New Linux distro released for Windows 10 users

Jun 28, 2019 09:49 GMT  ·  By

The number of Linux distributions available on Windows 10 as part of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) keeps growing, and the latest addition is none other than SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1.

WSL is a built-in Windows 10 feature that allows users to run Linux distributions on top of Microsoft’s operating system, basically bringing the two together for more consistency and easier development work.

The list of Linux distros that Windows 10 users can install in WSL already includes several top names, including Ubuntu, Kali Linux, and Arch, and beginning today, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 available as well.

Windows 10 requirements

Needles to say, this new distro isn’t necessarily aimed at home users, but is specifically supposed to be used by enterprises, and the description published in the Microsoft Store pretty much speaks for itself.

“SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 is a multimodal operating system that paves the way for IT transformation in the software-defined era. The modern and modular OS helps simplify multimodal IT, makes traditional IT infrastructure efficient and provides an engaging platform for developers.

As a result, you can easily deploy and transition business-critical workloads across on-premise and public cloud environments. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1, with its multimodal design, helps organizations transform their IT landscape by bridging traditional and software-defined infrastructure.”

If you want to install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 on a Windows 10 device, you must be running at least build 14388 (this a build of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, or version 1607). Windows 10 Anniversary Update is only serviced as part of LTSC, but given this Linux distro is aimed at enterprises, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Furthermore, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 only supports Windows Server 2019 version 1709 and newer, but on the other hand, it doesn’t work on Window 10 in S Mode.