Ubuntu 16.04.2 HWE

[rocky7x]

Hmmm I think there has been a misunderstanding. The HWE abbreviation means Hardware Enablement, which is for new hardware and features in kernel and graphics stack. In the past, this was called LTS HES (LTS hardware enablement stack), which was the case in all previous Ubuntu LTSes. According to that you have 2 options:
1. either stay with the standard LTS kernel (in this case 4.4) and accept only security patches and for graphics stack stay with whatever came with the LTS
2. or hop on the LST HES / HWE train and get new features, like for example new OpenGL features of the Intel driver, new features for Nouveau driver, new hardware features in kernels etc.

Ubuntu 16.04.2 will ship with these HWE kernel and graphics stacks enabled by default, so in some way it is the default from now on. This does not concern any other parts of the distribution, so all apps and stuff keep coming, therefore if you would opt to not hop on the HWE train, you would still have everything as in 16.04.2 EXCEPT the new kernel and new graphics stack (which in case all works fine for you and you don't care about some new features might be completely not relevant for you). As its name says, it's a Hardware Enablement stack, meaning enabling stuff for new hardware for which not all features work yet.

Now, this is in NO WAY a Maui thing - this is related to ALL Ubuntu derivatives, including Mint as well. In previous LTS releases (so 12.04, 14.04), if you wanted this, you had to install special kernel and graphics stack packages that had LTS in their name, e.g. linux-image-lts-wily or similar. So after each new version of normal Ubuntu was released came a set of kernel and graphics stack packages related to that release that you could OPTIONALLY install into your LTS. NOW with 16.04, Ubuntu changed the philosophy, by using a single hwe-16.04 package name that will bring all kernels and graphics stacks down the road, so you wouldn't need to worry about new versions (like it was in previous LTSes).

To summarize, if you are not familiar with LTS packages from Mint, you never used the HES and were always at base LTS kernel and graphics stack. Now you have this knowledge and you can decide whether to not do anything (which in your case, since you have a considerably old hardware, is absolutely OK) or to hop on the HWE train and get new features, for example in Nvidia Nouveau driver area.

All this is described at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack

Ubuntu LTS releases were designed like this from the beginning and they had to, since 2 years is a VERY long time in HW development, so if they wanted to be able to install a 2 year old LTS release on a completely new HW, they had to make it possible somehow - in any way mean LTS DOES NOT that the kernel and graphics stack will remain the same for 2 years - that would kill the system. It just means that it is tested much more thoroughly and provided with much more care than in a normal release or a PPA.

[kdemeoz]

Thanks Rocky for the well-detailed explanatory expansion. Just for preamble, pls note/remember that IMO i'm still only barely-capable with Linux, albeit now being a few years since i fully emerged from the Windows darkness i do know more now than then [not hard]. As such, my massive confusion when i read your earlier posts above was largely due to my absence of sufficient historical & overall Linux background knowledge to give me any context in which to understand your info. Thank you for bearing with me as i try to keep learning.

Just to clarify the "newness / oldness" issue re your "you can decide whether to not do anything (which in your case, since you have a considerably old hardware, is absolutely OK) or to hop on the HWE train" ... My Tower [primary pc] is no longer brand new, certainly, but as a mid-2015 vintage surely is not truly "considerably old hardware"?  I freely acknowledge it is not [& never was] possessed of cutting-edge specs, but i'd have hoped it was more than decent-enough to be still a good Linux box:

Code:

Z97-HD3:/$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: Z97-HD3 Kernel: 4.9.9-040909-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 6.2.0)
          Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.8.4 (Qt 5.7.0) Distro: Ubuntu 2.1 xenial
Machine:   Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z97-HD3 v: x.x Bios: American Megatrends v: F7 date: 12/08/2014
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-4790 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB
          flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 28800
          clock speeds: max: 4000 MHz 1: 3999 MHz 2: 3956 MHz 3: 3928 MHz 4: 3855 MHz 5: 3990 MHz 6: 3973 MHz
          7: 3936 MHz 8: 3876 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
          Card-2: NVIDIA GF119 [GeForce GT 610] bus-ID: 01:00.0
          Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: nouveau (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) FAILED: intel
          Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
          GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on NVD9 GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 12.0.6 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller
          driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:03.0
          Card-2 Intel 9 Series Family HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
          Card-3 NVIDIA GF119 HDMI Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1
          Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.9.9-040909-generic
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
          driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
          IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2250.5GB (39.6% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: Samsung_SSD_850 size: 250.1GB
          ID-2: /dev/sdb model: ST2000DM001 size: 2000.4GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 35G used: 21G (64%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
          ID-2: swap-1 size: 42.95GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-0
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8C mobo: 27.8C
          Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 415 Uptime: 1 day Memory: 10803.1/31591.2MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
          Client: Shell (bash 4.3.461) inxi: 2.2.35

Conversely my Lappy [Dell XPS-15 of Jan-2011] is undeniably "considerably old hardware" [but note, this is an OLD copy from last year, thus its OS, kernel & NVidia-driver info are obsolete]:

Code:

