Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Released

Canonical releases Ubuntu 26.04 LTS  (Resolute Raccoon), bringing a whole new level of stability, predictability and performance. The new 26.04 version will serve as the foundation for the next few years when it comes to cloud infrastructure, introducing better kernel performance, security improvements, virtualization support and language runtimes.

We at VPSBG are excited to announce that we officially support Ubuntu 26.04 and that you can now deploy new and reinstall old servers using the new operating system version with a single click through the VPBSG Console.

What is Ubuntu 26.04 LTS?

Ubuntu 26.04 is a LTS (Long Term Support) release, which means that it’s practically designed for predictability, stability and extended use in different production environments similarly to Ubuntu 24.04 and Ubuntu 22.04.

As usual such releases are made every 2 years and come with a 5 year security and maintenance updates, which makes them the go-to option for cloud servers. Moreover, they are the perfect solutions for enterprise workloads and organizations that are looking for long-term stability instead of cutting-edge features with constant updates, which is where a different operating system would be the better fit.

In general, these LTS versions tend to focus more on mature, well-tested, comprehensive components with long-term compatibility with different software. They also follow, as we already mentioned, predictable paths and are very stable, making them the ideal choice for cloud servers. Combined with our platform’s privacy-first approach and the different tools that our infrastructure offers, Ubuntu 26.04 can become a powerful tool for any project and business.

What’s New - Performance, Security & Ecosystem

While these LTS releases usually tend to offer stability instead of a large plethora of changes, they do introduce a number of very important improvements for the stack with 26.04 aiming to offer better performance, tighten security and also provide support for modern workloads that are starting to appear due to AI and customer requirements.

Performance & Kernel Updates

Ubuntu 26.04 comes with a newer Linux kernel which significantly improves how the system is going to be handling computations, memory operations and I/O.

To do this, 26.04 is going to focus on more efficient CPU scheduling, especially under mixed or bursty workloads when it comes to different cloud environments.

Furthermore, the new version is also going to have improved memory management, reducing overhead in very high-density virtual machines, promoting faster speeds and data exchange.

Finally, there is also the enhanced I/O performance, which is going to be a substantial improvement, especially for NVMe-backed storage and network-heavy applications, which our infrastructure is going to be a major benefactor of. With our lightning-fast NVMe SSDs and the recent changes to the network speeds, Ubuntu 26.04 is a perfect option as an operating system for a powerful and privacy-friendly cloud server on our platform.

Security Improvements

As per usual, security remains a very focal point for LTS releases with 26.04 being expected to further build upon existing security measures.

Most notable inclusions here will include major updates to mandatory access control frameworks like AppArmor, which will aim to strengthen app confinement and isolation.

Newer versions of core cryptographic libraries such as OpenSSL and improvements to secure boot and disk encryption flows are also being introduced alongside the continued harding of system services and default configurations.

Cloud & Virtualization Enhancements

Being a cloud hosting provider, these are some of the most important enhancements that we are most looking forward to.

With Ubuntu 26.04, virtual machine performance and compatibility are going to be seeing a boost in performance. This, alongside improvements to cloud-init, is going to be faster and more reliable provisioning. Not only that, but this new OS version is also going to be offering better support for ARM-based instances, which are becoming increasingly more common in cloud environments.

Furthermore, there are also improvements to the networking stack, allowing for higher input/output and lower overall latency.

Finally, containerized workloads are also going to be seeing a benefit in compatibility with modern runtimes as well as more efficient resource utilization under different orchestration platforms.

Package & Ecosystem Updates

We then have the package and ecosystem updates that usually come with every LTS release. This time, Ubuntu 26.04 is going to come with updated versions of core system packages and developer tools like newer versions of Python, GCC and others. An updated systemd, which is going to be positively affecting service management and boot behaviour as well as more recent versions of popular key libraries and dependencies that are commonly used across newer, more modern applications.

IMPORTANT: Some older packages, also deprecated ones, can be removed so make sure to check when upgrading your existing system.

Ubuntu 24.04 vs 26.04 LTS

While 26.04 is going to be introducing quite a few new things, how does it really compare to the previous 24.04 version? Here’s a comparison table, showing the differences between the 2 LTS releases while highlighting the importance of these new features.

At a first glance, you might think that there isn’t that much of a difference between the 2 versions and you’d be sort of correct - LTS releases evolve conservatively in order to cater for stability. However, there are some very distinct system-level changes like better CPU and RAM efficiency, reduced overhead in VMs and faster server provisioning, scaling and better security.

Why This Comparison Matters for Cloud Users

For cloud hosting environments, the decision to upgrade is rarely about features—it’s about operational impact:

• Will workloads run more efficiently at scale?
• Will provisioning and orchestration become smoother?
• Does the new version reduce maintenance overhead?
• Are there compatibility risks with existing images or tooling?

Ubuntu 26.04’s value proposition is primarily evolutionary: it reduces friction rather than introducing disruption.

Should You Upgrade?

As with any operating system, if you are still running on a very old version that no longer receives support, you should definitely consider changing. Staying on older versions like Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04 can introduce security risks and the lack of support won’t make it better. However, if you are using 22.04 or 24.04, here’s how to compare correctly.

When To Upgrade

You should consider early adoption here if you have an environment if you have a clear operational advantage and there is a very low chance of potential disruption to your system. This usually involves running non-critical development workloads or if you heavily rely on modern containerized or cloud-native stacks for your project. Additionally, you can also consider 26.04 if you are intending on building new infrastructure so that you can have everything set up from the beginning. 

When To Wait

You are likely going to be falling under this category as stability and predictability often outweigh the need to access the latest improvements.

Waiting is okay for mission-critical production systems as well as for those that are dependent on software that is not yet certified for 26.04. This applies to those that are also using custom kernel models or have a lot of system dependencies.

For these cases, you don’t need to immediately rush and update.

Overall, Ubuntu 26.04 is a stable and non-distruptive release, making it very low-risk to adopt. These new features and improvements are definitely going to be useful for many businesses, developers and projects so you should consider upgrading if your infrastructure allows it.