The usage of Linux on Azure has exponentially surpassed the Windows, confirmed Microsoft Linux Kernel developer, Sasha Levin, to ZDNet.
The battle between Windows and Linux has been going on for over a decade. While Windows became a clear dominant OS on desktops, the Linux has won the battle on server.
In 2016, Azure CTO Mark Russinovich had revealed that 25% of the Azure instances were Linux, which increased to 40% the next year. Then in 2018, Microsoft told ZDNet that around 50% of Azure VMs were Linux.
This shows that Linux hasn’t won the battle overnight. More and more enterprises are choosing Linux over Windows when it comes to server.
“Every month, Linux goes up,” Scott Guthrie, Executive VP of the cloud and enterprise group, Microsoft told ZDNet in September last year.
Microsoft users have been actively choosing Linux and open-source software for over 10 years, since Microsoft open-sourced ASP.NET. “We recognized open source is something that every developer can benefit from. It’s not nice, it’s essential. It’s not just code, it’s community,” said Guthrie. “We’re now the largest open-source project supporter in the world.”
Now, there are almost a dozen of Linux distros available on Azure, that too without considering the Microsoft’s own Azure Sphere.
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