At the Ignite 2024 conference, Microsoft announced several improvements to its desktop operating system and developers making apps for it. For example, the new Imaging API will bring AI-powered image experiences to more programs, and the Windows Resiliency Initiative will strengthen security and reliability with features like Quick Machine Recovery for deploying critical fixes for unresponsive systems.
Windows Subsystem for Linux is another tool that makes life and work easier for developers. Microsoft says that "Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) offers a robust environment for AI development on Windows, allowing developers to simultaneously run Windows and Linux workloads," and it is "important to enhance developer productivity with tools they need to be efficient in their workflow." As such, Microsoft is introducing two important WSL changes at Ignite 2024: Intune compliance and Microsoft Entra ID integration.
Intune device compliance integration will give IT admins a new interface to manage Windows Subsystem for Linux distributions and usage in their companies with controlled access that matches security and device requirements.
Integration with Microsoft Entra ID (previously known as Azure Active Directory or Azure AD) in Windows Subsystem for Linux will allow developers to access secure enterprise information and resources from a WSL distribution in Windows using the latter"s protected authentication systems.
Pavan Davuluri, Corporate Vice President of Windows and Devices at Microsoft, said the following about the latest Windows Subsystem for Linux improvements:
We are excited to offer developers more choices for Linux distribution on WSL. With a new WSL distribution architecture, we are providing additional extensibility to IT professionals and enterprise developers to have more Linux distributions including Red Hat to choose from.
You can learn more about the latest announcements from the Ignite 2024 conference here.