Understanding Ubuntu Package Management
OS Management Hub provides tools to manage packages and snaps on Ubuntu instances and groups, including scheduling updates, installing or removing packages, and editing snaps.
Update Categories Available for Ubuntu
For Ubuntu instances, OS Management Hub applies updates based on specific categories.
| OS Management Hub Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Security |
An update that addresses security vulnerabilities found during development, testing, or reported by users. Security fixes usually have one or more associated CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure) names to identify the vulnerabilities. |
| Other | An update that's not associated with any errata. |
Package List Format for Ubuntu
When providing a package list within the Console, you must use a valid package name format.
Valid formats are:
- Package name (N)
- Name, version (NV)
| Format Type | Format | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| N (package name) | name |
|
| NV (name, version) | name=version |
|
The list can contain a combination of formats. For example, a valid list would be:
python2
apache2=2.4.52-1ubuntu4.14Generating a package list from an existing instance
You can run apt list --installed on a reference instance to collect a package list. For example, the format of the packages is:
adduser/jammy,now 3.118ubuntu5 all [installed]
apt/jammy-updates,now 2.4.12 amd64 [installed]
base-files/jammy-updates,now 12ubuntu4.9 amd64 [installed]
base-passwd/jammy,now 3.5.52 amd64 [installed]
bash/jammy,now 5.1-6ubuntu1 amd64 [installed]
bsdutils/jammy-updates,now 1:2.37.2-4ubuntu3.4 amd64 [installed]
...Understanding Snaps for Ubuntu
- What is a snap?
-
A snap is a bundle of packages and dependencies for an application. Snaps help users easily install and run applications like Zoom or Slack. Snaps update automatically.
- What is a channel?
-
A channel defines which release of a snap is installed and tracked for updates.
- What is a mode?
-
The mode of a snap defines how the application is confined. The confinement level controls how isolated the snap application it has from the user's system. See Snap confinement for more information.
- Default: The mode configured in the snap source. This is equivalent to not specifying a mode during installation (such as
snap install mysnap). - Classic: Used for classic confinement, which provides the same system access as traditional types of packages.
- Devmode: Used for development testing and viewing the log output. This mode checks the validity of a snap's signed assertions, but the installation progresses even when the validity can't be verified.
- Jailmode: Used for forcing strict confinement. Only non-classic snaps can be placed in jail mode.
See Snap install modes for more information.
- Default: The mode configured in the snap source. This is equivalent to not specifying a mode during installation (such as