Microsoft has announced a major update to WSL in Windows 11. It now supports tar-based distros that simplify deployment and installation. Red Hat is becoming an official WSL distro. Finally, WSL has got a new getting started experience, Intune integration and Entra ID integration.
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Red Hat in WSL
In the near future, Red Hat will be listed in the Microsoft Store. This also means that it will be available in the wsl --list --online and wsl --install commands. Red Hat senior director, Ron Pacheco, has announced the change.
“Developers have their preferred platforms for developing applications for multiple operating systems, and WSL is an important platform for many of them. Red Hat is committed to driving greater choice and flexibility for developers, which is why we’re working closely with the Microsoft team to bring Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the largest commercially available open source Linux distribution, to all WSL users.”
Red Hat will be the first distro that will utilize the new tar-based architecture.
Tar based WSL distros
This new feature allows making WSL tar packages without the need for converting them into appx and writing any code. You can export a distro to the tar file, and add a /etc/wsl-distribution.conffile that specifies the distro, its start command, and icon. After that, you just need to change the file extension to .wsl or .tar.wsl, and that is enough to make it ready-to-use WSL package.
Microsoft also mentions the following improvements that the new architecture brings with it.
- More easily automate WSL distro set up as an end user by being able to run commands before user creation and set up
- Get clearer error messages (this will be thanks to consolidations in the architecture for where errors get shown)
- Set the WSL distro name and install location with
wsl --installoptions--nameand--location(Now you can install straight to your other hard drives!)
New getting started experience
Microsoft has added a new welcome page to WSL. It is intended to explain WSL's the key features and options to newcomers.
It reminds of the PowerToys window with sections listed on the left.
The user can re-open the getting started experience from WSL settings at any moment. You can try this out by installing the latest WSL preview release 4.4 and then running the ‘WSL Settings’ app and clicking the ‘Getting Started’ experience.
New WSL zero trust feature updates: Intune integration and Entra ID integration
- Intune device compliance integration with WSL is now generally available, allowing IT administrators to enforce specific WSL distributions and versions on managed Windows devices through conditional access. This feature improves security by providing better visibility into the Linux distributions and versions being used in the enterprise.
- Microsoft Entra ID integration with WSL is now available for private preview, offering a zero-trust experience for accessing protected enterprise resources from within WSL. It enhances security by preventing Entra tokens from being transmitted through network packets and automatically using Windows authentication for Linux processes. Interested users can sign up for the private preview and look out for further updates.
The official announcement is here.
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