Microsoft is set to provide enhanced support for Hyper-V on Linux, with notable updates accepted by Linux creator Linus Torvalds that aim to improve system boot times.
This collaboration highlights the mutual benefits for both Microsoft and the open-source community, particularly through initiatives like the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Microsoft regularly releases updates to boost Linux performance and expand its capabilities.
New Enhancements for Linux 6.12
Recently, several enhancements developed by Microsoft experts were accepted for Linux kernel version 6.12. These updates, led by Wei Liu, Microsoft’s Principal Architect at Azure Machine Learning, focus on optimizing the Hyper-V hypervisor.
Key improvements include:
- Parallelizing hv_synic_init(): This change allows for the concurrent execution of the initialization function, significantly speeding up Hyper-V startup on Linux.
- Helper Functions for Control Registers: These will streamline the reading process in hv_snp_boot_ap().
- Memory Allocation Checks: Added checks in hv_fcopy_start enhance system reliability.Reduced Startup Times
Among these updates, the optimization of boot time stands out. By leveraging multiple cores and non-uniform memory access (NUMA) nodes, the new approach improves the initialization process. For instance, on a system with 1,780 CPUs, the startup of hv_acpi_init() previously took 3 seconds due to sequential execution. With the new parallelization, the startup time has been cut down to just 2 seconds, marking a substantial 66% improvement.
This collaboration between Microsoft and the Linux community continues to foster innovation, enhancing both platforms’ performance and functionality.