The Azure tailored Ubuntu kernel is now enabled by default for the Ubuntu Cloud images running the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, and Canonical vows to offer the same level of support as the rest of its Ubuntu kernels until the operating system reaches end of life. Ubuntu 16.04 is a long-term supported release, which means it will receive security maintenance updates for 5 years, until April 2021, because the distro was launched last year in April. If you’ve recently got an Ubuntu 16.04 LTS image from the Azure portal, chances are it’s using the new Azure tailored Ubuntu kernel.