For people that fancy the Linux operating system but are still stuck with Windows for one reason or the other, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has given them an ample opportunity to run Linux environments directly on windows. That’s one path I personally want to explore.
That is why I am bringing it here to ask everyone who probably have had experience with running Windows System for Linux. Was there any challenges in set up, compatibility issues or ability to integrate with workflows? How did it integrate with Windows tools and which selection of Linux distributions are available?
If you have experience with Windows System for Linux, please share to help potential users of it know what to expect.
I have faced WSL2 issue deprecated. Means it works but it always shows this warning on startup. It says it is old version but could not know what is steps to update WSL2 system to surpass this warning. But Ubuntu is installed and works fine. Does WSL2 deprecated issue could prevent from it running in the future?
WSL is one of the great features that Microsoft brings to Windows.
It is easy to use. On CMD, you just need to run wsl -d distro-name to switch to Linux. If you want to do that with sth like VirtualBox, it takes more time than WSL.
You can directly access your Windows files with Linux. This can be a real lifesaver in situations where you need to perform a task, such as counting lines in a file, but don’t know the Windows command to do it. By simply using the wsl command, you can switch over to Linux and run the code that you’re already familiar with.
You can use Linux GUI applications directly (source).
You can use your graphic card with WLS applications (source).
The most important part is, that because WSL directly accesses hardware, it provides better performance than desktop virtualization applications.
At the moment, you can use one of the following distros with WSL.
NAME FRIENDLY NAME
Ubuntu Ubuntu
Debian Debian GNU/Linux
kali-linux Kali Linux Rolling
Ubuntu-18.04 Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu-20.04 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Ubuntu-22.04 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
OracleLinux_7_9 Oracle Linux 7.9
OracleLinux_8_7 Oracle Linux 8.7
OracleLinux_9_1 Oracle Linux 9.1
openSUSE-Leap-15.5 openSUSE Leap 15.5
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-Server-15-SP4 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5 SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
openSUSE-Tumbleweed openSUSE Tumbleweed
If you want to know more about WSL, you can check the official documentation:
I run it on Windows 10. Ubuntu and Kali (sometimes I want to check things in test env before running on my laptop).
Like @serhattsnmz it reduces the need to reboot into Linux or to run a full VM inside of windows. You can access the command line and Linux apps natively:
In my opinion, the functionality of the Windows Subsystem for Linux has been affected and no longer allows the installation of new versions if you have disabled the Windows Update feature. This means that you are unable to install updates or even the Windows Terminal. However, it’s worth noting that existing releases continue to function properly. It’s important to mention that disabling Windows Update may disrupt your workflow, and unfortunately, without enabling it, you won’t be able to install new versions from the Windows Store, including software like Windows Terminal.
