We are getting close to the upcoming GA of Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows, also known as EFLOW, in the next few weeks. Over the past few months, we have had many conversations with customers and partners on how EFLOW enables them for the first time to run production Linux-based cloud-native workloads on Windows IoT.
During those conversations it became clear that many organizations simply do not have the knowledge in-house or on their remote locations to manage and deploy Linux systems but that they would love to take advantage of Linux workloads in their environment. With EFLOW they can retain their existing Windows IoT assets plus benefit from the power of Windows IoT for applications that require an interactive UX and high-performance hardware interaction. There is no longer a need to choose between Windows or Linux; customers can now leverage the best of both platforms.
EFLOW provides the ability to deploy Linux IoT Edge modules onto a Windows IoT device. This opens a world of capabilities for commercial IoT as well as AI/ML with the availability of pre-built modules from the Azure Marketplace such as Live Video Analytics, SQL Edge, and OPC Publisher as a few examples. As a developer, you may also choose to implement your own custom modules using the Linux distribution of your choice to address specific business requirements. Running Linux modules on Windows IoT becomes a seamless of your solution.
Windows IoT is deployed in millions of intelligent edge solutions around the world in numerous industries including manufacturing, retail, medical equipment and public safety. Customers choose Windows to power their edge devices because it is an out of the box that provides a rich platform to create locked-down, interactive user experiences with natural input, provides world class security, enterprise grade device management, and 10 years of servicing allowing you to build a solution that is designed to last. In addition to all these features, customers also want to benefit from existing Linux workloads and leverage the advances in cloud-native development.
Since many of you tried out EFLOW during the Public Preview, we would like to invite you to join us, the EFLOW engineering team, during Build next week and bring any questions and feedback you might have. There are two sessions that will discuss EFLOW:
Ask the Experts: Bringing Azure Linux workloads to Windows
Azure IoT Edge for Linux, also known as EFLOW allows you to manage and deploy your Linux workloads on Windows devices using your existing Microsoft management resources and technology to efficiently optimize all your computing assets. Develop your Linux solutions, publish them on the Azure IoT Edge Marketplace and run them on Windows IoT.
When? Tuesday, May 25 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Talking Industry Trends in AI for Computer Vision Applications
Industries across the globe are getting disrupted to the digital and AI transformations. While this trend is already underway, the tremendous potential for the businesses is fueling constant innovations and demanding solutions that are flexible, scalable and efficient across multiple industries. In this discussion, we will cover interesting current trends across various industries including Retail, Industrial, Healthcare and more, as well as explore what is next in these industries.
When? Wednesday, May 26 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time
We hope to see you in one of those sessions. Want to get started with EFLOW and get your feet wet before then?
EFLOW is available on all Hyper-V capable Windows 10 installations. This makes 100s of millions of existing devices EFLOW capable, which can easily be managed and connected through Azure.
Start by watching the IoT Show: IoT Edge for Linux on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise on Channel9.
Detailed documentation to get started is available at https://aka.ms/AzIoTEdgeforLinuxOnWindows
If you want to stay up to date and get notified of future updates to Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows, you can register using this link. Note that the information you will share will only be used by Microsoft for the purpose of keeping you informed about this product.