SUSE and Microsoft announce first Azure Linux kernel

The Linux Enterprise Server 15 kernel for Microsoft Azure comes a month after the Linux Enterprise 15 operating system was first made available, and offers customers using Azure faster boot speeds and a smaller memory footprint.

Additionally, it will allow for quicker access to new Azure features.

The kernel, along with the server, will now be available from the Azure marketplace.

According to SUSE, network speeds can increase by 25%, and the average latency could reduce by 23%.

>See also: AI lies at the heart of solving network latency issues

Vice-president of products and technology programs at SUSE, Gerald Pfeifer, described the development and release of the kernel as “a a direct result of SUSE’s open, open source approach to solving real-world customer challenges.”

“SUSE’s collaboration with Microsoft is based on meeting customers’ evolving needs, enabling innovation and minimising disruption to their business,” Pfeifer said.

KY Srinivasan, general manager, enterprise open source group at Microsoft, said: “We’ve worked closely with SUSE to ensure customers using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server have a first-class experience with Microsoft Azure.”

“The new Azure-tuned kernel allows those customers to quickly take advantage of new Azure services such as Accelerated Networking with SR-IOV, Write Accelerator and other functionality on a cadence that aligns with the Azure engineering team’s release cycle.”

The release of the Linux Enterprise Server 15 kernel for Microsoft Azure spells another addition to the list of Linux distros supported by Microsoft, joining the likes of CentOS, CoreOS and Debian.

>See also: Managing Microsoft platforms through M&A 

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Aaron Hurst

Aaron Hurst is Information Age's senior reporter, providing news and features around the hottest trends across the tech industry.

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