Ubuntu Pro FIPS 18.04 LTS

Ubuntu Linux is our primary operating system for day-to-day development work. Our developers use it as their main operating system, and we also use it to run on backend servers and internal tools.

For example, Ubuntu Linux serves as our main working machine. We write code, run tests, and deploy applications all from Ubuntu Linux. We use tools like Docker and Git on Ubuntu Linux to manage our projects. When we build a web application, the entire process from writing the code to testing it locally, pushing it to the server, all happens on Ubuntu Linux. This keeps everything consistent because our servers also run Ubuntu Linux, so there are no surprises when we go from development to production.

Ubuntu Linux fits really well into our workplace because it is open source and free, which helps us keep costs down. We also use it for running automation scripts and scheduled tasks in the background, such as backups, monitoring, and sending reports. Another thing worth mentioning is that because Ubuntu Linux has such a large community, whenever we run into an issue, we can almost always find a solution online quickly. That saves us a lot of time. Overall, it has become the backbone of our tech setup. From individual developer machines to servers, everything runs on Ubuntu Linux.

Ubuntu Linux offers multiple best features. First is the stability and reliability. Our servers run for months without needing a restart, which is really important for us in a production environment. Second is security. Ubuntu Linux gets regular security updates and patches, so we feel confident that our systems are protected. Third is package management. Using APT, installing or updating software is really simple, requiring just a single command and everything is done. Fourth is compatibility. Almost every development tool, framework, or software works on Ubuntu Linux, whether it is Python, Node.js, Docker, or anything else, it just works out of the box. Finally, the community and the documentation are excellent. If we ever get stuck, there is always someone who has had the same problem and solved it. The support forums and documentation are outstanding.

Ubuntu Linux has had a really positive impact on our organization in several ways. The most obvious one is cost savings. Since Ubuntu Linux is completely free, we have saved a significant amount of money that we would have otherwise spent on operating system licenses. We redirected that budget towards other important areas of the business. Another big positive impact is faster development cycles. Because our development and production environments are identical, both running Ubuntu Linux, we have reduced the bugs and issues that used to come up when moving code from development to production. That alone has saved us a lot of time and frustration. We have also seen improvements in team efficiency. Our developers spend less time dealing with system issues and more time actually building products. We have improved productivity by a noticeable margin just by having a stable, reliable environment. From a security standpoint, we have had zero major security incidents since fully moving to Ubuntu Linux. The regular updates and strong security features give us and our clients a lot of confidence. Finally, it has helped us scale easily. As our team and infrastructure grew, Ubuntu Linux scaled right along with it without any major challenges or additional licensing costs.

I really appreciate the customization flexibility that Ubuntu Linux offers. Unlike some other operating systems, Ubuntu Linux lets you configure and customize almost everything to fit your needs. You are not locked into one way of doing things. The lightweight nature of Ubuntu Linux is also a big plus. It runs really well even on older or lower-spec hardware, so we do not always need to invest in expensive machines. Ubuntu Linux makes the most out of whatever hardware we have. The LTS version, or Long-Term Support release, is another valuable feature. Ubuntu Linux offers five years of support on an LTS version, which means we do not have to keep upgrading frequently. We can stay on a stable version for a long time and still get security updates. That is really valuable for a business. Ubuntu Linux works beautifully with Docker and Kubernetes as well. For modern development and deployment workflows, that is becoming increasingly important, and Ubuntu Linux handles it very well.

There are a few areas where I think Ubuntu Linux could be improved. The first one is hardware compatibility. Sometimes when we get a new machine, certain hardware like Wi-Fi cards, graphics cards, or printers do not work straight away out of the box. You have to manually find and install drivers, which can be frustrating, especially for people who are not very technical. Another area is the graphical user interface, or GUI, and desktop experience. While Ubuntu Linux has improved a lot in this area, it still does not feel as polished or as smooth as Windows or macOS for non-technical users. If Ubuntu Linux wants to attract more everyday users, that is an area they need to keep improving.

On the software compatibility side, one of our biggest frustrations is that some industry-standard tools simply do not have native Linux versions. For example, tools such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and some specialized enterprise software just do not run natively on Ubuntu Linux. We have to use workarounds such as running Windows in a virtual machine or using a web-based alternative, which is not always ideal. Additionally, when it comes to vendor support, sometimes when we reach out to third-party software vendors for technical support, they do not officially support Linux. We are kind of on our own figuring things out. That can be really frustrating when you are dealing with a critical issue and the vendor just says they do not support Linux. Another thing is enterprise solution integration. Some enterprise tools that businesses commonly use, such as certain ERP systems or CRM platforms, either do not have a Linux version, or their Linux versions are not as feature-rich or well-maintained as the Windows counterparts.

