Linux containers on Windows Server

Announced today at DockerCon 2017, Microsoft launched support for Linux containers on Windows Server with Hyper-V isolation:

"We are now extending this same Hyper-V isolation technology to deliver Linux containers on Windows Server. This will give the same isolation and management experience for Windows Server Containers and Linux containers on the same host, side by side."

DockerCon 2017: Powering new Linux innovations with Hyper-V isolation and Windows Server

This removes the barrier previously necessitating Linux images run on a Linux host and Windows images on a Windows host doubling up infrastructures and development.

"Microsoft showcased how we will remove this barrier with Linux containers running natively on Windows Server through our Hyper-V isolation technology.  This will enable developers to build with Windows and IT administrators hosting Windows Server to run any container image regardless of their platform."

Customers will be able to choose the Linux distribution used to host their Linux containers:

"In the spirit of providing customers with a choice, we will also enable customers to choose the Linux distributions they want to use to host their Linux containers. Microsoft will be open sourcing the required integration code and we have been working with leading Linux vendors who will be providing container OS images. We are happy to share that Canonical, Intel, Red Hat and SUSE will also support this project."

Cool news!