Resources and Services that Canonical provides for Recognized Flavors:

Infrastructure

• status.ubuntu.com for work item tracking at flavor and individual level.
• launchpad mail list support for project communication.
• Ubuntu Security team will help the flavor maintainers distribute security updates to their users, by reviewing and sponsoring any updates they wish to provide.
• Notification of vulnerabilities can be provided by Ubuntu Security team to flavor maintainers, if universe package list to monitor is provided.

Daily ISO build and publish

• Use of launchpad build infrastructure.
• Daily publishing of builds on cdimage.ubuntu.com
• Best effort help from foundations and release team members on requested rebuilds and analysis of build failures.

Coordination with Ubuntu release

• Optional inclusion in Ubuntu development milestone releases.
• Inclusion of image in release manifest if:
  • has been made daily.
  • has been released and tested fully in the beta milestone.
• If image is to be published as part of a release manifest:
  • Images published and available through lifecycle.
  • Inclusion in release announcement (pointers to flavor page)
  • Inclusion in release notes (flavor overview and known issues)
  • Use of the ISO tracker for coordinating community testing of images for milestone releases

• Link to flavor as recognized derivative from Ubuntu site http://www.ubuntu.com/about/about-ubuntu/flavours

• Weekly meeting for sharing status and clarifying dependencies between teams.

Support post release

• availability of security updates for packages in main that overlap with Ubuntu
• availability of kernel updates that overlap with official Ubuntu kernel for a release (?new hardware support going forward)
• image available in archive through lifecycle of release

Services that Canonical does not provide (but community members may)

• testing of images on iso tracker.
• automated iso or upgrade testing.
• fixing of packages not in the Ubuntu desktop or server images.
• security updates of package not in main.
• publishing on a widely mirrored server (Canonical uses releases.ubuntu.com)
• mastering physical CDs and USB sticks.

Guidelines to have an image added to the dailies

• Official Flavor has been approved by Tech Board
• All packages are publicly available in Launchpad Archive (Main or Universe)
• Launchpad bug infrastructure is monitored and updated for tracking defects related to packages in an image.
• IS has signed off that there is sufficient space to support image builds and publishing
• Release team member lined up to work with team to debug adding it into servers.
• Community member lined up to test image and provide feedback at milestones.

General requirements to become and remain a recognized flavor

• The flavour’s intention and goals are aligned with the goals of the Ubuntu project, in the judgement of the Technical Board. If you have doubts about this, please ask the Technical Board to answer this question in principle before you are otherwise ready.
• Image has track record of community interested in creating, supporting and promoting its use.
• Leading members have signed Ubuntu Code of Conduct.
• A team of one or more developers exists in Launchpad who can upload packages that are essential to the flavour. This requirement may be met by means of a committed sponsor who is a member of this team.
• One or more developers with upload rights.
• Flavor lead identified and responsive though 9 month cycle.

  • The lead for the flavor is documented in the ISO tracker, e.g. http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/series/103/manifest. Most people in ~ubuntu-release can do this via http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/admin/config/services/qatracker/products or a database update, so please actively ping someone if you see something inaccurate.

• Flavor QA lead (may be different from flavor lead) identified to coordinate testing of image at milestones during release.
• Follow the milestone and release processes.
• Best effort support from flavor community for security updates and high priority bug fixes for default 9 month support period.

• If flavor ceases to do active releases for consecutive cycles, release team may request the TechnicalBoard review whether it should remain recognized flavor.

Guidelines for Tech Board to designate flavor image as LTS

• Align with Ubuntu LTS release cycle.

• Must have a proven track record of participating in at least 2 non-LTS releases before applying to TechnicalBoard for LTS designation.

• Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support.
• Support plan public and ongoing support contacts accessible for discussion of bugs and security issues (or alternates designated) through life of project.
• Key Upstream packages worth supporting for extended cycle.
• Written confirmation from IS that space and resources are available to retain images in archive through LTS life cycle.

See Also

* UbuntuFlavors * RecognizedFlavors/AddingNew * /NewFlavorProcess