[align=center]
[/align][align=center]小猫与小狗，正像Linux与微软，将会同赴Azure舞台[/align][align=center]
[/align][align=center]Azure“平台即服务（platform-as-a-service, PaaS）”[/align]一流微软新闻发布人Mary Jo Foley 发誓，她没有喝醉酒。微软真的正准备允许用户使Linux和Windows虚拟机（VM）永久存在于Azure，其公共“平台即服务（platform-as-a-service, PaaS）”云服务，之上。
微软将允许用户在Azure上建立永久VM这一事件来得并不意外。虽然Azure拥有永久存储能力，但其无法保持一个永久VM的缺陷已惹恼了许多人，而且他们不光是Linux服务器管理员。我认识部分SharePoint和SQl Server管理员，他们曾为此缺陷而有意避开Azure。其实也有办法弥补Azure无法保持永久VM的缺陷，但它们都不简单。
根据Foley的消息，微软将于2012年春季启动永久VM特性的一个社区技术预览（Community Technology Preview, CTP）测试构建（test-build）。微软自己已经为支持永久VM，特别是在上面支持Linux，作好了准备。
那为什么微软，如此安静与勉强地，做着这些？因为其顾客需要Linux支持。哎，戏剧！
在过年几年的时间里，从SUSE Linux开始，微软已经在其Hyper-V 虚拟机平台上对Linux提供了支持。今天，微软还支持上了 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 和CentOS。此外，还有传言称去年夏天，微软打算在Hyper-V上支持Debian 和Ubuntu，但后来就不了不之了。微软当时没支持Linux 是因为它太爱Linux 了；它当时支持它，是因为它的顾客需要Linux服务器支持；现在，顾客更是更进一步地推动微软去支持Linux，不过此时已经是在云端。
而今，微软的业务顾客正要求在云端有同样的VM支持，而微软则不得不提供这一支持。正如Foley 报道的，“在Azure上运行Linux已经成了一个大得惊人的业务顾客需求。”这并不让我吃惊。亚马逊弹性计算云（EC2）上操作系统的云市场分析表明，相比1,120个Windows实例，有6,556个Linux实例在云上运行。几乎6:1的比例，可见用户爱Linux更甚Windows。
不过，只因为用户想要Linux并不意味着微软就会这么轻易地给出。相反，用户需要提供他们自己的Linux VM镜像。此时，Azure上的VM只支持虚拟硬盘（VHD）镜像。新的永久VM支持将会在2012年春季作为社区技术预览测试构建被提供。
如果Azure上的Linux出了什么问题，我想微软一定会把责任归咎于Linux，并对运行Linux的公司施加压力。那将是极大的错误。
微软的业务顾客在表达而且真心需要Linux。如果微软不满足他们的要求，Amazon，Red Hat，VMware，其云对手中随便找出的三个，它们都已经满心欢喜地准备好了对云端Linux的完全支持。
小猫与小狗的图片，由hoangnam_nguyen提供，CC 2.0。
转载请注明：Linux人社区>英文资讯翻译专版.编译
英文原文：
Microsoft reluctantly bows to Linux users [align=left]By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | January 2, 2012, 9:37am PST[/align] [align=left]Summary: Why will Microsoft be releasing a persistent virtual machine feature on its Azure cloud platform so users can host Linux? Because that’s what its customers want.[/align]
[align=left]Cats & dogs, aka Linux and Microsoft, will work together on Azure.[/align]Ace Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley swears she’s not drinking. Microsoft really is getting ready to enable customers to make Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) persistent on Windows Azure, its public platform-as-a-service (PaaS) cloud service.That Microsoft was going to enable users to set up persistent VMs on Azure came as no surprise. While Azure has persistent storage, its inability to keep a VM persistent has annoyed many people, and not just Linux server managers. I know several SharePoint and SQL Server administrators who’ve avoided Azure because of this lack. There are ways to hack your way around the lack of a persistent Azure VM, but they’re not easy.
According to Foley’s sources, Microsoft will launch a Community Technology Preview (CTP) test-build of the persistent VM capability in the spring of 2012. Microsoft itself has been close-mouthed about support for persistent VMs and supporting Linux on it in particular.
So why is Microsoft, ever so quietly and reluctantly doing this? Because its customers are demanding Linux support. Oh the irony!
For several years, starting with SUSE Linux, Microsoft has supported Linux on its Hyper-V virtual machine platform. Today, Microsoft also supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS. There were also rumors last summer that Microsoft would support Debian and Ubuntu on Hyper-V, but nothing has come of that. Microsoft wasn’t supporting Linux then because it loved Linux. It did this because its customers demanded Linux server support and now its customers are once more pushing Microsoft into supporting Linux, this time on the cloud.
Now, Microsoft’s business customers are demanding that same VM support on the cloud and Microsoft will be giving it to them. As Foley reported, “Running Linux on Azure has been a surprisingly big business-customer request.” That doesn’t surprise me. The Cloud Market analysis of operating systems on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) found that there were 6,556 Linux instance running compared to 1,120 Windows instances. By almost six to one, cloud users preferred Linux over Windows.
But, just because users want Linux doesn’t mean that Microsoft will make it easy for them to get it. Instead, Linux users will need to provide their own Linux VM images. At this time, Azure only supports Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) images for its VMs. The new persistent VM support will be available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) test-build in spring 2012.
If something goes wrong with Linux on Azure, I’m sure Microsoft will put the blame and support burden on the companies running Linux. That will be a mistake.
Microsoft’s business customers are speaking, and they want Linux. If Microsoft doesn’t deliver the goods, Amazon, Red Hat, and VMware, to name three of its cloud rivals, are already happy to fully support Linux users on the cloud.
Cat and dog image by hoangnam_nguyen, CC 2.0.
知道了
