Microsoft has Developed Its Own Linux

Microsoft’s Own Linux Distribution

Microsoft has created its own Linux distribution with Azure running its networking. Redmond has revealed that it has built something known as Azure Cloud Switch – ACS, defining it as a cross platform modular operating system for data centre networking.

This is built on Linux and the foray in building their own software to run network devices like switches.It is supposed to make it easy for the IT pros in managing their networking infrastructure over various types of hardware. It is especially important while running a bunch of networks across a group of data centres at cloud computing scales.

The important element is that Microsoft has envisaged a problem and decided to create Linux, as the best option to fix it. ACS has also permitted Microsoft to share the software stack across hardware from various switch vendors which is done through the Switch Abstraction Interface – SAI specification.

 This is the first open standard C API in programming network switching ASICs of the Open Compute Project – OCP.Redmond’s main architect from Azure Networking, Kamala Subramaniam has written that `at Microsoft, they are of the belief that there are several excellent switch hardware platforms available in the market, together with healthy competition among several vendors driving innovation, increases in speed together with reduction in costs.

Challenges – Integrating Totally Different Software

However, what the cloud and enterprise networks found challenging was that it is integrating totally different software operating on each of the different kind of switch in a cloud-wide network management platform. One would prefer all the benefits of the features implemented and the bugs fixed to stay on even as one goes with the tide of updated switch hardware innovation.

The software-defined networking – SDN is a fine idea. However, it seemed that Redmond did not find the SDN code to accommodate its particular needs and so it required to build new systems based on what the other industry were using and the experience includes Linux and not Windows as the path to SDN.

 It states ACS…. focuses on feature development based on Microsoft priorities and enable to debug, fix and test software bugs much quicker. Moreover it also enables the flexibility to scale down the software and create features which are essential for their datacentre as well as their networking needs.

ACS – Designed to Utilise Switch Abstraction Interface

ACS has been designed to utilise Switch Abstraction Interface, an OpenCompute attempt which provides an API for programming ASICs internal network devices. Microsoft’s post exposing ACS states a fair amount about its features, though it does not clarify the association between Microsoft and Linux. Probably the complexity of theswitching ecosystem of the world could be the reason.

 Redmond has commented that it has demonstrated ACS across with `four ASIC vendors namely Mellanox, Broadcom, Cavium and the Barefoot software switch, six implementation of SAI – Broadcom, Dell, Mellanox, Cavium, Barefoot and Metaswitch with three applications stacks – Microsoft, Dell and Metaswitch.

Subramaniam ends his post by conveying that they were talking about ACS publicly as they were of the belief that this approach of disaggregating the switch software from the switch hardware would tend to continue as a growing trend in the networking industry and that they would like to contribute their insights as well as experiences to the journey starting from here.

Linuxy Hopes and Dreams for an Inferno-Free 2015

Linux is hoping for a wonderful year and future ahead and they have complete power in their hands to make the year 2015 a better year. Might not be a reality, but at least in theory, Devuan could flourish, the Systemd Inferno most possibly can extinguish over the past 12 months. Linux is expected to have the best of the year ahead.

Devuan expected to fade: 

According to Kevin O'Brien, Google+blogger, even though Linux is not expected to take over desktop in the year 2015 but they will surely make a dominating presence felt in the area of computing and continue their growth towards the global market. Kevin O'Brien also predicted that Devuan can be expected to fade away when more number of people will start recognizing the fact that Systemd is not having any major impact on their work in an obvious manner. Linux will get more and more importance due to the increasing dependence on cloud/big data/ etc..
On the similar lines, even Gerhard Mack, consultant and Slashdot blogger has given more suggestions. He is hoping that people will start spending more time to polish the existing features, video support, blocking of the screen when moving is playing, reducing the ways of duplicating the configuration of the desktop.

Programmers communities are expected to work hard and make the systemd perform better. Ubuntu is also expected to regain their number 1 position. The distro is expected to be the best choice for the companies who are looking for compatibility and back up. Red Hat and Debian have been a serious let down. According to Robert Pogson, blogger, GNU/Linux gains a legacy PC usage in Cuba will remain a serious question from the international perspective. According to him, an avalanche of governments will take place in Europe by using FLOSS and GNU/Linux. FLOSS and ODF have been widely accepted in the country and FLOSS and GNU/Linux are expected to get a breakthrough. He forecasted that India, China and Russia will make a major move towards adoption of GNU/Linux for common governmental purposes, which includes education. He added that Wintel is something which Russia can’t afford,India is price sensitive and China just doesn’t trust it.

While on one side Android/Linux will win over small, cheap computers, GNU/Linux will be able to triumphant on not-so-cheap and not-so-small computers. The year 2015 will set a benchmark as the customers will no longer be restricted to Wintel. Even though business might take some time, they have already started using GNU/Linux on thin client servers and they will be moving to desktops next.

What will happen in the future, still remains to be a big question? The companies can be expected to adopt the new technology with compromising network tools, login, desktop environment choices and many other independent decisions. Programmers are expecting that PCLinuxOS keeps on showing improvements and ensures constant growth. As present nothing can be confirmed but certainly hopes are quite high in the coming future.

The Linux kernel version 3.9 available!

Open Source Announced Version 3.9 of the Linux kernel and was released last night on the website Kernel.org announced by its founder, Linus Torvalds, in the developer mailing list. This publication comes ten weeks after the previous version, and have continuity in support for new hardware. "Whatever the reason, this week has been very quiet, which makes me more comfortable to publish the final version 3.9, so I think the last-rc8 has stopped working," announced on Mailing List founder of the Linux kernel. No big change announced for this version, but a deepening of transitions already Commencement with version 3.8. Here is a non-exhaustive selection. As usual, for a comprehensive overview of the latest news and management visit: Linux.org. Improved support for ARM architectures is supported. Begun in version 3.7, it now allows the teams to the Linux Foundation announce support for 18 SoC (system on a chip) ARM. The goal, says Linux.org, is to arrive at a single core for all platforms, including x86. Better implementation of the standard IPv6 network. Improvements were made especially in terms of security when encapsulating IPv6 inside IPv4. It supports distribution systems RAID 5 and RAID 6 system BTRFS files. And extension compatibility for graphics drivers, including future Haswell and Valley View and Oland AMD chips were added. Improved supported virtualization, with extension to ARM Cortex A15 chips in KVM and Xen supported by the summer. We wish to pass an interesting point in the statistics of this version 3.9. If they are, as usual, the opportunity to highlight the most active developers, they also show a significant change on the part of companies that support the Linux kernel participating. Thus, for the first time, Linux.org is for Intel one of the top ranking contributing companies.