Learn more about these options below.
Available to those with a Windows machine, this is the most simple way to install Linux.
Just run the Linux install command:
wsl --install
to install the Ubuntu distribution.
This method uses virtualization to integrate the Windows operating system (OS) with
the Linux OS (running on an actual Linux kernel). You can add as many different Linux
distributions as you please and run your favorite Linux tools,
including GUI apps,
alongside your favorite Windows tools. You can also mix and match Bash and
PowerShell commands in the same command line. A Linux file system hosts your project
files, while a separate Windows file systems hosts any developer tools, such as VS Code,
that you'd like to work on the files with. This method of running Linux is highly efficient
and performant. Once you choose a Linux distribution or opt to use the default Ubuntu
distro, follow the instructions to
Use the install
Linux command with Windows
Subsystem for Linux
or learn more in the
WSL documentation
.
Available to everyone regardless if you're using a Windows or MacOS-based machine,
but will require either an Azure account, if creating a VM in the cloud, or virtualization
software, if creating a VM directly on your machine (locally).
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
Create a Virtual Machine (VM)
A VM is a digital version of a physical computer and is
a popular option for running
Linux in environments that may require you to scale the level of hardware support
(Memory and processing power required) and the level of Security (antimalware,
encryption, backups, policy management, etc).
Like with WSL, you can create VM instances of as many different Linux distributions as
you'd like, running them in an isolated environment, free from any conflicts and great
for software development testing. While running a Linux distribution on WSL has slightly
faster
performance, a Linux VM is easier to clone or migrate. You can create a virtual
machine on a cloud service like Azure or on your local machine, using virtualization
software (otherwise known as a hypervisor).
Creating a VM on Azure means that it's hosted in the cloud, on Microsoft's servers. You
are essentially renting computing resources from Microsoft and using them to run the
VM. This can be convenient if you need to quickly provision a new VM or need to run a
workload that requires more computing resources than your local computer can
provide. Larger businesses with more complex needs often
choose to run Linux VMs on
Azure for its scalability, control and abundance of features. Learn more about the
architecture, workflow, and considerations to
Run a Linux VM on Azure
.
Creating a VM on your local machine requires virtualization using a hypervisor. Windows
includes a "type 1" hypervisor called
Hyper-V
to run virtualization
directly on your
device hardware. There are also "type 2" hypervisors that run on top of the operating
system, like VirtualBox or VMware. If you are using a Mac, the most commonly
recommended hypervisor is "Parallels Desktop", though this is a paid service. See
Install
Linux VM on a Mac with Apple M-Series chip
.
VirtualBox
also supports both
Windows and MacOS. See
Creating and Running a Linux Virtual Machine
for more
about how to design and run custom Linux guests on Apple silicon or Intel-based Macs.
You are responsible for managing the virtual machine when using a hypervisor,
including allocating resources
like memory and disk space, and ensuring that it is secure
and up-to-date. This requires more technical expertise than some of the other options
and may not be as scalable or fault-tolerant.
Once you've chosen a distribution and decided whether you want to run the VM locally,
using a hypervisor, or in the cloud, using Azure, follow the instructions to
Create
a Linux
Virtual Machine in the Cloud
or
Create a Linux Virtual Machine locally using a Hypervisor
Bare metal Linux just means that Linux is running directly on the device hardware. This
install method requires you to create a bootable USB drive by downloading an iso install
file from the site hosting your chosen Linux distribution. You will need to use a Windows
computer (or any desktop device with an existing OS) to create this drive.
Many users choose the traditional method of installing bare metal Linux on a device that
is also running Windows and using the
