Azure Linux 3.0: What’s New

• Latest version of Microsoft’s host OS for Azure Kubernetes Service includes updated dependencies.
• Kubernetes is still evolving rapidly, so customers should expect frequent updates.
• AKS supports multiple host OS options, but Azure Linux customers updating to the latest version of AKS will be automatically upgraded.

Azure Linux 3.0 is the latest version of Microsoft’s host container OS for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). The 3.0 release, which hit the general availability (GA) milestone with AKS v1.32 as of Apr. 1, 2025, contains significant updates to several critical Linux components, including the kernel. But the choice of host OS and version comes after other more important decisions, including the version of Kubernetes and AKS that an application relies on.

What Is Azure Linux?

Azure Linux is Microsoft’s host container OS for AKS. In addition to Azure Linux, Microsoft supports several other host OS options for use with AKS, including Ubuntu (the default host OS) as well as Windows Server. For a variety of technical reasons, Windows is not particularly well-suited or widely used for Kubernetes applications, making the Linux options especially important to Microsoft and its customers.