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Ubuntu 18.04 does not come with 32-bit standard ISO files. However, a minimal install ISO is available.

I have some older machines on which I would like to install a server, so 32-bit is a requirement. There are two problems:

  1. The minimal install ISO (as of today, 6 May 2018) appears to be a pre-release version. The file has a timestamp of 2018-04-25 21:23, which is a day or two before the release date. This is true of the 64-bit version as well.

  2. I want to ensure that I have the exact same installation as I would get if I installed from a full (and post-release) server ISO.

What should I do to obtain a complete and up-to-date 32-bit installation? If I simply install from the pre-release mini.iso and select the server packages during installation, will this achieve my aim?

Jon Bentley
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  • To ensure the exact installation, you'll have to install the 64bit server, make a list of packages, then install the 32bit version, and import that list of packages. – mikewhatever May 06 '18 at 18:43
  • @mikewhatever What about the fact that the minimal ISO was created pre-release? Will updating packages solve all discrepancies between that and a release version? – Jon Bentley May 06 '18 at 18:50
  • You will never get exactly the same system via the mini.iso file as from the Ubuntu Server iso file, but you can get a system that is close enough (according to my opinion). And in both cases you should update & upgrade your systems to make them up to date. – sudodus May 06 '18 at 19:39
  • Not sure what "discrepancies" and what "release version" you mean. The mini.iso is just a collection of tools to boot, detect hardware, partition, and install the desired packages from online repositories. Unlike the standard server image of 700MB, the mini.iso is less then 10 times that size, and doesn't actually contain the packages it will install. – mikewhatever May 06 '18 at 19:42
  • @mikewhatever This is what I mean by a release version. This chart shows that prior to April 26, Ubuntu 18.04 was available as a RC, not a final release. The mini ISO was created prior to that date. What I'm asking is, is the only difference between a RC and a final release the packages? Or could there be other things that will be different? – Jon Bentley May 06 '18 at 19:54
  • @mikewhatever Or to put it another way, if I'd installed a full RC ISO on April 25 and then run apt-get update && apt-get upgrade on April 26, would I be guaranteed the same system as if I'd installed the final release ISO? – Jon Bentley May 06 '18 at 19:55
  • @sudodus If you'd be prepared to describe the things that will be different, and post that as an answer, I'd be glad to upvote it. Particularly if you're also able to address my concern about RC / FinalRelease per my comments above. – Jon Bentley May 06 '18 at 19:56
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    I don't think it matters very much when an ISO was created, as long as it is fairly recent. Early ISOs might not have worked well, but as long as it works for you, the release date is meaningless, as you'll get updated packages from online repositories anyway. As said above, the mini.iso does not contain installation packages you want to compare. All packages will come straight from the repositories, which implies that any installation from a mini.iso, regardless of build date, is always up to date. – mikewhatever May 06 '18 at 20:46
  • Releases are seeded to mirrors hours before becoming available to users. This is why the date you see on the mirror reflects April 25 instead of April 26. – user535733 May 06 '18 at 23:24

1 Answers1

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I have tested this before with 16.04 LTS and seen that there are minor differences between a system installed from Ubuntu Server and a system installed from the corresponding mini.iso file. I saw no differences in the capability of the services.

I could fairly easily do it again with 18.04 LTS, but I am not willing/able to describe all the details, that would be different if there were a 32-bit Ubuntu Server iso file. So I am sorry but this is not the kind of answer that you want to upvote. (Downvote, if you don't like the answer, and I will delete it.)

I agree with @mikewhatever's comment: 'I don't think it matters very much when an ISO was created, as long as it is fairly recent.'

I suggest that you install a server via the 18.04 32-bit mini.iso and check that it can do what you want it to do,

  • the services as well as correct amount of automatic updates (I guess you want security updates),

If you are not happy with it, install Ubuntu Server 16.04 LTS i386, which will be supported until April 2021.

sudodus
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