The latest interim release of Ubuntu Server, 21.10, brings extended support for NVIDIA vGPU software, a series of other changes, as well as support for AI/ML workloads
What’s new in Ubuntu Server 21.10:
- Ubuntu Server:
- OpenLDAP has been updated to 2.5.6:
- A new OpenLDAP release, version 2.5.6, is available for Ubuntu Impish users. This release brings several changes, new features and deprecations/removals. A non-exhaustive list of things to be aware of during the upgrade process is:
- The shell (slapd-shell), the BDB and the HDB backends have all been removed.
Ubuntu Server 21.10 is Canonical’s latest interim release before the mighty 22.04 LTS will launch and it features support until the half of 2022.
While the Desktop version of Ubuntu 21.10 focuses on more tangible (for the average user at least) changes such as the GNOME 40 and the kernel 5.13, the Server version has tons of tweaks and changes, but they’re all under the hood.
Impish Indri brings a new minimized system installation option, “needrestart” enabled by default (for automated daemon restarts after applying library updates), more certified drivers for NVIDIA vGPUs, and sophisticated AI/ML workloads.
System installation options
Edge and IoT technologies have played a big part in how developers need to develop server or CLI-oriented OSes. Ubuntu Server has not been left out of this continuous “tinyfication” process and the latest 21.10 version is definitely running more smooth and has a smaller runtime footprint.
Impish Indri reintroduces the option to install a lightweight Ubuntu (less than 100 MB) with the new Ubuntu Server Live Installer.
Another big change in this version is the application of security updates on a regular basis. The introduction of the needrestart package solves most of the problems with restarts after library installations and upgrades.
NVIDIA vGPU software drivers in the spotlight
Nowadays, the usage of AI/ML technologies is a lot more common. Most of the time, a good CPU can carry out the job, but for hardcore production workloads, a dedicated GPU is still king.
Running massive workloads in private cloud environments with NVIDIA vGPU software allows for virtualization, enabling resources to be shared between the guest system and the VM.
This latest version of Ubuntu Server, brings certified drivers for NVIDIA vGPU software 13.1 on Ubuntu KVM.
Other noteworthy changes
Ubuntu 21.10 includes many other improvements as well. For example, it packs the latest stable Linux kernel 5.13, the latest hardware and security updates, and support for all major architectures such as x64-64, ARM v7, ARM64, POWER 8, POWER 9, IBM x390x (LinuxONE) and RISC-V.
Various server-specific apps have been updates as well. These include QEMU (6.0), libvirt (7.6), PHP (8.0.8), Apache2 (2.4.48), GCC (11.2.0), Python (3.9.4), Bind9 (9.16.15), Open vSwitch (2.16.0) and OpenLDAP (2.5.6).
For a complete list of changes, users can refer to the official section.
