New to Manjaro. Was just wondering if they do Long Term Support releases?
That’s impossible for a rolling release distro.
What makes iteration-based distros able to supply and support “LTS” releases is due to the “package freeze” policy.
Package freeze policies cannot be feasibly done with a rolling release distro, plus it makes no sense if you’re on a rolling release.
EDIT: To be clear, the package versions are frozen, and the only changes allowed are security updates and patches. You will not acquire any updates to most of your software packages, aside from security patches and bugfixes (for the packaging itself). There are exceptions to this, such as Firefox and Chrome, etc. You can also deviate by using PPAs, but once again, this is not officially supported on an LTS distro: if you break something with a PPA, it’s your own responsibility.
So for example, if there is an application called “AwesomePossum”, and the version frozen is “awesomepossum 2.5.0”, then don’t be surprised if upstream releases 2.5.1 (or higher), but it never gets updated on your LTS system.
It’s a trade-off. Consistency and stability versus always being up-to-date with upstream development and applications.
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Manjaro doesn’t provide LTS release for the reason @winnie mentioned, though there is an ISO (the minimal LTS ISO in downloads page) that comes with LTS Kernel, if that’s what you want.
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Definition of LTS at distrowatch.com.
You can search by Release model (fixed, fixed (lts), semi-rolling rolling), to get an idea where distributions fall.
There are many distributions, but fewer original (Based on = Independent), and the release model usually doesn’t change. The release model carries a certain meaning in itself.
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Theoreticly you can do your own freeze. Use the latest LTS kernel (5.15) and disable update check - then schedule your own 6 month update cycle.
Tecnically it will require deep knowledge of system dependencies and a lot of dicipline as you must restrain your urge to install new apps - besides the occational update of Firefox or Vivaldi.
Never freeze a rolling release using distribution build packages - e.g. Chromium or libreoffice.
Never use applications which integrates tightly with system libraries or service dependencies.
So when you have to ask - an Arch based distribution is not for you - as you will be a disgruntled user when you don’t know how to handle the occasional breakdown.
You will be better off using a system based on a fixed release with LTS like Ubuntu.
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I am new to Manjaro, switched from 10 years of Ubuntu this March.
When I first installed Manjaro I used the KDE Minimal LTS iso that @Shirshendu mentioned, however it seems that iso is no longer available?
What does this mean for manjaro? are LTS kernels still supported? (or even recommended?)
I now see the Plasma “minimal” manjaro iso is 2.7 GB in size… I am trying to find my old iso to compare.
Atm, Manjaro supports the LTS kernels 5.15, 5.10, 5.4 and 4.19.
So yeah, your LTS kernel is probably still supported. (5.15 or 5.10, I guess)
And recommend for those, who don’t want to switch kernels everytime the last recent kernel become EOL.
It’s not a problem, that the iso you used in March isn’t available anymore… The isos also get updated on a regular base, so new installs won’t need to update too much after setup.
But you cannot actually download an LTS kernel iso anymore, correct? so i am guessing there must be a way to set the kernel mode to LTS manually?
I know when I previously downloaded manjaro I choose KDE, minimal, LTS
Well, I went to the download page, and the Manjaro KDE iso (both full and minimal) is still using the LTS kernel 5.15
The original post asked about LTS releases of the operating system, not the kernel. Two completely different things.
No, Manjaro does not have LTS releases as it is a rolling release, not a point release distribution.
An ISO with an LTS kernel is a different story which are currently available.
Closing to stop the derailing of the topic and to avoid confusion.
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