XPS-L501X ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: XPS-L501X Kernel: 4.4.0-45-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
          Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 (Gtk 2.24.28) Distro: Linux Mint 18 Sarah
Machine:   System: Dell (portable) product: XPS L501X v: A08
          Mobo: Dell model: 00CKNG v: A08 Bios: Dell v: A08 date: 07/26/2011
CPU:       Dual core Intel Core i5 M 460 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB
          flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 10108
          clock speeds: max: 2534 MHz 1: 1333 MHz 2: 1999 MHz 3: 1466 MHz 4: 1333 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
          Card-2: NVIDIA GF108M [GeForce GT 420M] bus-ID: 02:00.0
          Display Server: X.Org 1.18.3 driver: nvidia Resolution: 1366x768@60.01hz
          GLX Renderer: GeForce GT 420M/PCIe/SSE2
          GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 367.57 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel 5 Series/3400 Series High Definition Audio
          driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
          Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-45-generic
Network:   Card-1: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 04:00.0
          IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
          Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
          driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 5000 bus-ID: 09:00.0
          IF: enp9s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 256.1GB (73.6% used)
          ID-1: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_SSD_PM81 size: 256.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 30G used: 7.9G (29%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
          ID-2: /home size: 182G used: 157G (91%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
          ID-3: swap-1 size: 10.74GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-0
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 62.0C mobo: 0.0C gpu: 0.0:63C
          Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 257 Uptime: 17 min Memory: 1449.3/7718.3MB
          Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
          Client: Shell (bash 4.3.421) inxi: 2.2.35

As such, having re-read all your info, my current inclination is to probably ignore HWE for Lappy [my assumption being that its old-age presumably means no benefit from HWE ???], but probably proceed with HWE for Tower. However, to help me decide for Tower:

1. I hitherto deliberately avoided all distros for my Tower's OS that were Rolling Releases like say Manjaro, as i didn't want to suffer days when the latest overnight update broke my pc [maybe that doesn't happen anymore, but when i was reading fora a few years ago that seemed to be a thing]. Would my Tower becoming "Maui HWE" materially threaten my Tower's availability [as distinct from reliability]?

2. As you know, my Tower now has kernel 4.9.9. Would i incur any material risk to stability / function by installing Ubuntu 16.04.2 HWE, given its 4.8.x basis ?

Given the regional time difference before which i might reasonably hope to see your reply, & because i am curious, i might fire up one of my Maui VMs soon after posting, & deploy the HWE onto it, then observe what happens. Thanks again.

[kdemeoz]

Well, that was more exciting than i'd hoped. My Maui VM in my Tower [but not yet Tower OS itself] has now had "xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04" installed... notwithstanding that the Tower fell over again part-way through... https://forums.mauilinux.org/showthread....6#pid41776 

Is this right, or is something amiss? You can see in my VM's Synaptic pic that the HWE kernel was installed, but during VM boot up, ONLY the highlighted one shows [+ older kernels still, of course]. Shouldn't the HWE one also appear in the boot menu?
   

[kdemeoz]

Tower [not just VM] now upgraded to "xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04" -- thanks Rocky.

Code:

Z97-HD3:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: Z97-HD3 Kernel: 4.8.0-39-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0) Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.8.4 (Qt 5.7.0)
          Distro: Ubuntu 2.1 xenial
Machine:   Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z97-HD3 v: x.x Bios: American Megatrends v: F7 date: 12/08/2014
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-4790 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB
          flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 28800
          clock speeds: max: 4000 MHz 1: 3970 MHz 2: 3942 MHz 3: 3994 MHz 4: 3957 MHz 5: 3974 MHz 6: 4000 MHz
          7: 3976 MHz 8: 3990 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
          Card-2: NVIDIA GF119 [GeForce GT 610] bus-ID: 01:00.0
          Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
          Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
          GLX Renderer: GeForce GT 610/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 378.13 Direct Rendering: Yes

[havenchaz]

Is there anything special i need to do to "get" this... my assumption is "no, it'll simply come to me via Update Manager once ready"?

Like said in the initial post you need to install it manually if you want it.
It won't come as normal update. Its an "opt-in" update. 

This thread caught my eye.  What is the opt-in update and how do I go about it?  I thought it would just update to the 16.04.2 base.

Thanks

[leszek]

See the initial post of this thread. It pretty much explains how to get it

[kdemeoz]

This thread caught my eye.  What is the opt-in update and how do I go about it?  I thought it would just update to the 16.04.2 base.

Thanks

Hi. Having recently done it myself, it really is that simple; literally apply "Rocky's" code per his initial post, then reboot. It installed a lot of new files, upgraded a lot, & removed many. 

[havenchaz]

Is there anything special i need to do to "get" this... my assumption is "no, it'll simply come to me via Update Manager once ready"?

Like said in the initial post you need to install it manually if you want it.
It won't come as normal update. Its an "opt-in" update. 

This thread caught my eye.  What is the opt-in update and how do I go about it?  I thought it would just update to the 16.04.2 base.

Thanks

Thanks to all.  I just realized that I have Kernel 4.9.5 installed.  I guess my follow-up question would be if I do this will my system be hosed.  It runs flawlessly and would hate to screw it up.


Thanks.  

Edit:  I like to live dangerously so I updated per the instructions and my system booted up no problem.  I never thought I would use a Plasma distro, but Maui has changed that!

[leszek]

Never touch a running system especially if it runs fine now

[havenchaz]

Is there anything special i need to do to "get" this... my assumption is "no, it'll simply come to me via Update Manager once ready"?

Like said in the initial post you need to install it manually if you want it.
It won't come as normal update. Its an "opt-in" update. 

This thread caught my eye.  What is the opt-in update and how do I go about it?  I thought it would just update to the 16.04.2 base.

Thanks

Thanks to all.  I just realized that I have Kernel 4.9.5 installed.  I guess my follow-up question would be if I do this will my system be hosed.  It runs flawlessly and would hate to screw it up.


Thanks.  

Thanks for the speedy reply!