[Retirement] Azure Linux with OS Guard (Public Preview) retires on December 10, 2026. Removal on March 10, 2027

**Azure Kubernetes Service support for Azure Linux with OS Guard (preview) will be retired on** **December 10, 2026**. Transition to Azure Container Linux by that date.

Azure Linux with OS Guard (preview) will be replaced by [Azure Container Linux](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-linux/azure-container-linux-overview). Azure Container Linux is the long-term, immutable, container-optimized Linux operating system for AKS and provides the same feature set as OS Guard. It provides a secure, minimal, and operationally consistent host OS for running containerized workloads at scale. For updates on Azure Container Linux, see [AKS release notes](https://github.com/Azure/AKS/releases).

From now to December 9, 2026, you can continue to use Azure Linux with OS Guard (preview) without disruption. Starting on December 10, 2026, AKS will no longer support Azure Linux with OS Guard (preview). You will no longer be able to create new node pools. AKS will not produce new node images and will no longer provide security patches for existing node pools.

AKS will remove Azure Linux with OS Guard node images on March 10, 2027, meaning that scaling and remediation (reimage and redeploy) operations will fail.

Resources to aid in your migration can be found below.

**Required action**

To avoid service disruptions such as security vulnerabilities, failed node image upgrades, and scaling or remediation failures, migrate to Azure Container Linux before **March 10, 2027**.

**Migration options:**
- Migrate an existing Azure Linux with OS Guard node pool in place to Azure Container Linux. See documentation [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-linux/tutorial-migrate-azure-container-linux-aks#migrate-to-acl-using-in-place-os-sku-migration)
- Create a new node pool with Azure Container Linux, migrate workloads to it, and then delete the Azure Linux with OS Guard node pool. See documentation [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-linux/tutorial-migrate-azure-container-linux-aks#add-acl-node-pools-and-remove-existing-node-pools)

For supported node OS options, see [AKS node OS documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/aks/core-aks-concepts#nodes-and-node-pools:~:text=in%20AKS.-,OS,-AKS%20supports%20two).

**Help and support**

If you have questions, get answers from community experts in [Microsoft Q&A](https://learn.microsoft.com/answers/tags/200/azure-kubernetes-service) or [AKS GitHub](https://aka.ms/aks/ubuntu2204-retirement-github). If you have a support plan and need technical help, follow our [documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request#open-a-support-request-from-the-global-header) to create a support request.

Learn more about service retirements that may impact your resources in the [Azure Retirement Workbook](https://aka.ms/ServicesRetirementWorkbook). Please note that retirements may not be visible in the workbook for up to two weeks after being announced.