Windows Subsystem Linux (WSL2)

WSL2 is the most wonderful feature I have used in recent Windows. As a tech enthusiast, I used to try out different open-source tools available. Almost all the open-source tools work well with the Linux platform. What if you have to use it along with Windows? Dual Boot and VM installation options are there. If the option is the dual boot you have to create a partition and enable the VMD controller in BIOS. But it isolates both your Windows and Linux systems. Dual boot is more complex, you have to change the configuration in the BIOS and disable safe boot. Also, there is a chance of removing the Windows partition or recovery partition if you choose the wrong partition. Another alternative is to go with VM installation, you can install Linux above Windows. A considerable amount of your SSD space, RAM space, and CPU will be used to run the VM. Docker is a game changer where you can run almost all the Linux tools as a Linux container on a Windows machine. However, WSL2 is used as one of the back-end components of the docker that helps docker to run both the Windows and Linux containers simultaneously.

The best option is WSL2 ( Windows Subsystem for Linux V2).WSL2 provides seamless integration between Windows and Linux with absolutely no VM configuration or management.

Steps to configure WSL in your Windows machine. (OS supports Windows 10 or higher version)

Run power shell in administrator mode on your machine. In case WSL is preinstalled in the machine and update this to the latest kernel. Click here to download the latest version.

wsl --install        

Run the below command to list out the available Linux distro from Microsoft.

wsl --list --online        

Install your choice of Linux distribution using the below command.

wsl --install  -d <DistroName>        

A new window terminal appears and asks for the username and password. Once the username and password are updated, you will see the message ''Installation Successful !!"

On successful installation. You can see the Linux below the quick access menu under My PC. Now your machine is ready to run Linux binaries.

Let's start coding !!!

Reference: Microsoft WSL documentation