Debian Long Term Support
Traditionally, Debian manages security support of a given stable release until the next stable release plus one year. Roughly, this amounts to 3 years which is not enough for many organizations and does not allow to deploy version N+2 once N is no longer supported. The Debian LTS team wants to fix this by extending the security support of Debian releases to at least 5 years:
To achieve this goal, and properly cover all Debian packages, Freexian organizes a corporate sponsorship campaign with the goal of funding the equivalent of a full time position that will in fact be split over multiple Debian contributors who are established as independent workers. Here is a (manually updated) progress bar showing the current funding level (it is a number of hours per month, with an hourly rate of 85 EUR/hour):
100%
50% (Half-time)
102.98% (181.24 h)
If you are not yet convinced, here are seven reasons why you should help fund the Debian Long Term Support initiative (LTS):
- Ensure that the packages that you rely on get priority in terms of security support;
- Ensure that security updates will not generate regressions in your production infrastructure by providing functional tests to run before release;
- Benefit from direct contact to the LTS staff in case of specific queries and requests;
- Influence future developments made by the sponsored developers so that Debian continues to fit your needs;
- Generate goodwill among the free software community thanks to your appearance in the list of sponsors;
- Even if you do not use Debian 7 currently, you ensure that Debian 8 and Debian 9 will also benefit from long term support. If Debian 7 LTS cannot be funded, it is unlikely that Debian 8/9 LTS will happen;
- Benefit from the experience of people from other Debian-using companies thanks to a private mailing list.
Join the initiative now!
It's easy: pick a funding level in the table below, download the subscription form, fill it and send it back to deblts@freexian.com.
| Funding level (time per month) | 15 min. | 30 min. | 1 h. | 2 h. | 3 h. | 4 h. | 6 h. | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits (details) | ||||||||||
| Packages to prioritize | Weighted on the amount sponsored | |||||||||
| Thanked as sponsor: | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum | ||||||
| Private mailing list | ||||||||||
| Direct contact to LTS staff | ||||||||||
| Submit your own test cases | ||||||||||
| Prices | ||||||||||
| Monthly payment | N/A | €255 $300 |
€340 $400 | €510 $600 | €680 $800 |
€1360 $1600 | €2040 $2400 |
|||
| Quarterly payment | N/A | €255 $300 |
€510 $600 | €765 $900 | €1020 $1200 |
€1530 $1800 | €2040 $2400 |
€4080 $4800 | €6120 $7200 |
|
| Biyearly payment | N/A | €255 $300 |
€510 $600 | €1020 $1200 | €1530 $1800 |
€2040 $2400 | €3060 $3600 | €4080 $4800 |
€8160 $9600 | €12240 $14400 |
| Yearly payment | €255 $300 | €510 $600 |
€1020 $1200 | €2040 $2400 | €3060 $3600 |
€4080 $4800 | €6120 $7200 | €8160 $9600 |
€16320 $19200 | €24480 $28800 |
Once you have submitted your subscription form, Freexian will prepare an invoice and send it to you for immediate payment.
Payment methods
You can opt for any of the following payment methods. They are listed by order of preference (preferred first):
- SEPA Direct Debit (EUR only). For companies in SEPA countries, we can automatically debit your bank account. You have to fill the SEPA mandate in the subscription form.
- Credit/Debit Card (EUR/USD). Click here to access an online payment form letting you pay with a credit card. You can automate payments over a year.
- Manual wire transfer (EUR only). When you get the invoice, you manually initiate a wire transfer on our bank account (IBAN+BIC are on the invoice). For SEPA countries, this is called SEPA Credit Transfer.
- PayPal (EUR/USD). Click here to access PayPal payment forms letting you either setup a recurring payment or complete a single payment.
More details please
If you want to know more about this initiative, check out this page. It gives the context on the Debian side as well as supplementary information about the benefits. The FAQ will also try to clear up any doubt that you might have.
Progress reports
Even though the target has not yet been reached, the project is underway. Freexian is paying Debian contributors to work on Debian LTS and they are doing their best to keep the packages used by sponsors of this initiative as secure as possible. Checkout Freexian's monthly reports on Raphaël Hertzog's blog.
Contributing companies and organizations
We would like to thank all entities that contribute towards Long Term Support of Debian 7 “Wheezy” and future releases.Platinum level
TOSHIBA
(for 22 months)
GitHub
(for 13 months)
Gold level
The Positive Internet
(for 38 months)
Blablacar
(for 37 months)
Linode
(for 27 months)
Babiel GmbH
(for 16 months)
Plat'Home
(for 16 months)
Silver level
Domeneshop AS
(for 37 months)
Université Lille 3
(for 37 months)
Trollweb Solutions
(for 35 months)
Nantes Métropole
(for 31 months)
Dalenys
(for 28 months)
Univention GmbH
(for 23 months)
Université Jean Monnet de St Etienne
(for 23 months)
Sonus Networks
(for 17 months)
UR Communications BV
(for 12 months)
maxcluster GmbH
(for 11 months)
Exonet B.V.
(for 7 months)
Leibniz Rechenzentrum
Bronze level
Disclaimer
Although the aim of those contracts is to fund work time to Debian developers, those contracts are managed by Freexian and not by Software in the Public Interest (the legal entity representing the Debian project).