Electronics Weekly
Ubuntu Core is already in use in top-of-rack switches, industrial gateways, home gateways, radio access networks, digital signage, robots and drones. “Ubuntu Core secures the Internet of Things and provides an app store for every device,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical.
The new Ubuntu Core delivers security, management, operations and up-gradability, thanks to securely confined read-only tamper-proof digitally-signed application images called ‘snap’ packages.
Update Control, said Canonical, allows software publishers and manufacturers to validate updates across the ecosystem before they are applied. Snap updates are transactional, which means that failures are automatically rolled back, giving developers the confidence to update their applications regularly.
The operating system and kernel in Ubuntu Core are also delivered as snaps, so the entire platform is transactionally upgradeable.
All Ubuntu Core devices, from all manufacturers, will have free, regular and reliable OS security updates.
Universal or device-specific snap app stores will supports developers through a device’s life-cycle from beta testing to general availability, “allowing them to sell IoT software as easily as cloud, enterprise and mobile software”, said Canonical.
“As companies continue to embrace Internet of Things solutions, security and quick, easy system updates are critical,” said Jason Shepherd, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, IoT, Dell. “Dell has been working with Canonical on Ubuntu Core for over a year, and our Dell Edge Gateways are fully certified for Ubuntu Core 16. This enables Dell to offer the long term support and security that IoT use cases such as factory and building automation demand.”
