The Microsoft Azure Network Adapter (MANA) driver is part of the upstream Linux kernel and provides networking support for Azure Accelerated Networking. Today, we’re announcing an out-of-tree (OOT) driver, so you can use MANA on supported Linux LTS kernels without upgrading your kernel.
MANA support is developed upstream in the Linux kernel, and that remains our preferred long-term model. But not every customer can move to a newer kernel quickly. Many customers maintain one standardized Linux image across Azure and other hyperscalers , and adopting a newer kernel just for Azure can mean:
- Building and maintaining an additional OS image
- Re-running security and compliance validation
- Changing an established patching lifecycle
- Waiting for Linux distribution to backport newer MANA capabilities
The OOT driver gives you another option: install MANA separately and keep the supported LTS kernel you already run.
How it Works?
The OOT package contains the identical upstream MANA driver source, plus a thin compatibility layer that lets it build against older, still-supported LTS kernels. It is not a separate MANA implementation.
Rather than upgrading the kernel, you download the source and build the MANA kernel module against the headers of your running kernel. In short: keep your kernel, install the MANA driver.
Supported LTS Kernels:
- Linux 5.15
- Linux 6.1
- Linux 6.6
- Linux 6.12
- Linux 6.18
When to Use this OOT-Driver?
If your Linux distribution kernel’s already provides the MANA capabilities you need, keep using the in-tree driver. Consider the OOT driver only when:
- You are running a supported LTS kernel
- The MANA capability/feature you need isn’t available in that kernel
- You can’t move to a newer kernel yet
- You maintain a common Linux image across multiple clouds
Think of the OOT driver as a bridge to the upstream driver, not a replacement for it.
Support Model:
The OOT driver is intended for supported, non-EOL Linux LTS kernels. Custom or heavily modified kernels fall outside the normal support scope. For long-term deployments, we recommend using the MANA driver shipped by your Linux distribution whenever it offers the functionality you need.
Installing a MANA driver that is not provided or supported by your Linux distribution may affect your vendor support coverage. Before replacing the distribution-provided driver, confirm the support implications with your Linux distribution provider.
Looking Ahead:
MANA continues to be developed in the open Linux ecosystem, and we’ll keep working with the Linux community and distribution partners to make its capabilities available through standard kernels. At the same time, we recognize that production kernel lifecycles don’t always line up with the upstream release cycle. The MANA OOT driver helps close that gap.
GitHub Link : microsoft/linux-kernel-drivers: OOT Linux driver for Azure MANA NIC