Microsoft Brings 'Windows Subsystem for Linux 2' to Window Server 2022

With the latest preview patch, Windows Server 2022 now supports WSL2 Linux distros, the Register reports:The move ends an odyssey that began with the arrival of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 on Windows 10 several years ago and with users' calls for Windows Server to get the same treatment. The change is also somewhat of an about-face from Microsoft. In 2021, in response to pleas from users to backport the tech to Windows Server 2019, [Principal program manager for Windows Server Jeff] Woolsey described WSL in early 2021 as "fantastic for dev" and "perfect for Windows client" but warned: "If we put it in Windows Server, people will use it in production scenarios for which it isn't intended." The approved path was to spin up a full Linux VM. Quite a bit heftier than the lighter-weight WSL2. Signs of Microsoft listening to feedback showed up earlier this year, as Microsoft Program Manager Craig Loewen "clarified" that WSL2 distros would work on Windows Server version 2004 and 20H2, although the LTSC versions found in many data centers remained free of WSL2. Until this week, that is. TechRadar provides some context:WSL 2, which was originally released in May 2019 (opens in new tab), uses virtualization technology to run an open source Linux kernel inside of a lightweight utility virtual machine (VM). This empowers Windows users to run popular Linux apps such as Docker. Microsoft claims that unlike a traditional VM experience - which it says can be slow to boot up, is isolated, consumes a lot of resources, and requires your time to manage it - WSL 2 does not have these attributes.... The KB5014021 update is currently optional, but will be automatically rolled out to users next month.... Windows Server updates have not been without issues in recent months, however, with Microsoft having to address various problems caused by the January 2021 Patch Tuesday updates. The company issued an emergency out-of-band update to address bugs that forced domain controllers to reboot endlessly, broke Hyper-V, and rendered ReFS volumes inaccessible while showing them as RAW file systems.

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