Microsoft has streamlined the process for Windows 10 users to run a virtual machine running Ubuntu. With the upcoming Windows 10 October 2018 Update, the operating system gets a new feature that makes it possible to quickly create and run an Ubuntu virtual machine.
Microsoft worked on the feature together with Ubuntu developer Canonical. Through Hyper-V Quick Create it should be possible to create and install an operating system in several minutes. To use the feature, Hyper-V has to be enabled. Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualisation software that allows running virtual machine on Windows. The Windows 10 October 2018 Update, also known as Windows 10 Fall 2018 Creators Update, is scheduled for next month.
Besides running Ubuntu in a virtual machine, it also possible to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). WSL is a compatibility layer in Windows 10 that makes it possible to execute Linux command line tools directly from Windows 10. This also makes it possible to run Linux distros like Debian, SUSE, Kali and Debian.
Hyper-V is only available on Windows 10 Enterprise, Professional, or Education. It requires a 64-bit CPU and at least 4GB of RAM.
