing and updating cloud instances without causing downtime, which can lead to significant operational and financial setbacks.
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS: Optimized for Azure
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS is designed to meet these challenges, providing enhanced security, stability, and performance. Here’s how it addresses the key needs of modern enterprises:
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS is fine-tuned to enhance compatibility and performance on Azure. This ensures the Ubuntu images support the latest cloud features, boosting system efficiency and reliability. Optimized for Azure, Ubuntu is a reliable choice for enterprises, powering mission-critical workloads on Azure with confidential computing virtual machines.
The integration with Azure tools such as Azure Guest Patching and the Azure Update Manager facilitates streamlined and continuous system updates, reinforcing overall security and stability.
Enhanced security and stability
Security is a top priority for enterprises, and Ubuntu Pro excels in this area. Features like Kernel Livepatch allow organizations to apply kernel patches without rebooting, significantly reducing downtime. Expanded Security Maintenance provides 10 years of security updates, extending coverage to over 25,000 packages, including critical applications such as Apache Kafka, NGINX, and PostgreSQL. This comprehensive security maintenance helps businesses meet internal security, governance, and compliance requirements.
Additionally, Ubuntu Pro offers certified automation tools for hardening and compliance profiles, including CIS, DISA-STIG, FIPS 140, and Common Criteria. These tools reduce operational risk by ensuring that systems adhere to stringent security and compliance standards.
Developer-friendly environment
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS supports a wide array of libraries and tools, enhancing developer productivity and innovation. Notably, .NET 8 is available from launch day, directly accessible through the official Ubuntu feeds. This collaboration between Canonical and Microsoft facilitates seamless integration of the latest .NET enhancements, optimizing both development and deployment workflows. Additionally, the release includes optimized container images for .NET 8, TCK-certified Java versions, and the latest Rust toolchains, providing a robust environment for developers.
Confidential computing
Ubuntu continues to lead in confidential computing with support for Confidential VMs, including capabilities for confidential AI. Utilizing advanced hardware security extensions in both CPUs and GPUs, Ubuntu Pro helps safeguard data at runtime from system vulnerabilities and unauthorized access. This makes it particularly suitable for AI training and data inference involving sensitive information.
Reliable and robust marketplace offering
Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS, available in the Azure Marketplace, provides a robust, secure, and high-performance platform that addresses the critical challenges faced by modern enterprises. By leveraging the optimized features of Ubuntu Pro, businesses can enhance their cloud infrastructure, ensuring reliability, security, and scalability. This makes Ubuntu Pro on Azure an indispensable tool for enterprises looking to drive their digital transformation and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business landscape.
For more information and latest announcements check out our blog or reach out to us and talk to an expert.
Continue reading...