Cleanup support wording

linux-support.md

@@ -1,45 +1,41 @@
 # .NET Support and Compatibility for Linux Distributions
 
-.NET is supported by various [commercial and community organizations](support.md) on [multiple Linux distributions](linux.md).
+.NET can be run on almost any Linux distribution, via:
 
-.NET can be run on any Linux distribution, via:
+- Portable builds, which are built to be broadly compatible with most Linux distributions by support multiple versions of OpenSSL, ICU, and other depedencies.
+- Distribution-specific builds, which are built specifically for a given distribution version (like Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 or Ubuntu 24.04) and the libraries that it contains.
 
-- Portable builds, which are built to be broadly compatible with most Linux distributions.
-- Distribution-specific builds, which are built specifically for a given distribution version (like Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 or Ubuntu 22.04).
-
-Microsoft builds are portable builds.
+The community provides best effort support for .NET across all Linux distributions. [Commercial support](support.md) is provided for some popular distributions.
 
 ## General dependencies
 
-Portable builds have multiple dependencies that must be installed:
+.NET has multiple dependencies that must be installed:
 
 - [.NET 6 dependencies](./release-notes/6.0/linux-packages.md)
-- [.NET 7 dependencies](./release-notes/7.0/linux-packages.md)
 - [.NET 8 dependencies](./release-notes/8.0/linux-packages.md)
+- [.NET 9 dependencies](./release-notes/9.0/linux-packages.md)
 
-## libc compatibility
+## Portable build compatibility
 
-Portable builds supports both [glibc](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/)-based and [musl libc](https://musl.libc.org/)-based Linux distributions, per the following minimum version information.
+Portable builds are compiled with an [intentionally old Linux version](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/issues/83428) in order to provide broad compatibility. The primary purpose of this approach is linking to a sufficiently old libc library. The minimum supported libc version is documented in [.NET Supported OS Policy](./os-lifecycle-policy.md).
 
-- [.NET 6 minimum libc](release-notes/6.0/supported-os.md#libc-compatibility)
-- [.NET 7 minimum libc](release-notes/7.0/supported-os.md#libc-compatibility)
-- [.NET 8 minimum libc](release-notes/8.0/supported-os.md#libc-compatibility)
+Microsoft provides portable builds that support both [glibc](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/)-based and [musl libc](https://musl.libc.org/)-based Linux distributions.
 
-You can use the following pattern to determine the libc version provided for your distribution.
+The following examples demonstrate how to find the libc version provided for your distribution.
 
-On Alpine:
+On Alpine 3.13:
 
 ```bash
 # ldd --version
 musl libc (aarch64)
-Version 1.2.3
+Version 1.2.2
 ```
 
-On Ubuntu:
+On Ubuntu 16.04:
 
 ```bash
 # ldd --version
-ldd (Ubuntu GLIBC 2.35-0ubuntu3.1) 2.35
+ldd (Ubuntu GLIBC 2.23-0ubuntu11.3) 2.23
 ```
 
 ## OpenSSL compatibility
@@ -56,4 +52,4 @@ New .NET versions will typically only be supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (
 - RHEL 8 is considered in active support.
 - RHEL 9 is considered in active support.
 
-RHEL compatible distributions are supported, including: AlmaLinux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and Rocky Linux. 
+RHEL compatible distributions are supported, including: AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, Oracle Linux, and Rocky Linux.

linux.md

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 # .NET for Linux Distributions
 
-.NET can be installed on Linux in multiple ways, via [packages](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/core/install/linux), [scripts](https://github.com/dotnet/install-scripts), or [tarballs](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet). It can be installed globally, locally/privately, or with an app.
-
-.NET is supported on Linux per [.NET Support and Compatibility for Linux Distributions](linux-support.md).
+.NET can be [installed on Linux](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/core/install/linux) in multiple ways. It is supported per [.NET Support and Compatibility for Linux Distributions](linux-support.md).
 
 ## Package archives
 
@@ -28,6 +26,8 @@ Microsoft offers alternate package feeds at [packages.microsoft.com](http://pack
 
 Microsoft is [no longer publishing packages for Ubuntu starting with Ubuntu 24.04](https://github.com/dotnet/core/discussions/9258).
 
