Canonical introduces a new way to manage software behind firewalls and in air-gapped environments with the Enterprise Store.
The Enterprise Store makes software distribution manageable and scalable behind firewalls or in air-gapped environments. Available with an Ubuntu Pro subscription, the Enterprise Store respects the security protocols of strict environments, in a way that is controllable, auditable, and predictable.
What is the Enterprise Store?
The Enterprise Store is an on-premise edge proxy. It sits between your devices and Canonical’s software stores, so your systems can install and update software without needing direct outbound access from every machine. That makes it a strong fit for:
- Corporate networks with strict egress controls
- Air-gapped and offline environments
- Regulated industries that need change control and auditability
In order to meet the needs of these strict environments, the Enterprise Store is designed around a few practical capabilities:
- Local caching to speed up repeat downloads and reduce bandwidth use.
- Air-gapped operation (offline mode) so updates can be manually transferred when there’s no internet connectivity.
- High availability options to reduce the risk of service interruption.
- Granular revision control so you can pin versions and avoid surprises during critical operations.
High availability
The Enterprise Store supports high availability, giving teams a more resilient way to run software distribution in production. Instead of relying on a single machine to serve every client request, organizations can deploy multiple Enterprise Store instances behind a reverse proxy, allowing traffic to be routed to another live unit if one goes down. That reduces the risk of a single-node failure interrupting access to packages, updates, or operator software across connected systems.
This high-availability model is designed for real operational environments. Reverse proxies can balance traffic and run health checks across backend units, while shared services help keep states consistent across the deployment. The result is a more robust control point for software distribution: one that helps teams maintain continuity, consistency, and tighter operational control even in restricted or business-critical environments.
One proxy for snaps and charms
The Enterprise Store gives teams a single proxy to manage both snaps and charms, covering the full software lifecycle from delivery to operations.
Snaps are self-contained Linux packages that are easy to install, update, and maintain across desktop, cloud, and IoT environments. Charms are operators: software that wraps an application and contains the logic needed to deploy, configure, scale, integrate, and manage it over time. Together, they cover both software delivery and software operations.
Many organizations use snaps to package and distribute software consistently, and charms to automate deployment and lifecycle management for applications across clouds and clusters. With a unified approach to network controls and governance, the Enterprise Store helps organizations manage their entire software estate consistently.
Included with Ubuntu Pro
The Enterprise Store is included as part of Ubuntu Pro, which means anyone with an Ubuntu Pro subscription can try it. If you’re experimenting at home or in a lab, you can get started today.
Ubuntu Pro is free for personal use (for up to 5 machines), so you can get hands-on with the Enterprise Store before you roll it into a broader evaluation.
Get started
If you want to explore and set up the Enterprise Store:
- Read the Enterprise Store overview to understand use cases and key features.
- Follow the documentation: the docs hub includes getting started guides and sections covering charm support.
- Reach out to Canonical if you have commercial requirements, larger-scale rollouts, or want guidance for a regulated environment.
Talk to us about your use case
If you’re looking at the Enterprise Store for production, especially across fleets, air-gapped environments, or compliance-bound ecosystems, Canonical can help you plan an evaluation, architecture, and rollout plan.
Contact us and tell us about your requirements and use cases.
Further reading
- Enterprise Store overview
- Enterprise Store documentation
- Ubuntu Pro (free for personal use)