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Azure Linux 2.0 will reach its End of Life (EOL) in July 2025

Azure Linux 2.0 (formerly CBL-Mariner) will reach its official End of Life (EOL) on July 31, 2025. After this date, it will no longer receive updates, security patches, or support from the Azure Linux team. Starting with the Azure Local 2507 release, Azure Kubernetes Service enabled by Azure Arc will ship Azure Linux 3.0 images for all supported Kubernetes versions.  This change applies to all AKS enabled by Azure Arc deployments, as we have used Azure Linux 2.0 as the base image in the past. To maintain security compliance and ensure continued support, all AKS Arc customers must plan on migrating to Azure Linux 3.0 at the earliest by upgrading their Azure Local instances to the 2507 release, when it is available.

What’s new in Azure Linux 3.0

Approximately every three years Azure Linux releases a new version of its operating system with upgrades to major components. Azure Linux 3.0 offers increased package availability and versions, an updated kernel, and improvements to performance, security, and tooling and developer experience. Some of the major components upgraded from Azure Linux 2.0 to 3.0 include:

For more details on the key features and updates in Azure Linux 3.0 see the 3.0 GitHub release notes.

Upgrading to Azure Linux 3.0

Once the Azure Local 2507 release is available, update to 2507 . Once your Azure Local instance has upgraded, you can then upgrade your Kubernetes clusters  You can choose to the remain on the same Kubernetes version and provide the same version number in the aksarc upgarde command. Once the upgrade is completed, you should be able to check the kernel version on your Linux nodes. Kernel version v6.6 is the latest Azure Linux 3.0 version.

Sample command

kubectl –kubeconfig /path/to/aks-cluster-kubeconfig get nodes -o wide

Sample output

FAQs

1. Is Azure Linux same as Mariner?

          Yes, Mariner was rebranded to Azure Linux. We will slowly update our documentation and VM/container image tags to reflect this name change

2. When did Azure Linux 3.0 GA?

          Azure Linux 3.0 became generally available in August 2024.

3. When will Azure Linux 3.0 reach End of Life (EOL)?

          We currently support each major version for 3 years after it becomes generally available. Azure Linux 3.0 will reach EOL in Summer 2027.

How to keep in touch with the AKS Arc team 

For updates, feedback, and feature requests related to AKS Arc:

• Ask questions & submit feedback via AKS Arc GitHub Issues


• Partners with support questions can reach out to aks-hci-talk@microsoft.com