Microsoft to Add Hyper-V Drivers to Linux Kernel
What seemed impossible years ago could now become a reality: a Linux driver from Microsoft in the kernel.
As kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman announces in his blog, Microsoft has today released Hyper-V drivers for Linux under GPLv2 and asked it to be included in the Linux kernel. Novell's Kroah-Hartman had been working with Microsoft in the context of the Linux Driver Project (LDP) and intends to add the drivers to the kernel drivers/staging/ tree created for LDP under his care.
The three device drivers include code required for Linux to run better as a guest system on a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtual machine. In his announcement on LKML.org, Kroah-Hartman thanked a number of Microsoft colleagues for their achievement after a "long road" to get the driver code under GPLv2.
This step means that Microsoft now accepts GPL as a de facto valid license. Their official PressPass release also acknowledges their move as a "break from the ordinary."
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
rolo