14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 version 2004 is just around the corner and one of the highlights in this release is the debut of Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2).
The feature that allows users to run Linux on top of Windows 10 is thus reaching the second generation, and one major change concerns the way the Linux kernel is updated in Microsoft’s operating system.
Beginning with this release, the Linux kernel is no longer part of the Windows OS image, so it’ll be updated just like Microsoft updates drivers on a Windows 10 machine: using Windows Update.
The Linux kernel will be updated automatically, but users can also check for new versions manually in Windows Update.
“Inside of the initial release of Windows 10, version 2004, and in the latest Windows Insiders slow ring preview build you will temporarily need to manually install the Linux kernel, and will receive an update in a few months that will add automatic install and servicing capabilities. We made this change now and will have a patch later to ensure that all users in the initial general release of WSL2 will be serviced via this dynamic model, and no one will be left in a middle state using the prior system,” Microsoft explains.
Trying out WSL2
Windows 10 version 2004 is projected to go live for production devices in April or May, with the RTM build to be signed off sometime next month.
Microsoft explains that users enrolled in the Windows Insider program can already try out WSL2 in Windows 10 build 19041.153 with the following commands:
wsl
wsl --set-version <Distro> 2, – wsl --set-default-version 2
wsl --import and wsl --export