General End of Life Support Options

[kbricked]

Hello All.

First off, Linux Mint is awesome. It is my Linux distro of choice when migrating people from the Windows world to Linux for a multitude of reasons; longevity, simplicity, resource light/efficient, maintenance free, and blah blah blah.

As a self-employed tech in a somewhat rural area, I've been installing Linux Mint 9 as an alternative to people upgrading their machines and running the latest version of Windows.

I currently screen people to determine what their needs are prior to installing Linux.

Most people who access their e-mail via a web browser, use the internet and have no need for Windows only software I find are good candidates as Linux provides very reliable, fast and maintenance free computing for those needs for non-technical users while providing great support for most USB devices; cameras, printers etc I encounter.

As of now, Linux Mint 9 is slated to end support in April of 2013, if memory serves me correct.

What happens to Linux Mint (and in this case, Mint 9) when EOL is reached?

Am I able to install software from any of the software repositories?
Are only updates disabled, as they are no longer developed/supplied?

When would I be required to install a new version of Mint, and in some cases, upgrade hardware (and transfer documents, etc) for a client machine?

[vincent]

Once EOL is reached, no further updates will be made available through the Ubuntu repositories (and that includes no further security updates), and the repositories for that suite will be taken offline (i.e. you'll get 404 errors if you just try to look for software to install via the official repositories, using apt-get/mintInstall/other APT frontends).

That means that you should hop from LTS to LTS, i.e. help your users upgrade once every 2 years (if stability is a priority, wait for the .1 release of the LTS, e.g. 10.04.1, usually released several months after the LTS itself). Alternatively, if 2 years is simply too short, RHEL offers a desktop edition supported for 7 years at the cost of $49/yr.

[kwisher]

I've started to install LMDE on people's PC's for this reason. No need to worry about EOL.

[thouartsimple]

I've started to install LMDE on people's PC's for this reason. No need to worry about EOL.

I just hope you're tracking Squeeze

[vincent]

Tracking the latest stable release (i.e. Squeeze) means that you're effectively going to have to upgrade your client's computers every 2 years like with LTS releases (Debian's release-when-it's-ready policy generally produces a release once every 2 years on average, although there's talk of moving to fixed release dates for a variety of reasons).

I would not expect you to consider tracking testing/sid on your client's computers. That's just asking for trouble.

[kwisher]

Tracking the latest stable release (i.e. Squeeze) means that you're effectively going to have to upgrade your client's computers every 2 years like with LTS releases (Debian's release-when-it's-ready policy generally produces a release once every 2 years on average, although there's talk of moving to fixed release dates for a variety of reasons).

I would not expect you to consider tracking testing/sid on your client's computers. That's just asking for trouble.

Didn't LMDE have this happen since the initial release? It moved from one release to the next as you mentioned or am I mistaken? If it did, on my system there was no need to re-install as I am still running on the initial install from last October.

[vincent]

Didn't LMDE have this happen since the initial release? It moved from one release to the next as you mentioned or am I mistaken? If it did, on my system there was no need to re-install as I am still running on the initial install from last October.

LMDE never "moved" from one release to the next; by default, it tracks "testing", not a specific release like "squeeze" or "wheezy", i.e. LMDE is a rolling-release distro. The OP is asking for support options for stable releases that reach EOL. By definition, rolling-release distros never reach EOL, nor are they aimed at the general consumer who wants a stable, reliable system to get work done (why else would Debian take the time and effort to polish up a stable release every 2 years or so?).

[trefall]

Just found this thread and hoping you can advise me. As I mentioned in another thread I'm using LM8. Best operating system I've ever used. Previously I used Windows from 3.1 to XP and an old Apple program too long ago to remember. My point, Since Helena is no longer supported I'm looking at which version to upgrade to. Like many of the clients of the OP, I want stability. I write and surf the web (watch movies, download some music). My computer is dedicated to one OS, Mint. I'm looking at LMDE, XFCE version and LTS version (LM9, I believe). From what I can gather Debian isn't as 'stable' as Ubuntu? Not exactly clear on the differences between Gnome (which I use with LM8) and XFCE. I think they're just different desktops. I like that XFCE seems to be faster than Gnome but seems to depend on the hardware you run as well. I like the idea of 'rolling-release' but I've noticed some people talk about it as if it requires more technical knowledge to work out bugs that may show up.
Any suggestions ould be appreciated. I checked the Linux on Laptops sites and all the versions of Linux seem to be unsupported. Not much on the new versions.
I'd greatly appreciate knowledge on Lenovo and the T61 in particular. Seems to be differences in how the software works depending on models as well. Thanks for any help. If this is posted in the wrong area please advise.

[AlbertP]

Vincent just said that the repositories will be taken offline. This is not true. Everything remains online & working but no more updates.

