A big milestone has been reached: Linux is now the top operating system on Azure, with over 60% of customer workloads running on Linux. This shows how popular Linux is becoming in cloud computing.
Microsoft has noticed this shift and is committed to making Linux work even better on Azure to meet customer needs. This commitment is evident in Microsoft's recent announcement endorsing AlmaLinux as an officially supported Linux distribution on Azure.
This is great news for the Linux community. Linux has already achieved a 5% desktop market share and now dominates on Azure Cloud.
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AlmaLinux: The New Star in Enterprise Linux
AlmaLinux is a community-driven, enterprise-level Linux distribution that is fully compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). This compatibility makes it easy for businesses to switch from CentOS Linux, which has ended its life cycle.
Here are some key features of AlmaLinux:
- Always Free: AlmaLinux is completely free to use, with strong financial support from CloudLinux Inc. and other sponsors.
- Community-Led: The development of AlmaLinux is guided by its community, ensuring it meets user needs.
- Long-Term Stability: AlmaLinux offers regular updates with extended support, making it a reliable choice for important tasks.
- Easy Migration: Switching from CentOS and other RHEL derivatives to AlmaLinux is simple, thanks to tools like AlmaLinux-deploy and ELevate.
- Wide Platform Support: AlmaLinux is available for various hardware types (x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le, s390x) and offers images for cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and more.
Azure's Endorsement: A Sign of Trust and Quality
Microsoft's endorsement of AlmaLinux on Azure shows a high level of trust in its capabilities. To earn this endorsement, AlmaLinux had to meet several important criteria set by Microsoft:
- Proven Demand: Microsoft recognized the strong demand for AlmaLinux in the Azure ecosystem, driven by its popularity among customers.
- Contractual Agreement: A formal agreement between Microsoft and AlmaLinux ensures regular updates and quick fixes for issues.
- Strong Engineering Collaboration: Close collaboration between Microsoft and AlmaLinux engineers ensures smooth integration with Azure and timely support for new features.
- Dedicated Azure Content Mirror: AlmaLinux maintains content and infrastructure across multiple Azure regions, guaranteeing consistent updates and faster software installations.
Benefits for AlmaLinux Users on Azure
The endorsement brings several benefits to AlmaLinux users on Azure:
- Assured Quality and Support: Endorsed distributions meet strict testing and update standards set by Microsoft, ensuring a reliable and secure experience.
- Seamless Integration with Azure: Close collaboration between the two entities ensures optimal performance and compatibility with Azure's evolving features.
- Simplified Deployment: AlmaLinux is readily available through the Azure Marketplace, simplifying deployment and management.
The growing popularity of Linux on Azure, along with the endorsement of AlmaLinux, is indeed an important moment in the evolution of cloud computing. As more businesses adopt Linux-based solutions, this trend is likely to continue, solidifying Linux's position as the dominant operating system in the cloud.
