3 <dfn>Ubuntu Linux</dfn> is the most popular variety of Linux in use on
4 desktop and laptop systems. It has the backing of a for-profit corporation
5 (Canonical Inc.), a defined philosophy and a huge and worldwide user base. As
6 a result, it is a common platform for people who want to use Ardour and other
7 tools for music creation and pro-audio work.
10 <h2>High Level Recommendations for Ubuntu Users</h2>
13 Currently, installing pro audio applications on vanilla Ubuntu requires some
14 configuration, in order for the user to gain realtime privilege (read below).
15 Ubuntu Studio, which is an official flavor of Ubuntu, and thus shares the
16 repositories with Ubuntu, has this already configured. Other distributions,
17 such as KXStudio, and Dreamstudio are largely based on Ubuntu, and like
18 Ubuntu Studio, has these settings preconfigured, while also containing
19 customized versions of Ubuntu packages, which often are more up to date.
22 <h2>Installing Ardour</h2>
25 There may be unintended differences, and even bugs in Ubuntu native packages,
26 as a result of a different building method. For this reason, Ardour
27 developers highly recommend installing the official ready-to-run version of
28 the program that can be downloaded from <a
29 href="https://community.ardour.org/download">ardour.org</a>, as Ubuntu native
30 packages are not supported in the official Ardour forums or other support
35 Follow these steps to install the latest version of Ardour:
39 <li>Download the latest release from <a
40 href="https://community.ardour.org/download">ardour.org</a>.</li>
41 <li><kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-click the downloaded file and choose
43 <li>Click the Permissions tab and check the option "Allow this file to run as
45 <li>Close the dialog and double-click the file.</li>
46 <li>Follow the prompts.</li>
49 <h2>Problems with the interaction between PulseAudio and JACK</h2>
51 <h3>Background Info</h3>
54 Like many distributions, Ubuntu has decided to use <dfn>PulseAudio</dfn> as
55 the default audio system. PulseAudio is a rich and capable system that
56 provides excellent services for typical users of Linux on the desktop.
57 However, it is not capable of the type of performance that tools like Ardour
58 require and in particular does not offer the possibility of sending audio
59 between applications that can make the Linux audio environment a very
64 This would not be a problem if it were not for the fact that JACK will not
65 run correctly (if at all) if it needs to use the same soundcard/audio
66 interface that PulseAudio is using. And since, PulseAudio on Ubuntu is
67 configured by default to always use the (typically single) audio interface on
68 the computer, this is a bit of a problem.
72 The developers of JACK and PulseAudio got together in 2009 and agreed upon a
73 mechanism by which PulseAudio and JACK could cooperate in their use of a
74 single soundcard. Whether or not PulseAudio is running by default, when JACK
75 starts up it sends out a request to use the soundcard. If PulseAudio is
76 running, it will give up its use of the soundcard to allow JACK to take over
77 (and can optionally be told to route its own audio through JACK). When JACK
78 finishes, it sends out another message, and PulseAudio can once again use the
82 <h3>What is the problem?</h3>
85 The specific issues known at this time for all flavors of Ubuntu 12.04 and
90 <li>a bug in PulseAudio that causes it not to give up the soundcard when JACK
92 href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1163638">LP:
93 #1163638</a>, fixed in Ubuntu 13.04).</li>
99 A message like <samp>Cannot start JACK</samp> in the output from JACK as it
100 starts up (though see the next section for other causes of this). This output
101 may be hidden in the Messages window of QJackCtl (aka JACK Control), so one
108 These bugs do not affect releases from 13.04, and earlier releases (12.04 and
109 12.10) are in the process of being fixed.
112 <h2>Problems with JACK configuration</h2>
114 <h3>What is the problem?</h3>
117 To function as intended, JACK needs to run with access to two operating
118 system facilities called <dfn>realtime scheduling</dfn> and <dfn>memory locking</dfn>. This means that the user who starts JACK <em>must</em> be
119 allowed access to these facilities. By default, Ubuntu does create a user
120 group that has this permission but—it does not put new users into this
121 group by default. Read more about why <a
122 href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Audio/TheAudioGroup">here</a>. Consequently,
123 the user will not have permission to run JACK in the way they should.
129 A message like <samp>Cannot lock down memory</samp> in the output from JACK
130 as it starts up. This output may be hidden in the Messages window of QJackCtl
131 (aka JACK Control), so one should check there.
137 Make sure the file /etc/security/limits.d/audio.conf exists. If it is named
138 /etc/security/limits.d/audio.conf.disabled, rename it to the former. Run the
142 <kbd class="cmd lin">sudo usermod -a -G audio <em>YOUR-LOGIN-NAME</em></kbd>
145 Then log out and log in again. On Ubuntu Studio the user is a member of audio
146 group by default, but not on other official flavors.
149 <h2>Reporting Issues</h2>
152 Given the difficulties in supporting Ubuntu and the limited time and
153 resources of the Ardour team, the <dfn>Ubuntu Studio Project</dfn> has
154 requested that issues and bug reports related to Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio and
155 other derivitives be directed to them.
158 <h3>Contact Information for Ubuntu Studio</h3>
161 <a href="http://ubuntustudio.org">The Ubuntu Studio Homepage</a>
165 <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=335">The Ubuntu Studio
170 <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio/MailLists">Information
171 on the Ubuntu Studio Mailing Lists.</a>
175 <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio/IRC">Information on
176 the Ubuntu Studio IRC channel.</a> #ubuntustudio on irc.freenode.net