Ubuntu 24.04 LTS - code name "Noble Numbat" - is the Long Term Release for servers and desktops that will be will be supported for 5 years until June 2029. It is the successor of 22.04 LTS.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS includes updated versions of most of the Ubuntu core set of packages, including a current 6.8 kernel, and much more.
Typical server-software such as Nginx, MySQL, MariaDB, or Apache come in new versions as well as modern scripting and programming languages such as Go, Rust, and Python.
You can find an overview of major changes on website Noble Numbat Release Notes - Release - Ubuntu Community Hub and a deep dive with focus on the Desktop version here: Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 LTS: Noble Numbat deep dive | Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will be supported for 5 years until June 2029.
Users of Ubuntu 23.10 will be offered an automatic upgrade to 24.04 soon after the release.
Users of 22.04 LTS however will be offered the automatic upgrade when 24.04.1 LTS is released, which is scheduled for the 15th of August.
Ubuntu Release Strategy
Releases of Ubuntu get a development codename (e.g. ‘Noble Numbat’) and are versioned by the year and month of delivery - for example, Ubuntu 24.04 was released in April 2024.
LTS or ‘Long Term Support’ releases are published every two years in April. LTS releases are the ‘enterprise grade’ releases of Ubuntu and are used the most. An estimated 95% of all Ubuntu installations are LTS releases.
Ubuntu LTS releases receive 5 years of standard security maintenance for all packages in the ‘Main’ repository.
Every six months between LTS versions, an interim release of Ubuntu is published. These are production-quality releases and are supported for 9 months.
Link to: Ubuntu release cycle | Ubuntu
Link to: Releases - Ubuntu Wiki