Microsoft Intros Linux Powered OS

Principal Architect, Azure Networking, Kamala Subramaniam, wrote on the company blog, “The Azure Cloud Switch (ACS) is our foray into building our own software for running network devices like switches. It is a cross-platform modular operating system for data center networking built on Linux. ACS allows us to debug, fix, and test software bugs much faster. It also allows us the flexibility to scale down the software and develop features that are required for our datacenter and our networking needs.”

The Microsoft in the blog post also recognized the value of open source, open standard and Linux, “ACS believes in the power of Open Networking. ACS together with the open, standardized SAI interface allows us to exploit new hardware faster and enables us to ride the tide of ASIC innovation while simultaneously being able to operate on multiple platforms. Running on Linux, ACS is able to make use of its vibrant ecosystem. ACS allows to  use and extend Open Source, Microsoft, and Third Party applications.”

For now, its unknow when the Microsoft will release the source code of the project and which licence they will use for it. The Linux kernel is licenced under GNU GPLv2, so it has to be a compatible licence.