Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

November 2023

Ubuntu Pro explained in 2 minutes

What is Ubuntu Pro? Learn about Canonical’s subscription for enterprise-grade security, compliance and support in 2 minutes. Ubuntu Pro is an extra service on top of Ubuntu that gets you extra security maintenance, compliance and support features for the OS, infrastructure and popular open source applications. Free for personal use in up to 5 machines, and offered at transparent pricing for organisations.

Generative AI explained

When OpenAI released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, no one could have anticipated that the following 6 months would usher in a dizzying transformation for human society with the arrival of a new generation of artificial intelligence. Since the emergence of deep learning in the early 2010s, artificial intelligence has entered its third wave of development. The introduction of the Transformer algorithm in 2017 propelled deep learning into the era of large models.

Real-time Linux: a comprehensive guide

In the mission-critical workloads of modern enterprises, where time boundaries and determinism can make a major difference, the demand for real-time systems has never been more urgent. In our latest whitepaper, we delve into the realm of real-time Linux. The whitepaper is a comprehensive guide to understanding and unlocking the potential of real-time Linux to meet the stringent demands of industrial workloads.

Ubuntu Explained: How to ensure security and stability in cloud instances-part 3

Most people know that it is important to apply security updates. It can be challenging, however, to accomplish this while maximising the uptime of the services you are running on top. Every change, even applying security patches, carries some risk of disrupting your workloads. You therefore need to be deliberate about your update strategy.

Building a comprehensive toolkit for machine learning

In the last couple of years, the AI landscape has evolved from a researched-focused practice to a discipline delivering production-grade projects that are transforming operations across industries. Enterprises are growing their AI budgets, and are open to investing both in infrastructure and talent to accelerate their initiatives – so it’s the ideal time to make sure that you have a comprehensive toolkit for machine learning (ML).

Canonical Data Episode 1: Inside Spark and Kafka with Rob Gibbon and Enrico Deusebio

Welcome to the first episode of our brand new series, "Canonical Data," where we dive deep into the world of data with Canonical. In this episode, we shine a spotlight on Charmed Spark and Charmed Kafka, Canonical's solutions for harnessing the power of Apache Spark and Apache Kafka on Kubernetes, with support, CVE patching, and security updates for 10 years through Ubuntu Pro.

Canonical releases Charmed Kubeflow 1.8

Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, announced today the general availability of Charmed Kubeflow 1.8. Charmed Kubeflow is an open source, end-to-end MLOps platform that enables professionals to easily develop and deploy AI/ML models. It runs on any cloud, including hybrid cloud or multi-cloud scenarios. This latest release also offers the ability to run AI/ML workloads in air-gapped environments.

Ubuntu Explained: How to ensure security and stability in cloud instances-part 2

You probably know that it is important to apply security updates. You may not be as clear on the details of how to do that. We are going to explain best practices for applying Ubuntu updates to single instances and what the built-in unattended-upgrades tool does and does not do.

Cloud backup: improve your disaster recovery plans

Today the lowest cost media per terabyte for backups is still tape, even after factoring in the handling costs of manually loading and unloading tape libraries, and logistics surrounding off-site storage. However, while inexpensive, tapes are inflexible. And when used as an offline solution it can take many hours to retrieve them from offsite storage – not to mention the additional time required to load them into a tape library before a recovery can even start.

Apache Kafka Real Time Personalisation

Discover the future of content recommendation systems with Marc Oppenheimer, Senior Data Engineer at Canonical. In this informative video presentation, you'll gain profound insights into designing a sophisticated, real-time personalization architecture using the power of Apache Kafka and Spark. This video is your gateway to mastering the technical intricacies of data engineering and AI-driven content recommendation.

Implementing edge computing for V2X use cases in automotive

Vehicles are becoming more and more like mobile data centres. On average, a modern vehicle contains over 60 sensors that monitor various aspects of the vehicle, generating an immense amount of data that is processed on the go. This transformation is creating an unprecedented set of challenges for OEMs. Edge computing is a new paradigm that is changing how data is processed in these types of environments.

