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The Azure Linux container host for AKS is an open-source Linux distribution created by Microsoft, and it’s generally available as a container host on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). The Azure Linux container host provides reliability and consistency from cloud to edge across the AKS, AKS-HCI, and Arc products. You can deploy Azure Linux node pools in a new cluster, add Azure Linux node pools to your existing Ubuntu clusters, or migrate your Ubuntu nodes to Azure Linux nodes.
Important
Starting on 30 November 2025, AKS will no longer support or provide security updates for Azure Linux 2.0. Starting on 31 March 2026, node images will be removed, and you'll be unable to scale your node pools. Migrate to a supported Azure Linux version by upgrading your node pools to a supported Kubernetes version or migrating to osSku AzureLinux3. For more information, see [Retirement] Azure Linux 2.0 node pools on AKS.
Why use Azure Linux
The Azure Linux container host on AKS uses a native AKS image that provides one place to do all Linux development. Every package is built from source and validated, ensuring your services run on proven components. Azure Linux is lightweight, only including the necessary set of packages needed to run container workloads. It provides a reduced attack surface and eliminates patching and maintenance of unnecessary packages. At the base layer, it has a Microsoft hardened kernel tuned for Azure.
How to use Azure Linux on AKS
To get started using the Azure Linux container host for AKS, see:
Regional availability
The Azure Linux container host is available for use in the same regions as AKS.