Would you believe Microsoft has announced a new Linux distribution service for its Azure cloud service? You should.
For many years, the most popular operating system on Azure has not been Windows Server, it’s been Linux. Last time I checked, in 2024, Azure Linux Platforms Group Program Manager Jack Aboutboul told me that 60% of Azure Marketplace offerings and more than 60% of virtual machine cores use Linux. Those figures mean it’s sensible for Microsoft to make it easier than ever for Linux distributors to release first-class Linux distros on Azure.
Also: 5 factors steadily fueling Linux’s desktop rise
The tech giant is taking this step, said Andrew Randall, principal manager for the Azure Core Linux product management team, by making “Azure Image Testing for Linux (AITL) … available ‘as a service’ to distro publishers.”
ATIL is built on Microsoft’s Linux Integration Services Automation project (LISA). Microsoft’s Linux Systems Group originally developed this initiative to validate Linux OS images. LISA is a Linux quality validation system with two parts: a test framework to drive test execution and a set of test suites to verify Linux distribution quality.
Also: I found an independent Linux distro that’s easy to install – and comes with everything I need
LISA is now open-sourced under the MIT License. The system enables continuous testing of Linux images, covering a wide range of scenarios from kernel updates to complex cloud-native workloads.
Specifically, according to Krum Kashan, Microsoft Azure Linux Platforms Group program manager:
While numerous testing tools are available for validating Linux kernels, guest OS images, and user space packages across various cloud platforms, finding a comprehensive testing framework that addresses the entire platform stack remains a significant challenge. A robust framework is essential, one that seamlessly integrates with Azure’s environment while providing coverage for major testing tools, such as LTP and kselftest, and covers critical areas like networking, storage, and specialized workloads, including Confidential VMs, HPC, and GPU scenarios. This unified testing framework is invaluable for developers, Linux distribution providers, and customers who build custom kernels and images.
Randall is driving this move. Before he came to Microsoft, he was the chief commercial officer of Kinvolk, a Berlin-based startup specializing in cloud-native Linux technologies. After Microsoft acquired Kinvolk, he and his team led cross-organizational initiatives to make Azure the premier cloud for Linux workloads by integrating open-source projects and collaborating actively with the broader Linux community.
Also: My Linux predictions for 2025: It’s going to be a good year
Steve Ballmer must be spinning more than one of his Clippers NBA team’s basketballs. But, today’s Microsoft is a long, long way from Ballmer’s “Linux is a cancer” Microsoft.
<!–>
Specifically, the ATIL service is designed to streamline the deployment, testing, and management of Linux images on Azure. The service builds on the company’s internal expertise and open-source tools to provide:
- Curated, Azure-optimized, security-hardened Linux images
- Automated quality assurance and compliance testing for Linux distributions
- Seamless integration with Azure’s cloud-native services and Kubernetes environments
Microsoft’s move is a natural progression in its Azure cloud strategy. The company supports Linux and actively contributes to its ecosystem, integrating open-source tools and collaborating with industry partners to shape the future of cloud-native computing.
As Randall said; “It’s an exciting new era at Microsoft … the transition of Microsoft Azure from initially just enabling Linux + Kubernetes + open source for its customers to fully embracing this approach for its own next-gen cloud services.”
