Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is officially becoming a supported Linux distribution for Microsoft’s Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a feature that allows Windows users to run a Linux environment natively, without the need for a virtual machine. This move, announced on November 19 by both Red Hat and Microsoft, represents a significant step forward in integrating enterprise-level Linux environments directly into the Windows ecosystem.
Currently, users can run various Linux distributions on WSL, but with RHEL becoming an official option, Microsoft aims to simplify the process of discovering and installing RHEL for WSL users. In the coming months, Red Hat will release a dedicated RHEL image for WSL, which will take advantage of a new .tar-based WSL distro architecture. This change is designed to streamline the packaging and installation process of Linux distros within WSL, making it easier for developers to set up their environment quickly.
For Red Hat, this partnership offers distinct advantages for hybrid cloud deployments. With many enterprises adopting hybrid cloud models, and a large number of developers and IT teams standardizing on Windows environments, this move will help bridge the gap between Windows and Linux-based systems. Ron Pacheco, senior director of the RHEL ecosystem at Red Hat, emphasized that this integration could save time and resources, especially for developers who need to build applications on Windows but deploy them in RHEL production environments. Using the same RHEL setup in both development and production environments ensures consistency and simplifies workflows.
This collaboration underscores Red Hat’s commitment to supporting a broader range of enterprise use cases, particularly as organizations continue to evolve their cloud infrastructure. For developers working in mixed environments, the ability to run RHEL on Windows seamlessly via WSL could be a game changer, providing them with the best of both worlds: a powerful Linux development environment on a familiar Windows platform.