Ubuntu Pro is mostly FUD. There's nothing it adds that cannot be done without it.
It claims to provide support for selected Universe packages that otherwise wouldn't be supported. I have doubts about that since if you use only LTS and supported desktop DEs, you'll upgrade every 2-3 yrs anyway.
FUD. Feel free to read the marketing of Pro to learn more, if you like. I've probably oversimplified the truth.
There's not such thing as a free lunch and don't expect that Pro is really free either. Sure, you won't get billed, but there are other payments taken, you can be certain.
https://www.howtogeek.com/902519/what-is-ubuntu-pro/ ... There are pros and cons. Much of what Pro provides is is perceived value, which is great for Dilbert bosses.
On a 20.04 system that will lose standard support next June or July ....
Code:
$ pro status --all
SERVICE AVAILABLE DESCRIPTION
anbox-cloud yes Scalable Android in the cloud
cc-eal no Common Criteria EAL2 Provisioning Packages
esm-apps yes Expanded Security Maintenance for Applications
esm-infra yes Expanded Security Maintenance for Infrastructure
fips yes NIST-certified FIPS crypto packages
fips-preview no Preview of FIPS crypto packages undergoing certification with NIST
fips-updates yes FIPS compliant crypto packages with stable security updates
landscape no Management and administration tool for Ubuntu
livepatch yes Canonical Livepatch service
realtime-kernel no Ubuntu kernel with PREEMPT_RT patches integrated
ros yes Security Updates for the Robot Operating System
ros-updates no All Updates for the Robot Operating System
usg yes Security compliance and audit tools
This machine is not attached to an Ubuntu Pro subscription.
And
Code:
$ ubuntu-security-status
This command has been replaced with 'pro security-status'.
1805 packages installed:
1315 packages from Ubuntu Main/Restricted repository
438 packages from Ubuntu Universe/Multiverse repository
43 packages from third parties
9 packages no longer available for download
This machine is receiving security patching for Ubuntu Main/Restricted
repository until 2025.
This machine is NOT attached to an Ubuntu Pro subscription.
...
Universe/Multiverse packages until 2030. There are 28 pending security updates.
So, for a non-business user, which of those is actually useful? To me, looks like only the esm-apps and esm-infra stuff, maybe, but what does that actually mean?
438 packages might be getting patched that aren't. That sounds scary. But that isn't really true. According to the next command, "There are 28 pending security updates". That isn't nearly as scary, is it? I tried to get a list of the packages that could be updated under PRO, but wasn't able to find the answer in 10 seconds. Nothing has changed concerning what is and isn't already supported for 5 yrs for non-Pro connected systems.
Liabilities in running an OS too long
If you run an LTS longer than the standard support period which can be 3 or 5 yrs, depends on the DE involved, then Pro CAN make sense. But delaying an OS upgrade bring s other liabilities regardless of support. Everyone needs to choose for themselves whether some hassle every 3-4.5 yrs is worth it, or a big hassle every 8-9.5 yrs is better. What I've seen is that delaying OS upgrades makes the changes huge and people lose skills by delaying to the point that they become fearful of any change at all. In a business, where professionals have a mix of systems to manage, delaying upgrades won't impact skills usually. There will be new systems going in with each new LTS release, so that knowledge will be captured. However, migrating a 16.04 LTS+Pro system to 26.04 when it comes out in a few years will be a much harder task because of all the changes. In fact, for enterprise software, applications usually take at least a year before they become available, so the upgrade won't be to 26.04, but the 24.04 and it will likely be a wipe and install process, not an upgrade. There are a few people who claim to "upgrade" lts-to-lts-to-lts-to-lts-to-lts. I have doubts. I've never had that work more than 2 times myself. When it fails, the solution is a clean wipe and fresh OS load, then reinstall all the applications that were there previously. Perhaps I'm just unlucky or stupid. Hard to know which.
In a business, it isn't a hard choice. Pro makes good sense. Your boss would expect it and expect to pay.
Anyway, those are the realities. There are articles with the few negatives that Pro requires, like individual system tracking. Is that a negative for you? Hard to say.
