Whitewater Foundry Announces Release of Distribution Manager for Windows Subsystem for Linux: Introducing ‘Raft’
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Whitewater Foundry (https://www.pengwin.dev/raft-wsl) recently announced the release of Raft, a distribution manager for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in native C#/XAML for Windows 10, which applies Fluent design principles. Raft was designed to make managing WSL distros on a Windows 10 device far more comfortable for its users. “Raft” is the term used for a collection of penguins swimming underwater and was developed by the makers of Pengwin and Pengwin Enterprise. The Raft app is available from the Microsoft Store.

Raft works with any WSL distribution and empowers users to install, update, run, terminate and uninstall any distribution available in the Windows Store. Raft is proprietary software which is distributed on a subscription basis, to allow its continued development and increased support for all available distributions. Some features of Raft include:

  • All distributions in one place: Choose the best WSL distribution for the task and access them all.
  • Install any distro available in the store.
  • Run, terminate, update, and uninstall distros.
  • Create snapshots: Experiment freely, save environments before risky changes, and restore those environments whenever it is convenient.
  • A dedicated screen for snapshots: Multiple snapshots, all stored.
  • All programmer settings in one place: Specify where snapshots are saved; only see installed distributions, with more options added as they become available.

WSL Overview

WSL is a compatibility layer for running Linux binaries natively in a console environment on Windows 10. No recompilation or porting is required, and WSL provides a Linux-compatible kernel interface developed by Microsoft and allows a user to choose a Linux distribution to install from the Microsoft Store. A Linux distribution provides binary package management in a contained environment, while WSL offers an interface to mount drives within WSL. WSL is routinely used by developers, engineers, students, and anyone who wants to run Linux tools on Windows.

About Whitewater Foundry, Ltd. Co.

Whitewater Foundry first made news in September 2018 when it launched WLinux, the first native Linux distribution for Windows Subsystem for Linux to satisfy demand for a secure WSL solution for enterprise prompted the development of Pengwin Enterprise. Whitewater Foundry has since grown to a worldwide team and maintains the Fedora Remix for WSL, built on Pengwin Enterprise. Whitewater Foundry is a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, a licensee in the Open Innovation Network, and a Red Hat Business Partner. Learn more at www.pengwin.dev.