Short Bytes: Microsoft’s investments in cloud-based open source technologies is now paying off. Thanks to the high demand for Linux on Azure, more Linux-lovers are choosing Redmond’s cloud platform. As a result, today, about one-third of Azure virtual machines are running Linux.
Recently, Microsoft brought support for Linux-based Docker containers on Windows 10. At DockerCon 2016, Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich told more about its ongoing adoption of open source technologies and Microsoft’s future plans.
One of the major highlights that he mentioned was the rise of Linux on Azure virtual machines. According to Microsoft, one-third of its Azure machines are running a Linux image. This percentage has grown from 25 percent to 33 percent since last year.
To battle Red Hat, its arch-rival in the cloud, Microsoft has already allied with the big players in the Linux world. Its partners include SUSE and Canonical.
From the DockerCon stage, Russinovich showed the Windows Server support that is supposed to come to Redmond’s Azure Container Service (ACS) soon.
He also showed off a Linux-based SQL Server preview running on a Docker container. The final version of SQL Server for Linux is slated to arrive next year.
If we take a look at the bigger picture, Microsoft’s investments in open source are looking beneficial. Redmond knows that customer demand for Linux on Azure is very high and it’s continuously making efforts to improve its presence in the cloud.
In another related open source news, Microsoft recently improved its Ubuntu port on Windows by bringing the support for Tmux.
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