Generally Available: Azure Linux support in AKS
Published date: May 23, 2023
Azure Linux as a container host operating system (OS) for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is now generally available. Azure Linux is Microsoft’s Linux distribution of CBL-Mariner supported as a container host OS for AKS.
You can now deploy Azure Linux as the node pool host OS in the AKS cluster and build apps on top of the preferred container. Azure Linux has been in production with services such as Xbox, Playfab, Minecraft and more than 100 Azure services.
Today, Microsoft is extending the AKS container host usage to all AKS customers. Azure Linux as an AKS host OS delivers better performance, can increase the security posture of applications running on AKS clusters and has been optimized to run in Azure.
In fact, Azure Linux as a container host OS is optimized for AKS, has a smaller image size thus presenting a smaller attack surface and relies on the same software supply chain used by Microsoft internal engineering teams and services. In addition, AKS on Azure Stack HCI and AKS on Windows Server feature the same container host as well, providing consistency and simplified management across the cloud and the edge.