Linux is more popular on Azure than Windows Server
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It seems that to anybody’s surprise, Linux is now more used on Azure than Windows Server. Despite Microsoft winning the OS battle a long time ago, Linux found its spot on the server side of the computing world.
Although there’s no universal opinion, some users prefer Windows Server while others Linux. The mass transition to Linux is due to its simplicity and ease in use, as some users state:
Ten years ago, Linux and Windows were at their fiercest competition. In the end, Windows 10 won on desktop, and Linux won on server. […] Windows Server is altogether more clunky and less capable than, say, CentOS. I tried running Windows server on a VPS as an experiment and was blown away at how inefficient it was compared to most Linux distros I have tried. Granted it was a pretty low power VPS, but it would freeze up frequently when using RDP with anything remotely intensive. That’s not really acceptable to me when you can SSH into a terminal for next to 0 overhead and overall have a better, more familiar environment (at least for me).
But that’s just half of the story. When it comes to the business side of it, people are more interested in moving or running big workloads in Azure, and the OS preference comes second to that.
Moreover, the problem with Windows Server isn’t in the kernel itself, but in the bloatware that surrounds it, as another user confirms:
Microsoft is contributing some very interesting state of the art stuff to the Linux kernel. Actually, the Windows kernel is very good, it’s just everything around it is bloatware.
If there’s a race for the best OS to use on Azure between Linux and Windows Server, that is great news for Azure users. From the competition, or maybe collaboration, only the end user would win.
What do you think? Can we expect Microsoft and Linux devs to join forces in the near future for a better Azure experience?
Leave your answer along with any other questions in the comments section below.
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