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Bionic Beaver

Forrest Stroud
Last Updated May 24, 2021 7:36 am

Bionic Beaver is the Ubuntu codename for version 18.04 of the Ubuntu Linux-based operating system. Officially released on April 26th, 2018, Bionic Beaver follows the Artful Aardvark (v17.10) release and serves as a Long Term Support (LTS) release for Ubuntu, which will be supported for five years as opposed to nine months for non-LTS editions. As a result, the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Bionic Beaver release will be supported through April 2023.

What’s New in Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver?

Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver offers several significant improvements and additions for the Linux server OS, including OpenStack Queens support, Canonical’s LXD 3.0 container hypervisor, Linux Kernel 4.15, GNOME 3.28 default desktop, and Kubernetes for process-container coordination, management and scalability.

Bionic Beaver also features a variety of performance optimizations, including boot-time optimizations, particularly for cloud operations.

What Exactly Is a Bionic Beaver?

Bionic refers to having extraordinary strength or capabilities, augmented in some cases by electronic or mechanical parts to increase natural strength. The second part of Bionic Beaver refers to a large rodent easily recognized for its flattened tail and oversized sharp incisors, which beavers use to chop down trees and branches to dam creeks and streams.

The Bionic Beaver release of Ubuntu Linux is scheduled to be followed by Ubuntu 18.10 in October 2018. The Ubuntu codename for 18.10 has not yet been determined.