+[SDK feature bands](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/releases-and-support#feature-bands-sdk-only) are the only significant difference between Microsoft and distro-provided builds. Distro-provided SDK builds are always within the `.1xx` feature band, while Microsoft SDK builds are always for the latest feature band, for example `.2xx`.
+
 ## Containers
 
 .NET containers are published to multiple registries.

os-lifecycle-policy.md

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 The following documents describe supported operating systems:
 
 * [.NET 8 supported OS versions](release-notes/8.0/supported-os.md)
-* [.NET 7 supported OS versions](release-notes/7.0/supported-os.md)
 * [.NET 6 supported OS versions](release-notes/6.0/supported-os.md)
 
 ## Preview .NET versions
@@ -18,8 +17,9 @@ The following documents describe supported operating systems:
 
 The following documents describe (historical) supported operating systems:
 
-* [.NET Core 3.1 supported OS versions](release-notes/3.1/3.1-supported-os.md)
+* [.NET 7 supported OS versions](release-notes/7.0/supported-os.md)
 * [.NET 5 supported OS versions](release-notes/5.0/5.0-supported-os.md)
+* [.NET Core 3.1 supported OS versions](release-notes/3.1/3.1-supported-os.md)
 * [.NET Core 3.0 supported OS versions](release-notes/3.0/3.0-supported-os.md)
 * [.NET Core 2.2 supported OS versions](release-notes/2.2/2.2-supported-os.md)
 * [.NET Core 2.1 supported OS versions](release-notes/2.1/2.1-supported-os.md)

support.md

@@ -1,35 +1,38 @@
-# .NET Support and Distributions
+# .NET Support
 
-.NET is available (as a binary distribution) in many package managers and official download sites. These builds of .NET are provided and supported by organizations that participate in the .NET community, [build .NET from source](https://github.com/dotnet/dotnet), and offer stable binaries to their users. These organizations work together to enable developers to be productive and safe on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
+.NET binaries, packages, and container images are provided and supported by organizations that participate in the .NET community, [build .NET from source](https://github.com/dotnet/dotnet), and offer regularly updated assets to their users. These organizations work together to enable developers to be productive and safe on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
 
-Patches are provided for functional or security issues, typically monthly on [Patch Tuesday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Tuesday).
+## Policies
 
 .NET is supported per the following policies:
 
 * [.NET releases](releases.md)
 * [.NET release policies](release-policies.md)
-* [.NET supported operating system lifecycle](os-lifecycle-policy.md).
+* [.NET supported operating system lifecycle](os-lifecycle-policy.md)
+
+## Community support
 
 Community support is available on GitHub, such as at [dotnet/core](https://github.com/dotnet/core).
 
-Community builds are available for [Linux](linux.md) and [macOS](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/dotnet-sdk). 
+Community builds are available for [FreeBSD](https://wiki.freebsd.org/.NET), [Linux](linux.md), and [macOS](https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/dotnet-sdk)
+
+## Commercial support
 
-Official builds and commercial support is available from the following companies:
+Commercial support is provided by the following companies.
 
-## Canonical
+### Canonical
 
 Canonical supports .NET on Ubuntu, per the following.
 
-- .NET 6 is supported in Ubuntu 22.04.
-- .NET 7 is supported in Ubuntu 22.04.
-- .NET 8 is supported in Ubuntu 23.10+.
+* .NET 6 is supported in Ubuntu 22.04+
+* .NET 8 is supported in Ubuntu 22.04+.
 
-## Microsoft
+### Microsoft
 
-Microsoft provides [stable builds](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download) and [commercial support](https://support.serviceshub.microsoft.com/supportforbusiness/onboarding) for .NET on Linux, macOS, and Windows, per [.NET support policy](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/platform/support/policy).
+Microsoft provides [stable builds](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download) and [commercial support](https://support.serviceshub.microsoft.com/supportforbusiness/onboarding) for .NET on [multiple operating systems](os-lifecycle-policy.md), per [.NET support policy](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/platform/support/policy).
 
-A more restrictive policy is used for [.NET container images](https://github.com/dotnet/dotnet-docker/blob/main/documentation/supported-platforms.md).
+.NET container images are provided for a more limited set [operating system versions](https://github.com/dotnet/dotnet-docker/blob/main/documentation/supported-platforms.md).
 
-## Red Hat
+### Red Hat
 
 Red Hat supports .NET on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, per [.NET life cycle policy](https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/net-core).