October 22, 2020: Canonical today announced the release of Ubuntu 20.10 desktop and server systems optimized for Raspberry Pi to support researchers, inventors, education, and businesses. It brings the world’s most popular open platform to the most accessible hardware globally.

“In this release, we celebrate the commitment of the Raspberry Pi Foundation to bring open computing to people around the world,” said Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth. “We are also honored to support this initiative by optimizing Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi, whether for personal use, educational purposes, or as the foundation for their future businesses.”

Raspberry Pi 2, 3, and 4 join a range of X86 and ARM devices certified for Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an operating system (OS) known for its public cloud and desktop products, widely used in AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google, IBM, and Oracle Clouds. Dell, HP, and Lenovo have certified their computers for Ubuntu desktop.

Ubuntu 20.10 includes a resilient micro cloud that provides small server clusters for VMs and on-demand edge Kubernetes with LXD 4.6 and MicroK8s 1.19. It is suitable for remote offices, branch offices, warehousing, and distributed infrastructure.

Ubuntu Desktop 20.10

On Raspberry Pi desktop, Ubuntu 20.10 integrates GNOME 3.38, improving application grids, removing common tags, and allowing users to arrange and manage applications according to their preferences. The power settings now include a battery percentage switch, private WiFi hotspots can be shared via generated QR codes, and a restart option has been added to the logout/shutdown menu.

The 20.10 desktop adds support for Ubuntu-certified devices. More Ubuntu workstations now support fingerprint recognition. Two-in-one devices with on-screen keyboards are now fully supported, enhancing the Ubuntu experience on devices like Dell XPS two-in-ones and Lenovo Yoga.

The Raspberry Pi 4GB or 8GB memory version will receive full support for the Ubuntu desktop. “From the classic Raspberry Pi development board to industrial-grade modules, this is the first step for Raspberry Pi to have long-term support and security updates for Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support), aligning with our spirit of bringing the best computing and open-source capabilities to users worldwide,” said Raspberry Pi Trading CEO Eben Upton.

What is Micro Cloud

Micro cloud is a new category designed for edge on-demand computing infrastructure. Micro clouds are distributed, minimal, and can scale from small to large. In Ubuntu 20.10, Canonical introduces its micro cloud stack on Ubuntu, combining MAAS, LXD, MicroK8s, and Ceph to provide a resilient pocket cloud, reinforcing critical business workloads under 5G RAN, Industry 4.0 factories, V2X infrastructure, and smart cities and health facilities.

On Raspberry Pi, users can start orchestrating highly available workloads at the edge with MicroK8s or build home labs using LXD’s clustering and virtualization capabilities. The release of Ubuntu 20.10 introduces users to a way to experiment, test, or develop full cloud capabilities through Raspberry Pi. The combination of Raspberry Pi and Ubuntu 20.10 makes anything from robotics to artificial intelligence and machine learning possible.

Ubuntu 20.10 is now available for download from here: