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For example, the following command yields generic, server, and virtual.
$ apt-cache search linux-image-3
linux-image-3.0.0-15-generic - Linux kernel image for version 3.0.0 on x86/x86_64
linux-image-3.0.0-15-server - Linux kernel image for version 3.0.0 on x86_64
linux-image-3.0.0-15-virtual - Linux kernel image for version 3.0.0 on x86/x86_64
What is the difference between the three?
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Firstly the main difference between Ubuntu and Linux is that Linux is a free and open source operating system based on the Unix kernel. While Ubuntu is just a distribution of Linux. This is the core difference between these two systems.
So the Linux kernel image is an image (a picture of the state) of the Linux kernel that is able to run by itself after giving the control to it. Nowadays, the bootloader loads such an image from the hard disk's filesystem (driver is needed), replaces itself with it and so gives the control to it.
The linux-image-server package is a meta package that will install the latest Server kernel version, while the linux-image-generic package is a meta package for the latest Desktop kernel version. The server guide includes some details on the changes made in the Server kernel.
By default, Ubuntu 20.04 used Linux kernel version 5.4. 0, while Ubuntu 22.04 has kernel version 5.15 (linux-generic). Canonical even uses kernel 5.17 (linux-oem-22.04) on certified devices.
From the Ubuntu Server FAQ:
The linux-image-server package is a meta package that will install the latest Server kernel version, while the linux-image-generic package is a meta package for the latest Desktop kernel version. The server guide includes some details on the changes made in the Server kernel.
linux-image-server is used for both architectures x86 and amd64.
Which one you should use will depend on the type of system you have. If you have a 64 bit processor you can use the amd64 architecture, or the x86 architecture. However, if your processor is 32 bit you can only use the x86 kernel.
Virtual kernel:
The difference between the Virtual and Server kernels is that the Virtual kernel is intended to be utilized inside a virtual machine. The virtual kernel only includes the necessary drivers to run inside popular virtualization technologies such as KVM, Xen, and VMWare. The server kernel in contrast contains the necessary drivers to work with a wide range of hardware, and should be installed directly on host systems. Other than that, all other options are identical between the server and the virtual kernel.
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