Microsoft announced the formation of official builds with Fedora Linux for the WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). At the end of April, similar builds began to be published for Arch Linux and AlmaLinux. For Arch Linux, such builds are planned to be updated monthly, while the others will be updated as new releases come out.
The builds with Fedora, AlmaLinux, and Arch Linux are included in the list of Linux distributions available for quick installation in WSL, which is distributed through the WSL repository. Other distributions in the WSL list include Debian GNU/Linux, Ubuntu, openSUSE Leap, openSUSE Tumbleweed, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Kali Linux, and Oracle Linux. To install the builds, simply execute the command "wsl --install distribution" in Windows, for example, "wsl --install FedoraLinux-42", "wsl --install archlinux", or "wsl --install AlmaLinux-9".
The builds are formed in a new format that allows distributing the distribution from its servers without downloading to the Microsoft Store, packaging in appx format, and without placing Windows-specific code in the build. The new method involves hosting a tar archive with the system environment of the distribution and a file /etc/wsl-distribution.conf that contains metadata such as name, icon, default user ID, and environment setup scripts executed at first launch.
WSL provides a virtual machine with a full Linux kernel (based on 6.6 or 5.15 branches), in which specially adapted Linux distributions for WSL can run. The kernel includes WSL-specific changes, such as optimizations for reduced startup time and lower memory consumption, the ability to free Linux-process memory back to Windows, and configurations to exclude unnecessary drivers and subsystems. The system is installed in a separate disk image (VHD) with an ext4 filesystem and a virtual network adapter.
Source: opennet.ru
