CoreOS Expands Linux OS for Containers to China via Azure Cloud

Written by Christopher Tozzi
June 17, 2016

CoreOS sees China as the next frontier for open source containerized infrastructure. This week, the company announced the availability of CoreOS Linux via the Microsoft Azure cloud in Chinese markets.

CoreOS develops an open source, Linux-based platform for running containers. It's an alternative to Docker, the container platform that has made the most headlines in recent years.

The main difference between the two offerings is that CoreOS delivers a tightly integrated software stack for running containers, whereas Docker focuses mostly on just containers themselves.

On Thursday, CoreOS announced an expansion into China, where the CoreOS Linux operating system will now be available as an officially supported option on the Azure cloud operated by 21Vianet in China. (21Vianet is an operation entity that hosts Microsoft's cloud services in China.)

CoreOS says the move will make it easier for new customers in Chinese markets to access container-based infrastructure, while also accelerating the reach into Asia of CoreOS users based elsewhere in the world.

"With the availability of CoreOS Linux in a new region, the distributed systems community as well as small and large organizations across continents will benefit from running their applications in software containers on a consistent platform globally," the company said. "Current CoreOS Linux users can take advantage of a cloud-native platform to reach one of the world's largest markets."

The news is notable not only because of the geographies involved, but also because it's yet another example of an open source company embracing the Microsoft cloud — and receiving warm approval from Microsoft in return.

"As a supporter of Linux and open source, we believe in the importance of working with innovators in open source like CoreOS to enable choice and flexibility for cloud customers," Mark Russinovich, CTO for Azure, said about CoreOS's expansion. "The combination of CoreOS Linux with the power and scale of Microsoft’s cloud will help to inspire creation of new applications and collaboration across teams around the world."