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WSL is not a Linux. It is a Windows subsystem for running Linux userlands. (Almost as if the WSL name isn't totally nonsense!) The "default" is Ubuntu. But Deb
by cwyers 6y ago
WSL is not a Linux. It is a Windows subsystem for running Linux userlands. (Almost as if the WSL name isn't totally nonsense!)
The "default" is Ubuntu. But Debian is supported, OpenSUSE is supported, Kali is supported. Unsupported but available, you can get Alpine, CentOS, Fedora, Arch, lots of distros.
- bonzini 6y agoYou could say that WSL is not a GNU/Linux. But since WSL comes with its own kernel, part of it is definitely a Microsoft-extended flavor of the Linux kernel. Even if this driver went upstream, it wouldn't be any less tied to the WSL virtualization platform.
- Kipters 6y agoThat was WSL1, WSL2 is a micro-vm running the Linux kernel and whatever userland you want. Ubuntu is just the most advertised one, but all are equally unsupported by MSFT, support is provided by the distro "vendor"
- cwyers 6y agoBy "supported" I mean "available in the Windows Store." I believe that those are submitted by the distro vendors themselves. And from a lock-in perspective, the userland is all that matters, yeah? If an app runs on Ubuntu, whether it's WSL 2 or in Docker or in a a VM or on bare metal. If it's all the same, then it's not a Microsoft Linux, it's just Ubuntu. Or whatever Linux you want.
- bonzini 6y agoIf it has to run on Hyper-V, then as far as Microsoft cares it's a Microsoft-extended Linux that they can make money from.