What's new in Azure Linux: Containers, Azure Portal, Security and more
Azure Linux is Microsoft's proven Linux distribution that has been used for years by internal Microsoft services such as Minecraft, Xbox, HDInsight, Defender, Azure Kubernetes Service and Azure Nexus. At Build in May 2023, Microsoft made this distribution available to external customers via a container host on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). In the six months since we announced General Availability of Azure Linux as a container host for AKS, we have seen an incredible reception from our customers and partners. The team has been hard at work, in partnership with the AKS team, to bring many updates to our customers. This blog captures the Azure Linux updates the team has been working on, customer and partner testimonials, upcoming roadmap and how to keep in touch with team! Note, for Azure Kubernetes Service updates, please visit the public AKS Roadmap.Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Reaching End of Standard Support
We’re announcing the upcoming end of standard support for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) on 31 May 2025, as we focus on delivering a more secure and optimized Linux experience. Originally released in April 2020, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS introduced key enhancements like improved UEFI Secure Boot and broader Kernel Livepatch coverage, strengthening security on Azure. You can continue using your existing virtual machines, but after this date, security, features, and maintenance updates will no longer be provided by Canonical, which may impact system security and reliability. Recommended action: It’s important to act before 31 May 2025 to ensure you’re on a supported operating system. Microsoft recommends either migrating to the next Ubuntu LTS release or upgrading to Ubuntu Pro to gain access to expanded security and maintenance from Canonical. Upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Transitioning to the latest operating system, such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, is important for performance, hardware enablement, new technology benefits, and is recommended for new instances. It may be a complex process for existing deployments and should be properly scoped and tested with your workloads. While there’s no direct upgrade path from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, you can directly upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and then to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, or directly install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. See the Ubuntu Server upgrade guide for more information. Ubuntu Pro – Expanded Security Maintenance to 2030 Ubuntu Pro includes security patching for all Ubuntu packages due to Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) for Infrastructure and Applications and optional 24/7 phone and ticket support. Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS will remain fully supported until May 2030. New virtual machines can be deployed with Ubuntu Pro from the Azure Marketplace. You can also upgrade existing virtual machines to Ubuntu Pro by in-place upgrades via Azure CLI. More Information More information covering Ubuntu 20.04 LTS End of Standard Support can be found here. Refer to the documentation to learn more about handling Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on Azure. You can also check out Canonical’s blog post and watch the webinar here.
Azure Linux 3.0 now Generally Available with Azure Kubernetes Service v1.32
We are excited to announce that Azure Linux 3.0, the next major version release of the Azure Linux container host for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), is now Generally Available on AKS version 1.32. After extensive testing and valuable feedback from our early adopters, 3.0 is the highest quality release of Azure Linux for broad Azure usage. Azure Linux 3.0 offers increased package availability and versions, an updated kernel, and improvements to performance, security, and tooling and developer experience. Azure Linux 3.0 supports both x86_64 & ARM64 architectures. With this 3.0 release, we’re committed to supporting new platforms like Azure’s Cobalt architecture for the best performance. Some of the major components upgraded from Azure Linux 2.0 to 3.0 include: Component Azure Linux 3.0 Azure Linux 2.0 Release Notes Linux Kernel v6.6 (Latest LTS) V5.15 (Previous LTS) Linux 6.6 Containerd v2.0 1.6.26 Containerd Releases SystemD v255 V250 Systemd Releases OpenSSL v3.3.0 V1.1.1k OpenSSL 3.3 For more details on the key features and updates in Azure Linux 3.0 see the 3.0 GitHub release notes. New features since Azure Linux 3.0 Preview Azure Linux 3.0 is now defaulting to containerd 2.0. Azure Linux 3.0 nodepools now support Trusted Launch on AKS. Azure Linux 3.0 now supports a FIPS enabled ARM64 image, making it the only distribution on AKS to do so. Using Azure Linux 3.0 Creating New Azure Linux 3.0 Clusters and Nodepools Any new AKS clusters or node pools created using the --os-sku=AzureLinux flag and that run AKS version 1.32 default to Azure Linux 3.0. You can deploy clusters or node pools using the method of your choice to use Azure Linux 3.0 as the node OS: CLI PowerShell Terraform ARM Upgrading Existing Azure Linux 2.0 Clusters and Nodepools to Azure Linux 3.0 To upgrade existing Azure Linux 2.0 clusters and node pools to Azure Linux 3.0, you can upgrade them to AKS version 1.32. For more information about AKS cluster upgrades, see Upgrade an AKS cluster. Considerations Azure Linux 3.0 is not supported on Kubernetes version 1.30 and below. Azure Linux 3.0 Preview is supported on Kubernetes version 1.31. AKS Kubernetes version 1.32 roll out has been delayed and is now expected to reach all regions on or before the end of April. Please use the az-aks-get-versions command to accurately capture if Kubernetes version 1.32 is available in your region. Kubernetes version 1.31 will be the last AKS version to support Azure Linux 2.0. Growing the Partner Ecosystem We want to express our gratitude to all the partners who participated in the Azure Linux 3.0 preview. The following partners have successfully completed their validation of Azure Linux 3.0: You can find the entire list of Azure Linux AKS Container Host partner solutions here. Upcoming Events KubeCon EU: The Azure Linux team will be available at the Microsoft booth at KubeCon EU from April 2-4, ready to chat with customers and address inquiries. The team is looking forward to connecting at KubeCon! LinuxFest Northwest: Another opportunity to connect with the Azure Linux team will be at LinuxFest Northwest, a local Linux conference in Bellingham, WA, taking place from April 24-25. The Azure Linux team will present a session on their learnings and challenges in building a Linux distribution at Microsoft, as well as showcasing features and benefits of Azure Linux. How to Keep in Touch with the Azure Linux Team For updates, feedback, and feature requests related to Azure Linux, there are a few ways to stay connected to the team: Ask questions & submit feedback via Azure Linux GitHub Issues We have a public community call every other month for Azure Linux users to come together to ask questions, share learnings, and get updates. Join the next community call on May 22 nd at 8AM PST: here Partners with support questions can reach out to AzureLinuxISV@microsoft.comAutomated node pool migration to Azure Linux
The Azure Linux container host is Microsoft’s Linux distribution, tailor-made for cloud-native environments and highly optimized for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Microsoft Threat Protection (MTP) Kubernetes Compute Platform, the single largest application on AKS, recently migrated to Azure Linux nodes on AKS and saw numerous advantages. This blog covers those advantages as well as how we migrated, by utilizing the combined functionality of Cluster Autoscaler, Node Problem Detector, and Draino.
