How do I list what is current kernel version for LTS HWE?

Would like to install HWE packages for my 20.04 Ubuntu, not sure if the kernel has been updated or not yet (to which there would be no point in doing for now).

How can I list what version of the kernel would be used by upgrading the HWE packages? OR Where can I find such info?

Thanks

Solution 1:

You can search for linux-image-generic-hwe on Launchpad, like this.

Here you can see the linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04 branch has a 5.4.0 kernel, while the linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04-edge branch has a 5.8.0 kernel.

You can also consult the "Ubuntu to mainline kernel mapping table". Here, the latest HWE branch is named "focal linux-hwe-5.8", so I think the Launchpad info is a bit more accurate regarding package names.

As I understand it, the HWE branch will generally follow the latest official Ubuntu release, so as of now it will be kernel 5.8 from Groovy, and as of spring 2021 it will be Hirsute. I also believe the HWE branch is released with point releases, using the following schedule:

• 20.04.1: HWE is 5.4 - HWE-edge is 5.8 (Groovy)
• 20.04.2: HWE is 5.8 - HWE-edge is 5.X (Hirsute)
• 20.04.3: HWE is 5.X - HWE-edge is 5.Y (...) Etc.

Solution 2:

You can see the exact version of the kernel when you list the dependencies of the package:

apt-cache depends linux-image-generic-hwe*

will show you what you want to know.

Using the asterisk in the command will make the command independent from the Ubuntu-version used, but also will list the edge-kernel. In your case it will also list the dependencies for linux-image-generic-hwe-18.04 which exist in the focal main repository.