<<TableOfContents()>>

= What is HWE? =

Hardware Enablement Stacks (HWE) are incorporated into installers for select Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) point releases.  It is a special Ubuntu feature that provides an LTS release with hardware support introduced in newer Ubuntu releases.  For Ubuntu 12.04 the point releases are .2/.3/.4/.5 and the corresponding Ubuntu releases are 12.10/13.04/13.10/14.04.

The HWE path can be obtained in 2 ways:

 1. Installing Ubuntu from the media (ISO) for these point releases (where HWE is used by default)
 1. Manually installing some packages

End-of-life (EOL) for 12.04, 12.04.1, and 12.04.5 HWE is April 2017 but for the other HWE stacks it is roughly when 14.04.1 is released: Aug 8, 2014.

Further reading:

 * https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack (HWE details)
 * https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Support (Kernel team)

= And why should I care? =

Starting Aug 8, 2014 systems running 12.04.2 HWE, 12.04.3 HWE, or 12.04.4 HWE will no longer receive software updates for the kernel and, if you're running it, the graphics stack.

= How do I know if I'm affected? =

You can:

 1. use a tool expressly designed to let you know
 1. look at what packages you have installed

== Tool ==

The tool is called '''hwe-support-status''' and it will be available first in the -proposed and then in the -updates repositories:

 * precise-proposed (by June 13)
 * precise-updates (by June 27)

It will become available in package '''update-manager-core'''.

To run:

{{{
hwe-support-status --verbose
}}}

Get it from Launchpad if you want it earlier:

{{{
sudo apt-get install bzr -y
cd ~
bzr co --lightweight  lp:~mvo/update-manager/hwe-support-status
cd hwe-support-status
./hwe-support-status --verbose
}}}

Notes on this tool:

 * Contains the central logic used by other mechanisms/software that have been modified to alert the user of HWE EOL.  These are:

  1. update-manager (desktop)
  1. update-notifier
  1. ubuntu-support-status

 * On affected systems, it provides command line instructions for machines not running a graphics stack (typically servers).  It will refer you to a graphical tool (update-manager) if a graphics stack is detected (typically desktops).

== Packages ==

Check your running kernel version:

{{{
uname -r
}}}

 * you are affected if it shows a kernel in these series: 3.5 or 3.8 or 3.11
 * you are not affected if it shows a kernel in these series: 3.2 or 3.13

This method does not check for a graphics stack HWE.  However, you cannot get a HWE graphics stack without a corresponding HWE kernel unless you've done things manually.  Note that such a combination (HWE graphics with non-HWE kernel) is not supported.

= What to do if I'm affected? =

You have three options:

 1. Install 12.04.5 HWE (Trusty kernel/graphics)
 1. Upgrade to 14.04 LTS
 1. Fresh install of 14.04 LTS

== 1. Install 12.04.5 HWE (Trusty kernel/graphics) ==

The hwe-support-status tool will tell you what you need to do.

== 2. Upgrade to 14.04 LTS ==

The hwe-support-status tool will tell you what you need to do.

If you want to upgrade a desktop system to 14.04 before July 16, 2014 (the date at which all necessary software components are in the regular -updates repository) you will need to invoke update-manager from the command line:

{{{
update-manager -p
}}}

For both servers and desktops it's strongly recommended to ensure a system is in a good state before upgrading.  Here are some tips:

 * Enough free space (2x the size of all installed packages)
 * Update all packages
 * Run ''sudo apt-get autoremove'' to clean up old packages
 * Ensure a reboot works normally (and on dual boot Linux machines, note which operating system controls the bootloader/GRUB)
 * Perform a backup of important data

== 3. Fresh install of 14.04 LTS ==

Redeploy with a fresh copy of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

= FAQ =

 * '''I am running 12.04.2 HWE.  From August 8, 2014 onwards my system will no longer receive package updates?'''
Not true.  Such a system will only stop receiving updates for the kernel and the graphics stack.  The rest of the software will continue to get updates.

 * '''So if I am running 12.04.3 (as seen from ''lsb_release -d'') then starting from August 8, 2014 my kernel and graphics stack will no longer receive package updates?'''
Not true.  12.04.3 is not 12.04.3 HWE.  And since HWE (and thus a new kernel series) cannot be introduced through regular package updates it is possible to update a non-HWE system to arrive at a later point release, such as 12.04.3, and still preserve the EOL date of April 2017.

 * '''What are the pros and cons of those options?'''

|||| HWE Upgrade Only || Full 14.04 Upgrade || Fresh 14.04 Install ||
|| Kernel || 14.04/Trusty version (v3.13) || 14.04/Trusty version (v3.13) || 14.04/Trusty version (v3.13) ||
|| Graphics || 14.04/Trusty Xorg and drivers || 14.04/Trusty Xorg and drivers ||  14.04/Trusty Xorg and drivers ||
|| EOL || 12.04/Precise EOL (April 2017) || 14.04/Trusty EOL (April 2019) || 14.04/Trusty EOL (April 2019) ||
|| Applications/Servers || Generally no change<<FootNote(It's important to note that changing the Linux kernel/Xorg stack can affect applications.  For example the 14.04 kernel can online resize ext4 partitions much faster than the 12.04 kernel can. [[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/virtualbox/+bug/1343305|VirtualBox's DKMS kernel module fails to build with the lts-trusty HWE.]])>> || Newer 14.04 versions will be installed, may need reconfiguring || Require complete installation and configuration ||
|| Time (minutes) <<FootNote(These are just estimates and do not include reboot times.  Base downtime window length on tests performed in your environment.)>> || 2-10 || 30-120 || 30, not including configuration ||