This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: New blog articles in Microsoft Community Hub.
As we kick off the new year, we’re excited to share with you the latest news and developments for Linux and open source on Azure, including new product releases, community contributions, events, and more. We hope this quarterly update helps you stay informed and up to date on everything related to Linux and open source on Azure.
In this first edition, we’ll recap some of the highlights from the last few months of 2023 and give you a sneak peek of what’s coming up in the first quarter of 2024. Hope you enjoy reading!
What’s new with Linux on Azure
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.9 and 9.3 support on Azure Virtual Machines (Generally Available)
RHEL 8.9 and RHEL 9.3 are supported on Azure Virtual Machines. Visit pricing page for latest RHEL pricing information.
RHEL 9.3 support for AMD-based and Intel-based confidential virtual machines (Preview)
RHEL 9.3 is now available in preview for AMD-based (SEV-SNP) and Intel-based (TDX) confidential VMs. Read Red Hat’s blog to learn more.
Self-Managed Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform on Azure
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, an open-source product that automates cloud provisioning, configuration management, and application deployments, is now available as a self-managed solution in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
Azure integration with Canonical’s snapshot service (Public Preview)
Microsoft and Canonical partnered to make it easier to stay current with Linux operating system (OS) updates and increase the security and resiliency of Canonical workloads on Azure. Azure is the first cloud provider to collaborate with Canonical to integrate its snapshot service.
Ubuntu Server to Ubuntu Pro in-place upgrade (Generally Available)
In collaboration with Canonical, we made it easier to adopt Ubuntu Pro with the new support for in-place migration without the need to redeploy your VM or schedule a maintenance window. Azure is the first cloud to offer in-place upgrade from Ubuntu Server to Ubuntu Pro with zero downtime, saving you time and resources and minimizing disruption.
CentOS end-of-life (EOL) guidance documentation
CentOS is reaching EOL on June 30, 2024 and we recently published documentation that provides guidance on CentOS migration options and paths.
Debian 11.8 and 12.4 support on Azure Virutal Machines (Generally Available)
Debian 11.8 and Debian 12.4 are supported on Azure Virtual Machines. The latest Debian images can be found on the Azure Marketplace. Read Debian’s release notes (11.8 and 12.4) for more info on the updates from these point releases.
Support for Linux images on Azure Boost enabled VMs
Azure Boost is a system designed by Microsoft that offloads server virtualization processes traditionally performed by the hypervisor and host OS onto purpose-built software and hardware, enabling faster storage and networking performance for Azure VM customers. We worked with several publishers, including Canonical, Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, and Oracle, to enable support for multiple Linux images on Azure Boost enabled VMs. Customers can now deploy VMs with Azure Boost using these Linux images and benefit from enhanced performance.
Community gallery feature of Azure Compute Gallery (Generally Available)
Community gallery enables open source software publishers, including Fedora and CentOS Stream, and customers to easily share their VM images with the wider Azure community. By setting up a ‘community gallery’, publishers and customers can group the images and make them available to other Azure customers, under their own licensing terms, to create virtual machines (VMs) and VM scale sets. Learn more about Community Gallery here.
Azure Linux updates
Since we announced the general availability of Azure Linux as a container host for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) in May, we’ve seen incredible response from our customers and partners. Read this blog for an overview of recent and upcoming Azure Linux updates.
Azure Marketplace updates
Customers can now deploy Trusted Launch and Confidential computing solutions directly from Azure Marketplace to protect deployments against rootkits/bootkits. Additionally, ARM-based images are now available for customers to deploy.
Linux and open source events
Ubuntu Summit 2023
At Ubuntu Summit 2023, Microsoft had several talks and workshops covering a broad range of topics, including Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), .NET 8 applications on Ubuntu, and Azure’s integration with Ubuntu’s snapshot service. Check out the recordings for all the sessions from the event.
KubeCon North America 2023
If you were at KubeCon North America last November in Chicago, we hoped you stopped by the Microsoft booth to say hello! Check out Brendan Burns’ blog to learn more about the latest improvements and innovations in Azure and open source projects that were highlighted at the event. Several CNCF projects supported by Microsoft were also showcased at the Project Pavillion at KubeCon NA including Headlamp, Inspektor Gadget, Istio, Notary Project, ORAS and Porter.
Microsoft Ignite 2023
Linux and open source on Azure showed up in a big way at Microsoft Ignite 2023 with engaging sessions, workshops, and demos. You can still view some of the Ignite sessions on-demand on the Microsoft Ignite website.
Red Hat Summit Connects
Microsoft was a top sponsor at Red Hat Summit Connects, a series of small-scale events that brought together Red Hat thought leaders, experts, and solutions to explore what’s next in hybrid cloud, open source, and IT.
What’s coming up next
Upcoming End of Life (EOL), End of Support (ES), and/or End of Maintenance (EOM)
- CentOS Linux 7: CentOS 7 will reach EOL on June 30, 2024. Customers will need to migrate to a new operating system to continue receiving updates, security patches, and new features. Read the documentation for CentOS migration options and paths in Azure.
- RHEL 7: RHEL 7 will reach EOM on June 30, 2024. Customers will need to upgrade to a newer version of RHEL or purchase Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) from Red Hat to continue to receive security updates and bug fixes. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of RHEL if possible to take full advantage of new features, ongoing support and more.
- RHEL 6: RHEL 6 Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) will end on June 30,2024. Customers will need to migrate to a newer version of RHEL to take full advantage of new features, security enhancements, bug fixes, ongoing support and more.
Public community calls for Azure Linux
Starting January 25, Azure Linux will be hosting public community calls for Azure Linux users to get together and discuss new features, provide feedback, and learn more about how others use Azure Linux. The schedule for upcoming sessions and link to join can be found here.
Bonus content
If you have any feedback or questions, please drop them in the comments.