Draft:Windows Subsystem for Linux
Windows Subsystem for Linux is a Windows feature that allows the execution of a Linux system and its utilities within a Windows system, so that the user can take advantage of Linux resources directly on the Windows desktop or Terminal, without the need to manually install Linux within a virtual machine. This is very useful for developers to test and deploy projects developed on Linux systems with more speed. WSL applications can also use the GPU for graphics acceleration[1].
WSL is supported starting with Windows 10 build 1903 for x86-64 (64-bit) and build 2004 for ARM64 (64-bit). x86/arm32 (both 32-bit) systems do not support WSL, in this case it is up to the user to use traditional virtual machine software of their choice. Windows 11 has native support for WSL 1 and 2 since the launch for x86-64 and ARM64.
Linux systems can be downloaded and installed from Windows Store, and most major distributions (such as Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Kali Linux, Fedora, OpenSUSE, etc) are available. The installation and management of Linux systems can also be done through the Windows Terminal.[2]
WSL version 1[edit source]
WSL 1 is an implementation of Linux Kernel APIs on the Windows system, as a compatibility layer, which allows most applications, including graphics, to run on Windows. However, it is not complete virtualization, which makes this option lighter in some scenarios, however, it has less general compatibility, and applications that use very specific Kernel or system management resources in general (such as systemd/kexec) are not supported.
WSL version 2[edit source]
WSL 2 is a solution running a complete Linux Kernel inside a container, using virtualization resources, however, consuming less system resources than a traditional virtual machine. In this case, as the Kernel is executed completely (and not a partial implementation in WSL 1), applications can run with more stability.
The table below shows the practical differences between WSL versions 1 and 2.[3].
| Feature | WSL 1 | WSL 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Integration between Windows and Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Fast boot times | Yes | Yes |
| Small resource foot print compared to traditional Virtual Machines | Yes | Yes |
| Runs with current versions of VMware and VirtualBox | Yes | No |
| Managed VM | No | Yes |
| Full Linux Kernel | No | Yes |
| Full system call compatibility | No | Yes |
| Performance across OS file systems | Yes | No |
| systemd support | No | Yes |
| IPv6 support | Yes | Yes |