---
myst:
html_meta:
"description lang=en":
"The different components of Ubuntu Pro for WSL work together to support automatic securing of WSL instances and integration with remote management tools."
---
# Architecture of Ubuntu Pro for WSL
This page describes the different components of UP4W and how they integrate
together to form the software architecture.
## Background
### What is Ubuntu WSL?
With the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), Linux distributions can be run on
Windows with minimal overhead. Ubuntu WSL is an image that is optimised for
running Ubuntu WSL. A user can create an Ubuntu WSL instance on a Windows
machine and use that instance as a production-ready development environment.
Ubuntu WSL also benefits from tight integration with Ubuntu Pro and
Landscape, which makes it easier to secure Ubuntu WSL instances and manage them
at scale.
### Why is managing WSL instances at scale difficult?
An individual user can create and configure multiple, independent instances of
Ubuntu WSL on their machine. For a system administrator, who is managing
fleets of Windows machines with multiple users, the potential number of Ubuntu
WSL instances increases dramatically. While the system administrator has tools
for managing Windows machines, WSL instances can be a black box that cannot be
directly monitored or patched. This can result in WSL instances that do not
follow system administration policies.
### How does Ubuntu Pro for WSL solve this problem?
Ubuntu Pro for WSL (UP4W) helps automate the management of Ubuntu WSL.
For each new instance that is discovered or created, UP4W will automatically:
* Attach them to your Ubuntu Pro subscription
* Enrol them with your Landscape server
The integration with Ubuntu Pro keeps instances secure, while the
integration with Landscape enables remote deployment and management.
Without UP4W, these configurations would be manual, time-consuming and
error-prone.
## The components of UP4W
```{admonition} WSL architecture
:class: tip
WSL is maintained by Microsoft and its architecture is outside the scope of this page.
A good overview of WSL architecture is provided in [this blog from Microsoft](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/cmdline/wsl-architectural-overview).
```
### Overview
UP4W consists of some components that run on a Windows host
and others that run within instances of Ubuntu WSL.
A user interacts with the UP4W application. UP4W then automatically
pro-attaches and Landscape-enrols each new instance of Ubuntu WSL that is
created on the Windows host.
In an organisation, multiple users of Windows machines can create Ubuntu WSL
instances, which are secured by Ubuntu Pro and that can be managed by Landscape.
```{figure} ../diagrams/structurizr-SystemLandscape.png
:name: user-interact-arch
:alt: architecture diagram showing user interaction with Ubuntu Pro for WSL
:align: center
```
### Components on the Windows host
The Windows host is a single machine running the Windows OS. WSL instances can
be created and instanced on this host. The UP4W application that is installed
on the Windows host consists of a GUI front end and an agent that runs in the
background.
A user enters a Pro token and Landscape configuration using the GUI. When the
GUI is launched it starts the Windows Agent, if it's not already running. The agent runs in the background
on the Windows host and manages communication with other components, including
the remote Landscape server and the Pro service running within each instance of
Ubuntu WSL. The agent is responsible for managing the state of instances and
acts as a bridge between those instances and Landscape. If the configuration
details are valid, all new instances will have Ubuntu Pro enabled and will be
able to communicate with the Landscape server.
```{figure} ../diagrams/structurizr-SystemContainers.png
:name: top-level-arch
:alt: architecture diagram showing coordinating role of agent
:align: center
```
It is possible to bypass the GUI and instead configure UP4W using the Windows
registry. This may be the preferred option for those operating at scale. When
UP4W is launched, a registry path is created that can be used to store a Pro
token and a Landscape configuration. A system administrator can use a remote
management solution like Intune to configure the registry on fleets of devices.
### Components on Ubuntu WSL instances
The WSL Pro service runs in each instance of Ubuntu WSL. From the host, the
Windows agent communicates with this service. This allows commands to be sent
from the host, which are then executed by the Pro service on each instance.
When an Ubuntu WSL instance is started, the WSL Pro service runs and queries
the Windows agent on the host for the status of the Pro subscription.
If the Pro token is valid, it is retrieved from the Windows agent and
passed to the Pro service running on Ubuntu WSL instances.
If not, Ubuntu Pro is disabled on the instances.
Pre-installed on each instance of Ubuntu WSL is an Ubuntu Pro client
and a Landscape client.
After a Pro token is provided, the Windows agent can send a
command to the Ubuntu Pro client to execute pro-attach on active instances.
Similarly, when a Landscape configuration is provided, the Windows agent
can send a command to configure the Landscape client in each instance.
The administrator of the Landscape server can also send commands to the agent
to deploy new instances or delete existing instances.
```{figure} ../diagrams/structurizr-Production.png
:name: production-arch
:alt: architecture diagram for production, with instances deployed from remote server
:align: center
```
Ubuntu WSL instances that are deployed at scale can be extensively customised.
The Landscape API can be used to automate the deployment of a custom rootfs. As
of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, cloud-init is pre-installed on Ubuntu WSL instances, which
makes it possible to automate the configuration of instances created from that
release.
### Source code
UP4W is open-source software. You can look at the code in the [GitHub
repo](https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-pro-for-wsl).
The following technologies are used to build UP4W:
* **Go**: Windows agent and WSL Pro service
* **Flutter**: GUI front end
* **gRPC**: communication between back end and front end