Microsoft Surprises with Its First Server Linux Distribution: Azure Linux 4.0

Microsoft surprises with its first server Linux distribution: Azure Linux 4.0

You'll be able to run this Linux distro on both Azure and your desktop using Windows Subsystem for Linux. Here's what we know about it so far.

Microsoft ushers in AI-native era with open agentic stack, Linux updates

At the Open Source Summit North America 2026, Microsoft today revealed a sweeping set of updates aimed at strengthening the foundation of the AI-native era. Central to these announcements is the upcoming public preview of Azure Linux 4.0 on Azure Virtual Machines and the general availability of Azure Container Linux. These distributions represent a hardened Linux foundation purpose-built for the scale and security demands of modern cloud-native …