5/6/2021 GPU Compute, WSL Install and WSL Update arrive in the latest Insider build for the

ive in the latest Insider build for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line

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GPU Compute,
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Craig
June 17th, 2020

  

There are three thrilling new updates for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the
new Windows Insider Preview Build 20150. The first is GPU compute: a feature that
allows your Linux binaries to leverage your GPU, which makes it possible to do more
machine learning/AI development and data science workflows directly in WSL. Secondly,
we’ve added a new command: wsl --install which allows you to install WSL with just
one command. Lastly, we’ve added wsl --update which gives you the ability to easily
manage the Linux kernel version used by WSL 2 distros.

GPU compute support for the Windows Subsystem

for Linux
We’re excited to announce that we’re addressing WSL’s #1 most requested feature by
adding GPU compute support. This update will include support for NVIDIA CUDA, which
will help enable professionals to use their local Windows machines for inner-loop
development and experimentation. Additionally, this will also support DirectML, which
will empower students and beginners to use hardware accelerated training on the
breadth of Windows hardware, across AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA GPUs. For the full details
on this announcement please read this blog post: GPU accelerated ML training inside
the Windows Subsystem for Linux on the Windows Developer blog.

To get started with this feature, you’ll need to make sure you have this latest Insider
preview build installed, have a WSL 2 distro installed, ensure your Linux kernel is up to
date, and install the right drivers for your GPU. You can find the full instructions on the
AI docs here!

WSL I ll
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/gpu-compute-wsl-install-and-wsl-update-arrive-in-the-windows-insiders-fast-ring-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/ 1/6
5/6/2021 GPU Compute, WSL Install and WSL Update arrive in the latest Insider build for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line

WSL Install

We are working on making WSL easier to install, and we have added a new command
line option to make that possible: wsl.exe --install. You’ll only see this option on
machines that do not have the ‘Windows Subsystem for Linux’ optional component
enabled. In this initial release, this command will enable the Windows Subsystem for
Linux optional component, as well as the Virtual Machine Platform optional component,
and prompt you to restart your machine. In the future we plan to add support to
automatically install WSL distros using this command as well. Stay tuned to this blog
and the Windows Experience blog for updates on when those changes will be released
to the Insider Fast ring. Additionally, WSL 2 distros will be the default type for any new
installations of WSL. We made this change as the majority of users in the Insiders Fast
ring are using WSL 2, you can read more about this on the WSL BUILD 2020 Summary
blog post.

WSL Update
The Linux kernel that is used by WSL 2 distros is now being delivered via Microsoft
Update. For almost all WSL users, this means your Linux kernel will be automatically
kept up to date just like any other component on your machine and these updates are
viewable inside of the ‘Windows Update’ page in your Windows Settings.

We also wanted to add command line options for those users who wish to have fine
control over their Linux kernel versions inside of WSL. wsl.exe --update and its options
provide that control. Below is a description of the new commands that are available, and
what each does.

wsl.exe --update Manage updates to the WSL 2 kernel. If no options are specified,
this will update to the latest kernel version.

wsl.exe --update --status View update status. This will show you what kernel
version you are on, and when you were last updated.

wsl.exe --update --rollback Revert to a previous version of the Linux kernel.

The rollback command exists to allow users to easily uninstall the latest update if
needed. When any new Linux kernel version is installed, your last used kernel is stored
as a rollback kernel. When you execute the above command WSL 2 will load using your
rollback kernel (i.e: WSL 2 distros will now load using your previous kernel version).
When a new update is available, your machine will automatically install the latest kernel
version and WSL 2 will load using that latest version.

File your feedback and getting in touch with the

team
We always love hearing your feedback about anything and everything WSL! For any
technical issues, or feature requests please file them at the WSL Github Repo. For
general questions you can find WSL team members on Twitter here on this Twitter list or
you can ping me directly @craigaloewen. Let us know what you think of these new
features, we’ll be looking forwards to giving you more updates in the future!
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/gpu-compute-wsl-install-and-wsl-update-arrive-in-the-windows-insiders-fast-ring-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/ 2/6
5/6/2021 GPU Compute, WSL Install and WSL Update arrive in the latest Insider build for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line

Craig Loewen
Program Manager, Windows Developer Platform

Follow  

Posted in Command Line

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12 comments
2 comments

14 comments
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1 2 

Kuriel June 17, 2020 10:51 am  

<3 u Microsoft

Bilal Khan June 17, 2020 12:05 pm  

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/feed/landingpage/
bug on devblogs.microsoft.com @Microsoft

Brian . June 17, 2020 1:19 pm  

Re the above-mentioned “Windows Subsystem for Linux Update” appearing in WU, it turns out that they’re appearing even
for those with only WSL1. Does that make any sense?

I’m on 20150 and was offered the 4.19.121 update somehow. Last week, I was on the previous Fast build and was offered
4.19.104, so it wasn’t a one-time quirk. And they actually install.

I have not seen any confirmation that the updates are for anything but WSL2.

Syr Sun June 17, 2020 4:39 pm  

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/gpu-compute-wsl-install-and-wsl-update-arrive-in-the-windows-insiders-fast-ring-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/ 3/6
5/6/2021 GPU Compute, WSL Install and WSL Update arrive in the latest Insider build for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line

The experiment, investigation and research are underway. We will meet … Thank you for all your efforts.

Ilya Veselov June 18, 2020 12:22 am  

Originally manual kernel updates for 2004 were described as temporary, but now, months later, it would appear it’s only
being added for 20H2? Can you please update on the status of WSL2 kernel updates on 2004.

Andre van den Berg June 18, 2020 12:11 pm  

Did try to install the Nvidia development driver for Geforce in the Surface Book 3 but then i get notified that can’t installed.
is this not working with 1660i?

Wanted to look at ML with GPU.

Wil Wilder Apaza Bustamante June 18, 2020 12:22 pm  

this comment has been deleted.

Ken Clark June 18, 2020 12:26 pm  

The requisite kernel has not shipped yet, as of this writing, best I can tell.

https://ibb.co/vzLTMTm

Andres Lamont June 18, 2020 1:22 pm  

Just enable ‘Receive updates for other Microsoft products when you update windows’ under the Advanced
Windows Update options and run wsl --update.

Hanwen Wang June 20, 2020 10:58 am  

Is there a way to revert the rollback? I rollbacked the WSL2 kernel to 4.19.104 to avoid some initial glitches, but I did not
see the option to undo the rollback. The wsl –update command would only returns messages that “No updates are
available. Kernel version: 4.19.104”, although the wsl –update –status does show that “The WSL 2 kernel is in the rollback
state and is using a previous kernel version. Kernel version: 4.19.104”

Ahmad Bilal June 29, 2020 1:46 am  

I hope there is a graphical way of managing how much space is allowed to a OS installed under WSL.

Also, would be cool to have information about ROCM/AMD stuff and not just CUDA/Tensorflow from Nvidia.

Ανδρέας Ντόνας July 3, 2020 3:19 am  

These are great news! Now if only tensorflow-directml supported TensorFlow 2.x

1 2 

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/gpu-compute-wsl-install-and-wsl-update-arrive-in-the-windows-insiders-fast-ring-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/ 4/6
5/6/2021 GPU Compute, WSL Install and WSL Update arrive in the latest Insider build for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line

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https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/gpu-compute-wsl-install-and-wsl-update-arrive-in-the-windows-insiders-fast-ring-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/ 6/6