This version will include the latest packages as well as version 2.6.28 of the Linux kernel and the ability to use the ext4 filesystem (though it's unknown at this time whether ext3 will remain the default in this version).

NOTE: You can (and should) create a live/bootable CD of Ubuntu and experiment with it before deciding that you want to install it. The .ISO file that's required can be found here.

While it's always nice to have a build with the latest features, the inclusion of ext4 is what sets this release apart from the others. The focus of ext4 -- an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, upgrade to the ext3 filesytem -- is on performance, reliability and scalability. It increases the maximum filesystem size to 1 exabyte. Not only can it handle more space, but this filesystem can handle larger files (up to 16 terabytes) and has been booting faster in testing.

Installing ext4 on a new installation is as simple as selecting that option during installation, as shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. Ext4 is now an option that can be chosen when partitioning the drive.

If you're upgrading an existing installation, this filesystem is backward-compatible with ext3, but not all the tools out there are ready to handle it yet. For example, Figure 2 shows the GParted utility as it currently exists (accessible from System, Administration, Partition Editor). It lacks ext4 as an option, but this will hopefully be corrected before the April release.

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Figure 2. While Ext4 can be chosen for partitioning during installation, it is currently not a choice in the partition editor.

More information on ext4 is available at here. You can also find benchmarks on it here.

After installation is completed -- or while working from the Live CD -- you can begin to work with Ubuntu and the applications/tools/utilities. Figure 3 shows the default desktop and the ability to choose a network to connect to.

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Figure 3. The default desktop in Ubuntu 9.04.

Figure 4 shows the network tool used to tweak the connectivity.

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Figure 4. The network tool allows you to tweak the connectivity information.

It should be noted that one of the newest certifications available in the Unix/Linux world is Ubuntu Professional, created through an alliance between Canonical, Ubuntu and the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). Ubuntu (the name is based on an African word meaning "humanity to others") is currently one of the fastest growing distributions in the Linux world and is completely free -- as are the tools needed to modify it and make it fit your specific application. In addition to the x86 platform, in also runs on AMD64 and PowerPC.

To become certified as an Ubuntu Professional, you must first become Level I certified by LPI (LPIC-1), which requires passing two exams on vendor-neutral Linux topics. Following that, you must pass one more exam (costing $150) specific to Ubuntu. There are five major topic areas the exam focuses on, and they're weighted as follows:

• Routine administration: 32%
• Hardware, installation and maintenance: 20%
• Networking and network services: 20%
• Gnome desktop and applications: 20%
• Ubuntu community: 8%

It should also be noted that this release is not a Long-Term Support (LTS) release. The last such release was 8.04 (released last year) and the LTS designation means that support for its desktop implementation is ensured until 2011 and for the server implementation until 2013. Those without LTS designation are still supported, but for shorter periods of time.

As I often say to sum up new releases of Ubuntu: If you've never used this distribution in your environment before and are contemplating doing so, you'll find that 9.04 is as good an implementation as you can select. Ubuntu is a wonderful Linux distribution and as it continues to add such features as ext4, it should only grow in desktop popularity and implementation.