Google and Canonical team up to bring Ubuntu Pro to Google Cloud

At the end of 2019, Ubuntu Pro has landed on Amazon EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud). Ubuntu Pro has ten years of software updates/security updates, real-time kernel patches, Canonical Landscape integration, and other features. Today, Google and Canonical jointly announced that Ubuntu Pro will land on the Google Cloud Platform.

At present, Ubuntu Pro can already be used on Google Cloud, adding operating system options as a more advanced version of Ubuntu, instead of the standard Ubuntu Linux distribution previously provided on the Google Cloud Platform.

With Ubuntu Pro on Google Cloud, you  now have access to features like:

  • 10-year lifetime security updates – Canonical backs Ubuntu Pro for 10 years with security updates and a guaranteed upgrade path.
  • FIPS & CC-EAL2 certification – Ubuntu Pro includes components that meet requirements from entities like FedRAMP, HIPAA, ISO, and PCI.
  • Open-source security coverage – Protect your most important open-source workloads including MongoDB, Apache Kafka, Redis, NGINX, and PostgreSQL.
  • Multi-version availability – Pro images are available for the three most popular Ubuntu Server distributions: 16.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, and 20.04 LTS.
  • Kernel Livepatch – Kernel patches are delivered immediately without having to reboot your VMs.
  • Optional CIS and DISA STIG profiles – Choose from two leading profiles to harden your environment according to industry benchmarks.
  • Cloud-based pricing – Ubuntu Pro does not require a contract, and pricing tracks with the underlying compute cost depending on the instance type.
Due to the many advanced features, Ubuntu Pro is not free in Google Cloud. Users in need can purchase it in the Google Cloud console.