LXC Project Announces 6.0 LTS Release with Support Until 2029

The LXC team unveiled the LXC 6.0 LTS release, culminating in two years of dedicated work since the last major update, LXC 5.0. It represents the project’s sixth Long-Term Support (LTS) iteration, promising support until June 2029.

For those unfamiliar with the details, LXC is a lightweight containerization technology that allows you to run containers on a single Linux host machine. It utilizes the kernel’s cgroups feature to isolate resource usage (CPU, memory, network, etc.) and namespaces to isolate other aspects like file systems, network stacks, and process trees.

It’s a lot like the Docker containers you might already know about, but it also offers some of the same features that you get with virtual machines.

What’s New in LXC 6.0 LTS?

LXC 6.0 introduces a variety of enhancements and new features aimed at improving user experience and expanding functionality:

• Multi-call Binary: A standout feature is the introduction of a multi-call binary option, which consolidates multiple LXC commands into a single binary. This optimization significantly reduces disk space usage, making it especially beneficial for embedded systems.
• Set Timeout Function: Addressing previous limitations, the new set_timeout function allows users to set global timeouts for LXC monitor interactions, enhancing stability by preventing potential deadlocks.
• IPv6 Support: Embracing modern network standards, the default LXC bridge now supports IPv6, facilitating better network management and connectivity.
• UID/GID Selection: The lxc-usernsexec tool now offers more flexibility with -u and -g options for specifying user and group IDs, enhancing security and user management.
• Configuration and Usability Enhancements: The lxc-checkconfig tool has received updates for better usability, including version visibility improvements and a comprehensive listing of namespace limits.
• Support for Squashfs OCI Images: Enhancing its container capabilities, LXC now supports squashfs compressed OCI images, broadening compatibility with container standards.
• Transition to libdbus-1: LXC has shifted from systemd’s dbus to libdbus-1 to improve compatibility and simplify builds for DBus interactions.
• Upstart Support Removal: Reflecting the evolution of init systems, LXC has phased out support for Upstart, streamlining its codebase for contemporary environments.

Moreover, the LXC team has also announced plans for semi-annual non-LTS releases. The next update, LXC 6.1, is scheduled for October, allowing users to access the latest features sooner, though these versions will not carry the LTS guarantees of support and stability.

LXC 6.0 LTS is set for long-term support until June 2029, with the preceding LXC 5.0 version transitioning to a maintenance mode focused on critical fixes. In light of this, users are encouraged to upgrade to LXC 6.0 to benefit from the latest features and improvements.

For those interested in exploring the new version, the main release tarball and its GPG signature are available for download as links are located at the end of the release announcement.