Windows Subsystem for Linux

You can easily run Linux on Windows using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a Microsoft Windows guest system for Linux.

A rich list of Linux tools are available, but a lot of people are still running Microsoft Windows, so it can be advantageous to have Linux readily available on Windows.^[1]

Since 2019 Microsoft delivered WSL 2, that offers a nice Linux experience on Windows 11, without the need to install an emulator like VirtualBox; it has a built-in emulator.

Advantages

You don't need to partition your hard disk
Very easy to install and upgrade
Extremely fast (95% relative to native Linux performance)
No other software necessary:
- No emulator or virtual machine required
- Available as a simple option on Windows 11
Built-in X Window server: you can run X Window applications without an X Window emulator like Exceed
Uses all 12 cores (?) instead of only 6 cores in VirtualBox
Seamless integration with Windows
- Access to all Windows file systems (most of them are compatible with Linux)

Options

The default distribution is Ubuntu, but you can choose your own (including Android).

Prerequisites

Windows 11
- administrator PowerShell for the initial installation
- user mode sessions can be run with the normal PowerShell
Hardware:
- 64-bit processor
- Activate hardware virtualisation in the BIOS
- Up-to-date video driver for WSL

Installation

Extremely easy: start an (administrator) PowerShell, then:

wsl -l
wsl --install

Now you can test if X Window is working:

xclock &

To upgrade:

wsl --update

Technology

It is using parts (9P protocol) of the Plan 9 OS (from Bell Labs). This way it can access e.g. a One Drive for external storage.

Linux upgrade

Use the standard Linux apt update and apt upgrade commands.

Known problems

Linux filesystem requirements

Some specific Linux functionality require a native Linux filesystem, and fails with the 9P protocol. Examples: the Pywikibot user password file (must be protected by the native 600 access mask).

Asynchronous upgrade stops the console

WSL rondt een upgrade af...

Alternative solutions

External links

References

↑ Admin Magazine 72 p 40, Windows Subsysem for Linux and Android in Windows 11

[1] Admin Magazine 72 p 40, Windows Subsysem for Linux and Android in Windows 11

[1]