Windows Subsystem For Linux Is Getting These Useful New Features

Windows Subsystem For Linux Is Getting These Useful New Features

Windows 10’s latest flagship feature is the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and it allows you to run Linux distributions directly within the Windows 10 operating system.

In the next feature update, Microsoft plans to add many new features, including more command line love, GPU support, and deeper integration with File Explorer.

GPU support

In the next Windows 10 update expected to arrive next year, Microsoft says it will allow Linux binaries to leverage your GPU, which will make it possible to do machine learning development and data science workflows directly in WSL.

Microsoft is adding support for CUDA and DirectML GPU computing. This new feature will allow developers to use their artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in WSL, which is currently not possible in May 2020 Update or older.

According to Microsoft, support for NVIDIA CUDA will allow IT pros to use their local Windows machines for inner-loop development and experimentation, which is a big improvement.

On the other hand, The DirectML allows you to use hardware-accelerated on Windows hardware, across AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA GPUs.

Command line love

With one preview build, Microsoft has also enabled support for new commands to run WSL from the command line.

For example, a new command new wsl.exe –install will automatically install the Virtual Machine Platform component and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). You can also check for new Linux kernel updates and install them using the wsl.exe –update command.

Here’s a list of new commands to manage WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux):

• wsl.exe --update : Manage updates to the WSL 2 kernel. If no options are specified, this will update to the latest kernel version.
• wsl.exe --update --status : View update status. This command will show you what kernel version you are on, and when you were last updated.
• wsl.exe --update --rollback : Revert to a previous version of the Linux kernel.

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File Explorer integration

With Build 19603, Microsoft has improved the WSL integration in File Explorer, and you can now access the folders of installed Linux distributions directly from File Explorer. You no longer need to keep the distribution running in the background.

Currently, when you need to access your WSL files in Explorer, WSL requires you to start the Linux distribution first and then type explorer.exe with the folder you want to access.

The next update will add a new Linux location in the File Explorer, where you can access a list of installed WSL Linux distributions.

Nested virtualization

This Windows Update also brings support for nested virtualization on PCs with AMD processors. Nested virtualization for WSL2 is enabled default on amd64, and it can be disabled via %userprofile%\.wslconfig ([wsl2] nestedVirtualization=false).

When enabled, this feature will allow other virtual machines, such as KVM, to work within a running Linux distribution.

Other improvements

Here’s a list of other nifty improvements coming to WSL in the next update:

• Support launching app execution aliases from WSL
• Add %userprofile%\.wslconfig option to control the VM idle timeout (wsl2.vmIdleTimeout=)
• Change \\wsl$ prefix to \\wsl to support URI parsing. The old \\wsl$ path is still supported.
• Support renaming over a read-only file in DrvFs.
• Make wsl.exe present when the Windows Subsystem for Linux optional component is not enabled to improve feature discoverability.

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