Microsoft releases Windows 10 with Linux kernel in WSL subsystem

Microsoft has released a new test version of Windows 10 and this version includes Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. Unlike the first Linux subsystem, a Linux kernel is now integrated.

Windows 10 Insider Preview with build version 18917 has appeared for test users in the Fast Ring. It is a 20H1 version, the Windows update that should appear next year, although parts of it may return in the release at the end of this year.

The new build includes WSL 2, a new Linux implementation based on Linux kernel version 4.19 in a virtual machine. WSL 1 was a set of components that allowed Windows to run Linux ELF64 binaries without the need for a Linux kernel. Due to the changed architecture, WSL 2 offers faster file system and I/O performance, among other things, and full support for system calls is also present, so that Docker applications can be run, among other things.

Microsoft announced the arrival of WSL 2 at its Build conference and is now providing more details on how to use WSL 2. The company aims for a comparable operation for the user as WSL 1, and among other things the network support still needs to be optimised. Incidentally, Microsoft has no plans to remove WSL 1 from Windows and the subsystems will continue to exist side by side.

Also new in build version 18917 is that users can more precisely control how much bandwidth Windows and app updates are allowed to take up. Also, Windows Ink Workspace is greatly simplified but with access to the Whitespace app.