Linux on Azure
Run your applications your way and manage your workloads securely and conveniently with your favorite Linux distribution on Azure.




A native Linux experience for every workload
Azure supports common Linux distributions, including Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Oracle Linux and CoreOS. Create your own Linux virtual machines (VMs), deploy and run containers in Kubernetes, or choose from hundreds of pre-configured images available in the Azure Marketplace. For distributions currently not available in the Marketplace, you’re free to upload your preferred Linux operating system by following these guidelines.
See all the endorsed Linux distributions on AzureUse all the same Linux tools and commands that you’re used to.
Use built-in controls for identity, networking, data, and security management.
Quickly and easily create fully governed environments.
Build a truly consistent hybrid cloud with high-performance capabilities.

Innovate with confidence
- Avoid lengthy lead time for Linux environment preparation.
- Spend less time on administrative tasks with intuitive Linux environment and application management tools.
- Perform troubleshooting with integrated technical support and a serial console available for both virtual machines and virtual machine scale sets.
- Streamline the creation of fully governed environments with Azure Blueprints.
- Take control of protecting your intellectual property and digital assets with the best-in-industry Azure IP Advantage program.

Gain industry-leading security for your workloads and intellectual property
- Run your Linux workloads on the security-first Azure cloud platform: Microsoft invests USD1 billion annually on cloud security and employs 3,500+ security experts.
- Help protect your Linux cloud workloads with built-in controls for identity, networking, data, and security management.
- Detect threats, gain instant insights into your security state and compliance, and follow recommendations to respond to threats and improve your overall security posture with Azure Security Center.
- Simplify security operations and speed up threat response time with Azure Sentinel, an AI-based, cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) service.
- Protect against identity threats across your Linux and Windows workloads with role-based access control (RBAC) and Azure Active Directory.

Govern and manage your Linux environment or workloads with comprehensive built-in services
- Balance compliance with business agility using governance tools like Azure Policy and Azure Blueprints.
- Manage your cloud spend with transparency and accuracy with Azure Cost Management.
- Simplify data protection and help safeguard your business from ransomware or human errors with Azure Backup.
- Minimize downtime and ensure business continuity with Azure Site Recovery during planned and unplanned outages.
- Get full observability into your applications, infrastructure, and network with Azure Monitor.
Get the best of both worlds with industry-leading hybrid options
- Build a truly consistent hybrid cloud by integrating your on-premises and cloud environments with Azure Stack.
- Apply containers to your hybrid Red Hat workloads with Azure Red Hat OpenShift.
- Connect your cloud and on-premises services using the Open Service Broker API.
- Improve the upload and download speeds of your hybrid high-performance computing (HPC) workloads at the edge with built-in, high-speed data storage from Avere vFXT for Azure.
- Get high throughput and low latency for all endorsed Linux distributions with best-in-class InfiniBand networks.
Red Hat on Azure
Accelerate your innovation and digital transformation with Red Hat Linux solutions on Azure. Quickly deploy secure, reliable, and flexible hybrid cloud environments on Azure —the open source cloud architecture trusted by 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
Learn moreSUSE on Azure
SUSE and Microsoft have been partners for over a decade, with more than a thousand shared customers taking advantage of the unique interoperability, innovation, and high-performance solutions that come with running SUSE Linux on Azure.
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Learn more about Linux on Azure
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