[vincent]

Vincent just said that the repositories will be taken offline. This is not true. Everything remains online & working but no more updates.

Afaik, the repositories are indeed taken offline a certain amount of time after a release is declared EOL, or at least they are no longer accessible (http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/). For example, if you try to run an apt-get update, you'll get the following:

Code: Select all

W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jaunty/main/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.46 80]

W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jaunty/restricted/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.46 80]

W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jaunty/universe/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.46 80]

W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jaunty/multiverse/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.88.46 80]

Packages for old releases are also no longer available if you search through Ubuntu's web frontend (http://packages.ubuntu.com).

[vincent]

Just found this thread and hoping you can advise me. As I mentioned in another thread I'm using LM8. Best operating system I've ever used. Previously I used Windows from 3.1 to XP and an old Apple program too long ago to remember. My point, Since Helena is no longer supported I'm looking at which version to upgrade to. Like many of the clients of the OP, I want stability. I write and surf the web (watch movies, download some music). My computer is dedicated to one OS, Mint. I'm looking at LMDE, XFCE version and LTS version (LM9, I believe). From what I can gather Debian isn't as 'stable' as Ubuntu? Not exactly clear on the differences between Gnome (which I use with LM8) and XFCE. I think they're just different desktops. I like that XFCE seems to be faster than Gnome but seems to depend on the hardware you run as well. I like the idea of 'rolling-release' but I've noticed some people talk about it as if it requires more technical knowledge to work out bugs that may show up.
Any suggestions ould be appreciated. I checked the Linux on Laptops sites and all the versions of Linux seem to be unsupported. Not much on the new versions.
I'd greatly appreciate knowledge on Lenovo and the T61 in particular. Seems to be differences in how the software works depending on models as well. Thanks for any help. If this is posted in the wrong area please advise.

To keep this as simple as possible: if stability is your main priority, just use the LTS releases and upgrade every 2 years between each LTS.

[kvv]

Just found this thread and hoping you can advise me. As I mentioned in another thread I'm using LM8. Best operating system I've ever used. Previously I used Windows from 3.1 to XP and an old Apple program too long ago to remember. My point, Since Helena is no longer supported I'm looking at which version to upgrade to. Like many of the clients of the OP, I want stability. I write and surf the web (watch movies, download some music). My computer is dedicated to one OS, Mint. I'm looking at LMDE, XFCE version and LTS version (LM9, I believe). From what I can gather Debian isn't as 'stable' as Ubuntu? Not exactly clear on the differences between Gnome (which I use with LM8) and XFCE. I think they're just different desktops. I like that XFCE seems to be faster than Gnome but seems to depend on the hardware you run as well. I like the idea of 'rolling-release' but I've noticed some people talk about it as if it requires more technical knowledge to work out bugs that may show up.

To keep this as simple as possible: if stability is your main priority, just use the LTS releases and upgrade every 2 years between each LTS.

To complicate Vincent's answer a bit more: LTS releases are supported for 3 years, and released every 2 years. At the time of release, it is not more stable than non-LTS releases. However, with time more bugs are fixed, documentation becomes available for known problems and it becomes quite stable. If you want a stable and hassle-free Ubuntu or Linux Mint, you should install LTS versions a few months after they are released, keeping your earlier LTS version till that time, since the support period for the two overlap for about a year.

As to your other questions, LMDE is not as stable as Ubuntu LTS versions, but about the same as non-LTS versions.

XFCE and GNOME are indeed just different desktops running on the nearly same base. XFCE will consume less RAM but is not as "beautiful" or full-featured as GNOME. This, of course, is objective, and both are quite popular.

[AlbertP]

It looks like LTS repositories at Ubuntu are kept online for 2/3 years after EOL, and the non-LTS for half a year or something like that.
(The Dapper, Hardy and Karmic repo's are still online while Intrepid and Jaunty aren't)

[vincent]

It looks like LTS repositories at Ubuntu are kept online for 2/3 years after EOL, and the non-LTS for half a year or something like that.
(The Dapper, Hardy and Karmic repo's are still online while Intrepid and Jaunty aren't)

Dapper and Hardy are still supported (LTS server - 5 years). I dunno exactly when Karmic's repositories will be taken down, but I'd guess within a month or two; probably not half a year.

[Pierre]

I've got a old laptop that still has LM5 - Elyssa LTS installed on it.

it still has updates, but I haven't applied that many of them.
- except for L1/2 updates - & hid the L3 updates.

though I recently updated - firefox to V4 & opera to v11

still works just fine.

[AlbertP]

Mint 5's EOL was May 12 which is only 2 weeks ago: it's an LTS version. That's why you can still use it. Mint 6 and 7 cannot use the Ubuntu repo anymore because they had much shorter support.