Build5Nines
build5nines.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2020
Build5Nines covers Microsoft Azure, Linux, Terraform and other cloud and DevOps topics.
What HN saysHN commenters cite its report that Linux runs over half of Azure VM cores to argue that Linux dominates the cloud, even on Microsoft's platform.
15HN people shared it
9linked it in comments
25stories submitted
784story points
5 months agolast shared
2020people per year2026
Most-shared posts
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- 4Sysinternals ProcDump for Linux1 people · 82 points · first shared 2020 · 24 comments on HN
- 5Linux is Most Used OS in Microsoft Azure1 people · 8 points · first shared 2020 · 1 comments on HN
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- 11Windows Server and SQL Server Certifications Are Gone1 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 12Install the New Windows PowerToys1 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 13Azure Bicep Roadmap Q4'20 into 20211 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 14Run Office 365 Apps on Ubuntu Linux with an Open Source Web App Wrapper1 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 15Properly Shutdown Azure VM to Save Money1 people · 1 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
k4ch0w · 2020-08-04
Based on my own experience with C/C++ projects are built with the assumption that you are on Linux. You have to do quite a bit of fangling to get it working with Windows, that it isn't worth the time. I don't want to setup mingw or cygwin to get things working for one weird library that's included.
I don't have a requirement to build for Windows, so I will always just avoid it. I think Microsoft is making strides in developer experience, but I think it also sees the signs that Linux/Containerization is the way forward thus why they built WSL. Azure itself is over 50% Linux now too.
Source: https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
mpalmer · 2026-06-12
Reduce Fable tokens by 80%, simply by not using it!
> I am fairly convinced this is the shape serious agent work keeps converging toward.
"this" being "plan with expensive model, implement with cheap model".
Anyone who follows HN would be hard-pressed to disagree; this architecture is re-invented twice monthly.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vibecodinglife/posts/1946207565967771/
https://github.com/openai/codex/discussions/10628
https://build5nines.com/stop-burning-premium-requests-how-to-choose-th…
> Not because it is aesthetically pleasing. Because every other shape eventually runs into the same boring failures: context rot, self-grading, goalpost drift, and merge chaos.
Actual failure isn't boring. But struggling through a generated software project that celebrates its own genius and doesn't have a single self-critical or genuinely reflective thing to say...at least watching paint dry I might get giddy off the fumes.
I'm not interested in critiquing the project itself, either, you'll just run that through a model, too.
supernintendo · 2021-04-21
How do you imagine Microsoft pulling off the "extinguish" step? Linux is the most popular OS for servers even on Microsoft Azure [0] so I don't see any threat in that regard. Then you have weirdos like me who have been running some variant of GNU/Linux as their primary desktop OS for years and will continue to do so. Sure, it's cool that Windows can run Linux software now but that doesn't make me want to switch. I like Linux. It handles all of my computing needs, I enjoy the control I have over my OS and a lot of the features of Windows simply do not appeal to me (Windows Shell, Windows Update, the whole "registry" architecture, built-in telemetry and advertising, and more). To people who don't enjoy running Linux as their daily driver or need to use Windows for some other reason there's WSL, and I think that's great.
[0] https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
tyingq · 2021-06-24
>I'd like to think that, but I am not sure if that's actually true.
It's hard to get real numbers, for sure. There's counts based on what the server shipped with, when those used to be bundled, which favors Windows. And there's counts of active servers on the internet, which favors Unix-like. Both counts are fundamentally flawed for various reasons.
I did, though, get a chuckle out of Microsoft's slide that showed more Linux instances than Windows ones on Azure: https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
belter · 2021-06-24
Yes I did watch.
We are past those types of concerns over Linux.
The Cloud IS Linux.
Azure runs more Linux than Windows
https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
About the Google projects...they cannot do any project that they wont get bothered with.
As Linus said, we win when Microsoft starts developing for Linux...I am not dismissing the concerns, but the issues with Linux are not the corporations issues.
Are things like C vs Rust, Linus not considering Security bugs more important than other bugs and the complexity of the kernel that makes difficult to recruit new maintainers plus the fact that testing is outsourced to the distributions.
nonotreally · 2021-02-12
I think you may be underestimating how big Azure is and how much Linux they do.
Although it is fun to think about the 90s version of MS embracing linux to this degree.
https://cloudwars.co/microsoft/microsoft-wallops-amazon-in-2020-cloud-…
https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
wenc · 2020-07-10
I administer a few Windows Servers. Unless you're heavily in the MS ecosystem (Azure, AD etc.), or have software that only run on Windows, I can't think of too many advantages that Winserver has from a server management perspective. Maybe the admin GUI?
I understand that even on Microsoft Azure, most of the VMs being hosted are running Linux.
https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
monoideism · 2020-07-02
Most Azure cloud computing customers use Linux:
https://build5nines.com/linux-is-most-used-os-in-microsoft-azure-over-…
aspenmayer · 2020-06-24
Perhaps link to the writeup next time. It's not against guidelines and I don't speak for HN or its users, but video posts tend to not do as well as text posts for reasons I don't understand. Just an observation.
https://build5nines.com/windows-gets-package-manager-with-winget-cli-u…