Ubuntu and macOS VMs

I always kinda knew what Ubuntu is, but not really. And I certainly have no idea how it relates to virtualization (a relevant topic these days).

So here’s what I learned:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution (distro) built on top of the Linux kernel (the thing that manages hardware, memory and core processes). It is responsible for the desktop environment and has strong opinions about how the computer’s default settings should be configured.

Ubuntu can not run simultaneously on a Mac unless you use virtualization. Back in the Intel Mac days, you might use VMWare or Parallels (I remember using this to run Windows on macOS in middle school, if I remember correctly).

But on the latest Apple Silicon Macs, you can run Ubuntu on Apple’s Hypervisor framework. This is a low level API that lets apps create VMs without resorting to emulation (emulation is slow).

So when people want to run a Linux VM on macOS, they might reach for the Ubuntu distro by default because it has great defaults, works out of the box, has a big community, and has predictable support/upgrade cycles (although services like Docker do not use Ubuntu by default, instead opting for Debian or Alpine).

Ubuntu is the Honda Civic of Linux distros.

Ubuntu's name comes from a South African philosophy meaning "humanity to others.”

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