I have been using Ubuntu Linux for five years.

Stability is a big deal for us with Ubuntu Linux because downtime directly affects our productivity and our clients. Our servers continuously run, and we rarely ever have to restart them due to a crash or system failure. We might go months without an unplanned restart, and that is huge for us. From a day-to-day perspective, our developers do not have to worry about their working environment randomly crashing or behaving unexpectedly. They can just focus on writing code rather than troubleshooting issues. It also means our deployment processes are smooth. When we push a new update to the server, we know the environment is going to be exactly the same every time. Honestly, it just gives the whole team peace of mind. We are not constantly firefighting system issues. That alone saves us several hours every week, which we can put into actual productive work.

Our organization uses Ubuntu Linux in a hybrid setup, which I think is pretty common for organizations like ours. For our production servers, we primarily use Ubuntu Linux on a public cloud, especially on cloud platforms like AWS and Google Cloud. Ubuntu Linux is actually one of the most popular and well-supported operating systems on these cloud platforms, which makes deployment and management really straightforward. We also have some on-premises servers running Ubuntu Linux in our own office infrastructure. This handles internal tools, databases, and things that we prefer to keep within our own network for security and compliance reasons. That is our private cloud or on-premises component. On the developer workstation side, all our developers run Ubuntu Linux as their local operating system on their individual machines. This creates a consistent environment from the developer's laptop all the way up to the production server. The beauty of this hybrid approach is that because everything runs Ubuntu Linux, we have consistency across all environments. There are no surprises moving workloads between local machines, internal servers, and the cloud infrastructure. We manage everything using tools such as Ansible and Terraform, which work really well with Ubuntu Linux and make managing this hybrid infrastructure much easier and more automated.

There are a few things that have frustrated us that are worth mentioning about Ubuntu Linux. Support response time is one of them. When we encounter a critical issue in production, we sometimes need a faster answer. While the community support is great, it is not always fast enough for urgent, business-critical problems.

If I had to pick one, I would say we use AWS, which is Amazon Web Services, most frequently for our Ubuntu Linux deployments. The main reason I say that is AWS has really deep and mature support for Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu Linux is one of the official AMIs, which is Amazon Machine Images, available on AWS, which means spinning up an Ubuntu Linux instance is really quick and straightforward. Just a few clicks or a single command and you have a fresh Ubuntu Linux server running in a minute. We also use a lot of AWS services that integrate really well with Ubuntu Linux, such as EC2 for compute, RDS for database, and S3 for storage. The whole ecosystem just works really smoothly together. Another reason I lean towards AWS is reliability and uptime. Their infrastructure is extremely robust and combined with Ubuntu Linux's stability, we get a very dependable production environment. We also have more internal expertise with AWS on our team. Our DevOps engineers are very comfortable with AWS tools and services, so it just makes sense to use it as our primary platform. We do still use Google Cloud for certain workloads, particularly anything related to data, analytics, and machine learning where Google Cloud has some really strong offerings, but for general Ubuntu Linux server deployment, AWS is our go-to choice.

Based on my experience with Ubuntu Linux, I have a few pieces of advice for anyone considering it. First, and the most important, start with a clear use case in mind. Ubuntu Linux is fantastic for servers, deployment environments, development environments, and technical workloads. If that is what you need, then go for it confidently. But if your team is mostly non-technical users who just need a simple desktop experience, then be prepared to invest some time in training and setup. Second, invest time in learning the command line. A lot of the real power of Ubuntu Linux comes from the terminal. The more comfortable your team is with command-line tools, the more productive they will be on Ubuntu Linux. I would recommend doing some basic Linux training before fully committing. Third, build a solid backup and snapshot strategy before you start, especially when doing upgrades or major changes. Having a reliable backup can save a lot of time and headache.

For most of our Ubuntu Linux deployments on AWS, we use the free official Ubuntu Linux AMIs that are directly available through AWS. These are the standard Ubuntu Linux images provided by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, and they are available directly in the AWS console without going through the Marketplace. Since Ubuntu Linux itself is free and open source, we do not pay for the operating system licenses. We only pay for the underlying infrastructure of AWS, such as compute and storage.

My overall review rating for Ubuntu Linux is eight out of ten.