Official Ubuntu Images Now Available on Windows Azure

We’re announcing today that you can obtain and launch Official Ubuntu Images from Canonical on Windows Azure. Windows Azure is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) from Microsoft that now includes the ability to manage individual virtual machines so that you can fully customize and control the infrastructure behind your cloud instances. Many developers and IT shops use both Ubuntu and Windows and as workloads migrate to the cloud, the case for making Ubuntu available on Windows Azure became even more compelling.  Canonical and Microsoft worked together to ensure that Ubuntu, the leading operating system for the Cloud is tested, certified and enterprise ready from the start.

During the current Spring Release of Windows Azure, you can launch Ubuntu images directly from the Windows Azure Gallery. The Windows Azure gallery currently contains Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS and support is available directly from Canonical. In the Fall Release of Windows Azure you will be able to buy support directly from the Windows Azure Gallery. If you want to deploy Ubuntu on multiple clouds as well as in your data center, our commercial support offering, Ubuntu Advantage provides mission critical support along with capabilities for automating and managing your Ubuntu environment. If you want to create new applications and scale them as you go the hourly support option could be just what you’re looking for. No matter which option you choose you can have the assurance that Canonical stands behind your Ubuntu solution in the cloud.

We’ve made sure that using Ubuntu on Windows Azure is a great experience right now but we’re eager to hear from you what other capabilities would make it even more exciting and useful. You can take Ubuntu for Windows Azure for a spin at http://www.windowsazure.com