Microsoft Releases WSL2 Kernel 6.6 LTS with x86 and ARM64 Modules

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05 Jul 2024

Anyone using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on a regular basis will no doubt have noticed that it’s been stuck on the 5.15 kernel in WSL2 for what feels like an eternity. That’s about to change, though, as Microsoft has released its first 6.6 kernel (via Phoronix), albeit only through GitHub right now.

That means that it hasn’t yet been rolled into the latest version of WSL, but if you’re keen to be on the cutting edge, you can go ahead and grab it, then build it yourself. It is a fairly involved, and tedious process, mind, and if you’ve never done it before you’re probably best off waiting. I lost half an hour this morning trying to build it, only for it to error out.

For WSL2, Microsoft utilizes an LTS kernel over a rolling release, which is why it’s been back on such an old kernel for so long. But the time has finally come to move to a newer LTS, and the 6.x releases add a lot into the mix. Specifically, this release uses the stable kernel 6.6.36.

Configuration Changes and New Features

The full changelog looks a little like this:

  • First WSL2 kernel release updated to v6.6 from v5.15
  • Release rolling-lts/wsl/6.6.36.3
  • Update to stable kernel version v6.6.36
  • New x86 and ARM64 configs including loadable modules
  • dxgkrnl: Do not print error messages when virtual GPU is not present

Fewer out-of-tree patches. Sets of patches now included from upstream:

  • page reporting commits (feature/page-reporting/5.15)
  • vpci commits (feature/vpci/5.15)
  • memory reclaim commits (feature/memory-reclaim/5.15)
  • vsock commits (fix/vsock/5.15)

As Phoronix also points out, the jump to 6.6 also makes for less out-of-tree patches to be maintained by Microsoft. The Linux kernel has had a significant number of features added upstream in the years since the 5.15 kernel Microsoft has been using, so such patches simply won’t be required.

There’s no word on when the new kernel will be rolling out as the new default in WSL2, but I can’t imagine it’ll be too long a wait now that it’s off and rolling.

How to know if I have WSL or WSL2?

To determine if you have WSL or WSL2, you can open a PowerShell window and type the command `wsl --list --verbose` or `wsl -l -v`. This will list all installed Linux distributions and display their version (WSL or WSL2) under the 'Version' column. If no version is mentioned, it is likely WSL. You can also upgrade or set a specific WSL version using `wsl --set-version 2` for WSL2 or `1` for WSL.

How to fix WSL2 networking with VPN connection?

To fix WSL2 networking issues when connected to a VPN, you can try these steps: 1. Restart the LxssManager service by running `net stop LxssManager` followed by `net start LxssManager` in PowerShell. 2. Change the DNS settings for WSL2 by editing `/etc/resolv.conf` and adding your VPN's DNS server. 3. Update WSL2 kernel or Windows to the latest version as updates might contain fixes. 4. Use a script to automatically adjust network configurations when switching between VPN and regular networks.
Update: 05 Jul 2024
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