Innovate at speed with open source AI

AI is swiftly changing our lives in many invisible ways - from the movies we watch and video games we play, all the way to real-time space tracking. New tools and applications pop up all the time, but keeping up with all this innovation is difficult. Which tool chains should you use and which platforms should you build on? Canonical helps you innovate at speed with easy-to-use solutions that benefit from long-term support.

Netplan brings consistent network configuration across Desktop, Server, Cloud and IoT

We released Ubuntu 23.10 ‘Mantic Minotaur’ on 12 October 2023, shipping its proven and trusted network stack based on Netplan. Netplan is the default tool to configure Linux networking on Ubuntu since 2016. In the past, it was primarily used to control the Server and Cloud variants of Ubuntu, while on Desktop systems it would hand over control to NetworkManager.

Bringing automation to telco edge clouds at scale

Canonical and Spectro Cloud have collaborated to develop an effective telco edge cloud solution, Cloud Native Execution Platform (CNEP). CNEP is built with Canonical’s open source infrastructure solutions and Spectro Cloud’s Palette containers-as-a-service (CaaS) platform. This technology stack empowers operators to benefit from the cost optimisation and agility improvements delivered by edge clouds in a highly secure and performant way.

InoNet and Canonical partner for seamless Edge AI deployment

InoNet Computer GmbH, a Eurotech Company, known for engineering and manufacturing of embedded systems and Edge AI computers, has entered into a strategic partnership with Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu. Together they are set to deliver a robust platform for deploying IoT solutions, introducing cutting-edge Ubuntu certified computers.

What is MLflow?

MLflow is an open source platform, used for managing machine learning workflows. It was launched back in 2018 and has grown in popularity ever since, reaching 10 million users in November 2022. AI enthusiasts and professionals have struggled with experiment tracking, model management and code reproducibility, so when MLflow was launched, it addressed pressing problems in the market. MLflow is lightweight and able to run on an average-priced machine.

Turbocharge your API and microservice delivery on MicroK8s with Microcks

In the fast-paced world of software development, the ability to deliver and iterate quickly on APIs and microservices is essential. Traditional testing methods can be time-consuming and often slow down development cycles. That is where API and service mocking tools like Microcks can come to the rescue. Microcks shipped as a new community add-on for the recent MicroK8s 1.28 release. Microcks is a Cloud Native Computing Sandbox project dedicated to API mocking and testing tools on Kubernetes.

Trusted open source for everyone

Since 2004, Canonical has worked closely with the open source community to deliver Ubuntu, the most popular OS in the public cloud, known for its reliability and ease of use. Today, Canonical extends the principles behind Ubuntu to a wider portfolio of open source products. Our footprint spans from the smallest devices to the largest clouds and from the kernel to data fabric and AI solutions. With customers that include top tech brands, emerging startups, governments and home users, Canonical delivers trusted open source for everyone.

Meet Cyber Essentials requirements with Ubuntu Pro

Cyber Essentials is an increasingly important security standard within the UK that allows organisations to demonstrate to their customers that they operate their business in a secure and trustworthy manner. Achieving the Cyber Essentials certification helps businesses win new customers and stand out amongst their peers. It is a requirement for any company that seeks to sell their services to the UK Government.

Chiselled Ubuntu Containers

For a long time, developers have loved the experience of working with Ubuntu-based containers. In this video, Mark Lewis, VP of Application Services at Canonical, takes us on a journey into the power of Chiselled Ubuntu Containers. These containers are inspired by the Distroless concept, which means they offer ultra-small OCI images tailored to your specific application needs. Whether you're a developer looking to streamline your containers or an organization seeking to optimize your cloud infrastructure, Chiselled Ubuntu Containers offer a powerful solution.

Adopting open-source Industrial IoT software

The industrial automation landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by a fundamental shift in how software solutions are developed and deployed. In the past, many factories had in-house IT expertise to build and maintain their basic software stacks, the present reality is quite different. Small-scale factories often lack the IT know-how to manage their increasingly complex digital infrastructure, and they often rely on contractors to set up and maintain their systems.