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The source for the Linux kernel used in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2)

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Quick Overview

The microsoft/WSL2-Linux-Kernel repository contains the source code for the Linux kernel used in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2). This project allows developers to build and customize the Linux kernel specifically for use with WSL2, enabling better integration between Windows and Linux environments.

Pros

  • Enables customization of the Linux kernel for WSL2
  • Provides transparency and allows community contributions
  • Facilitates better performance and compatibility for Linux applications on Windows
  • Supports a wide range of hardware and drivers

Cons

  • Requires advanced knowledge of kernel development
  • Building and deploying custom kernels can be complex
  • May introduce stability issues if not properly configured
  • Limited documentation for newcomers to kernel development

Getting Started

To get started with the WSL2 Linux Kernel:

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/microsoft/WSL2-Linux-Kernel.git

  2. Install the necessary build tools (on Ubuntu):

    sudo apt-get install build-essential flex bison libssl-dev libelf-dev

  3. Build the kernel:

    cd WSL2-Linux-Kernel
make KCONFIG_CONFIG=Microsoft/config-wsl -j$(nproc)

  4. Copy the built kernel to your Windows machine and update the WSL2 configuration to use the custom kernel.

Note: Detailed instructions for configuring WSL2 to use a custom kernel can be found in the repository's documentation.

Competitor Comparisons

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azurelinux

4,151

Linux OS for Azure 1P services and edge appliances

Pros of azurelinux

  • Designed specifically for cloud environments, optimized for Azure
  • Includes cloud-native tools and services out of the box
  • Regular updates and security patches tailored for cloud workloads

Cons of azurelinux

  • Less flexible for general-purpose use cases compared to WSL2-Linux-Kernel
  • May have a steeper learning curve for users not familiar with Azure ecosystem
  • Potentially more resource-intensive due to cloud-oriented features

Code Comparison

WSL2-Linux-Kernel:

static int wsl_init(void)
{
    pr_info("Initializing WSL2 Linux Kernel\n");
    return 0;
}

azurelinux:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Initializing Azure Linux"
az login
az vm create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myVM --image azurelinux

The WSL2-Linux-Kernel code snippet shows a kernel initialization function, while the azurelinux example demonstrates a script for creating an Azure VM using the Azure CLI. This highlights the different focus areas of the two projects: WSL2-Linux-Kernel is centered on kernel-level integration with Windows, while azurelinux is geared towards Azure cloud deployment and management.

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linuxkit

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A toolkit for building secure, portable and lean operating systems for containers

Pros of LinuxKit

  • More flexible and customizable for building specialized Linux distributions
  • Designed for containerized and cloud-native environments
  • Supports multiple architectures and platforms

Cons of LinuxKit

  • Steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with containerization concepts
  • Less integrated with Windows-specific features compared to WSL2-Linux-Kernel
  • May require more manual configuration for certain use cases

Code Comparison

WSL2-Linux-Kernel:

static int wsl_init(void)
{
    pr_info("Initializing WSL2 Linux Kernel\n");
    return 0;
}
module_init(wsl_init);

LinuxKit:

kernel:
  image: linuxkit/kernel:5.10.104
  cmdline: "console=tty0 console=ttyS0 console=ttyAMA0"
init:
  - linuxkit/init:14df799bb3b9e0eb0491da9fda7f32a108a2e2a5

The WSL2-Linux-Kernel code snippet shows a kernel module initialization, while the LinuxKit example demonstrates a YAML configuration for building a custom Linux distribution. LinuxKit's approach allows for more flexibility in defining the entire system, whereas WSL2-Linux-Kernel focuses on Windows-specific integrations.

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k3os

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Pros of k3os

  • Purpose-built for running Kubernetes, offering a lightweight and optimized environment
  • Simplified management with automatic updates and a read-only file system
  • Designed for edge computing and IoT scenarios, with minimal resource requirements

Cons of k3os

  • More specialized and less flexible than WSL2-Linux-Kernel for general-purpose Linux usage
  • Limited software ecosystem compared to full Linux distributions
  • Steeper learning curve for users not familiar with Kubernetes concepts

Code Comparison

WSL2-Linux-Kernel (kernel configuration):

CONFIG_LOCALVERSION="-microsoft-standard-WSL2"
CONFIG_DEFAULT_HOSTNAME="WSL"
CONFIG_POSIX_MQUEUE=y
CONFIG_AUDIT=y
CONFIG_NO_HZ=y

k3os (cloud-config.yaml):

ssh_authorized_keys:
  - github:username
k3os:
  data_sources:
    - cdrom
  modules:
    - kvm
  sysctls:
    kernel.panic: 10

While WSL2-Linux-Kernel focuses on providing a full Linux kernel for Windows Subsystem for Linux, k3os is tailored specifically for running Kubernetes in a minimal, secure environment. The code snippets highlight the different configuration approaches, with WSL2-Linux-Kernel using kernel configuration options and k3os using a YAML-based cloud-config for system setup.

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README

Introduction

The WSL2-Linux-Kernel repo contains the kernel source code and configuration files for the WSL2 kernel.

Reporting Bugs

If you discover an issue relating to WSL or the WSL2 kernel, please report it on the WSL GitHub project. It is not possible to report issues on the WSL2-Linux-Kernel project.

If you're able to determine that the bug is present in the upstream Linux kernel, you may want to work directly with the upstream developers. Please note that there are separate processes for reporting a normal bug and a security bug.

Feature Requests

Is there a missing feature that you'd like to see? Please request it on the WSL GitHub project.

If you're able and interested in contributing kernel code for your feature request, we encourage you to submit the change upstream.

Build Instructions

Instructions for building an x86_64 WSL2 kernel with an Ubuntu distribution are as follows:

  1. Install the build dependencies:
    $ sudo apt install build-essential flex bison dwarves libssl-dev libelf-dev cpio

  2. Modify WSL2 kernel configs (optional):
    $ make menuconfig KCONFIG_CONFIG=Microsoft/config-wsl

    Loadable module support is disabled when using a custom built kernel. Set any modules you want to be built-in before building.

  3. Build the kernel using the WSL2 kernel configuration:
    $ make KCONFIG_CONFIG=Microsoft/config-wsl

Install Instructions

Please see the documentation on the .wslconfig configuration file for information on using a custom built kernel.