Ubuntu 23.10 Looks Like It Will Switch To Using Dbus-Broker

While distributions like Fedora Linux have been using Dbus-Broker for years already as their high performance D-Bus compatible implementation to, for Ubuntu 23.10 later this year is finally where it looks like Ubuntu will be transitioning to this better alternative to dbus-daemon.

Ubuntu for a while has packaged dbus-broker in their universe archive while for the Ubuntu 23.10 cycle it's aiming to make it into the main archive and as part of that serve as the default replacement to dbus-daemon. This move is arguably long overdue with other Linux distributions for years having been relying on dbus-broker from the BUS1 project as a fully D-Bus compatible implementation but focused on greater performance and reliability.

This Ubuntu MIR request is working through the process of promoting dbus-broker to the main archive. It lays out the case:

- The package dbus-broker is required in Ubuntu main to replace dbus-daemon.
- The package dbus-broker will generally from server to desktop.
- Package dbus-broker covers the same use case as dbus-daemon but is a better alternative for the reason described in [this blog post]. Other distributions are using it for years, Fedora for example, [Fedora Wiki]
- There is no other/better way to solve this that is already in main or should go universe->main instead of this.
- The package dbus-broker is required in Ubuntu main no later than august due to [feature freeze], ideally we would like land it earlier in the cycle

Getting Dbus-Broker into Ubuntu 23.10 will give it plenty of time to bake ahead of next year's Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release. There's been indications going back to last year of Ubuntu possibly finally set to transition to Dbus-Broker given AppArmor support was added and other enhancements while for the next Ubuntu release in October it looks like it should finally happen.

Given that nothing more has come from the failed KDBUS effort or the BUS1 in-kernel IPC solution, Dbus-Broker is the best option currently available for this communication interface/bus between processes on Linux systems.