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by MBCook 1439 days ago
This seems like the kind of thing that automated testing should have been able to catch. It’s not like running Docker is a small use-case these days.
1 comments

My thoughts exactly, the details of what this bug is about technically are interesting and fascinating but the key take away is that something went terribly wrong with Ubuntu's testing processes. This should not have shipped without more scrutiny. Somebody presumably cut some corners there and it's worrying that that is possible at all.

I actually rolled out Ubuntu 22.04 to a few servers a few weeks ago. Pretty uneventful update, all my Ansible scripts for 20.04 worked without modification against these new servers. So, I guess I dodge this bug for now. One reason I've always preferred Ubuntu over Red Hat for servers is that with Red Hat/Centos essentially everything I care about is perpetually and hopelessly out of date and obsolete. So, it just creates a lot of hassle to work around that and get reasonably current versions of things I actually need my servers to run. With Ubuntu that was always a lot more straightforward.

I currently write this on a laptop with Manjaro and Linux 5.18. I'm glad I don't have to deal with about a year of long fixed issues with hardware, bluetooth, GPUs, performance, etc. IMHO there's very little value in sticking with older kernels on desktop machines. Especially when that involves a convoluted process of back-porting and integrating lots of complicated patches. I recently put Ubuntu on an old imac (secure boot prevents booting Manjaro) and I promptly ran into hardware issues that I recall having with Manjaro a few months ago that were fixed by simply upgrading the kernel. Bluetooth especially seems way more flaky. And that's not exactly flawless on 5.18 either. I get the if it ain't broke don't fix it thing; my point is that with modern Desktop Linux things being broken is a constant. The least broken version of Linux is usually the kernel that was just released that has all the cumulative fixes for all the issues addressed in previous kernel releases. Opting out of a few years of those fixes seems misguided.

Even on servers, I suspect simply updating the kernel more regularly would not be the end of the world for most users. With an incubation period to catch bugs/blocking issues of course, the more people use a kernel version, the more stable it gets. I doubt many users would experience any regressions. And it's a lot cheaper to support. If I had the option, I don't think I would opt to run 2-3 year old kernels on any of my servers if I had a different choice. I don't see the value of opting out of 2-3 years worth of known & fixed stability, performance, and other issues.

> . One reason I've always preferred Ubuntu over Red Hat for servers is that with Red Hat/Centos essentially everything I care about is perpetually and hopelessly out of date and obsolete

This is exactly why you choose it. Lesser chance of insanity.

Ýou can always choose Fedora Server if you want a more up-to-date server OS.
Fedora Server.. is RedHat...

There's no "Fedora Server" product and never has been. Do you mean the rolling release CentOS?

There is indeed a Fedora Server: https://getfedora.org/en/server/
For a more recent Kernel on Ubuntu i can recommend Xanmod.

https://xanmod.org

That is specifically and explicitly intended for workstations, i.e. desktops and laptops... not for servers.
> I don't see the value of opting out of 2-3 years worth of known & fixed stability, performance, and other issues.

My 3 year old server is running fine. What am I missing out on exactly? My 6 year old router is also running perfectly. Don't fix what isn't broken. Updates often break things without providing me any value.

I'm running a 5 year old Android. Upgrading to a newer version will slug my phone. I don't need a newer android (yet). My phone works perfectly for me.

Now, if you are going to tell me my security is at risk. Please be specific and provide an example :)