Scientific Linux

Scientific Linux

Scientific Linux 7.0 with GNOME
Developer	Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) / European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
OS family	Linux (Unix-like)
Working state	Discontinued
Source model	Open source
Initial release	May 10, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-05-10)
Final release	7.9[1] / 20 October 2020; 3 years ago (20 October 2020)
Marketing target	Scientific purpose / High Performance Computing / Servers / Desktops[2]
Update method	Yum (PackageKit)
Package manager	RPM Package Manager
Platforms	x86, x86-64
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux)
Default user interface	GNOME
License	GNU GPL & Various others.
Official website	www.scientificlinux.org

Scientific Linux (SL) is a discontinued Linux distribution produced by Fermilab, CERN, DESY and by ETH Zurich. It is a free and open-source operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.^[3]

This product is derived from the free and open-source software made available by Red Hat, but is not produced, maintained or supported by them.

In April 2019, it was announced that feature development for Scientific Linux would be discontinued, but that maintenance will continue to be provided for the 6.x and 7.x releases through the end of their life cycles. Fermilab and CERN will utilize CentOS Stream^[4] and AlmaLinux^[5] for their deployment of 8.x release instead.

History

Fermilab already had a Linux distribution known as Fermi Linux, a long-term support release based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. CERN was creating their next version of CERN Linux, also based on RHEL. CERN contacted Fermilab about doing a collaborative release. Connie Sieh was the main developer and driver behind the first prototypes and initial release.^[2] The first official release of Scientific Linux was version 3.0.1, released on May 10, 2004.

In 2015, CERN began migrating away from Scientific Linux to CentOS.^[6][7]

Scientific Linux is now maintained by a cooperative of science labs and universities. Fermilab is its primary sponsor.^[2]

Design philosophy

The primary purpose of Scientific Linux is to produce a common Linux distribution for various labs and universities around the world, thus reducing duplicated effort. The main goals are to have everything compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux with only minor additions and changes, and to allow easy customization for a site, without disturbing the Linux base.^[8] Unlike other distributions such as Poseidon Linux, it does not contain a large collection of scientific software as its name may suggest.^[3][9] However, it provides good compatibility to install such software.

Features

Scientific Linux is derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux without protected components such as Red Hat trademarks, thus making it freely available.^[10] New releases are typically produced about two months after each Red Hat release.^[2] As well as a full distribution equal to two DVDs, Scientific Linux is also available in LiveCD and LiveDVD versions.^[10]

Scientific Linux offers wireless and Bluetooth out of the box, and it comes with a comprehensive range of software, such as multimedia codecs, Samba, and Compiz,^[9] as well as servers and clients, storage clients, networking, and system administration tools.^[2]

It also contains a set of tools for making custom versions, thus allowing institutions and individuals to create their own variant.^[2]

Release history

Historical releases of Scientific Linux are the following.^[11][12] Each release is subjected to a period of public testing before it is considered 'released'.

Scientific Linux release	Codename	Architectures	RHEL base	Scientific Linux release date	Red Hat Enterprise Linux release date	Delay
3.0.1	Lithium	i386, x86-64	3.1	2004-05-10	2004-01-16	106d
4[2]	Beryllium		4	2005-04-20	2005-02-14	65d
5[13][14]	Boron		5	2007-05-14	2007-03-14	61d
6[15][16][17][18]	Carbon		6	2011-03-03	2010-11-10	113d
7[19][20]	Nitrogen	x86-64	7	2014-10-13	2014-06-10	125d

Support

Security updates are provided for as long as Red Hat continues to release updates and patches for their versions.^[21]

End of support schedule

Scientific Linux release	Full updates	Maintenance updates
3	Old version, no longer maintained: 2006-07-20	Old version, no longer maintained: 2010-10-31
4	Old version, no longer maintained: 2009-03-31	Old version, no longer maintained: 2012-02-29
5	Old version, no longer maintained: Q1 2014	Old version, no longer maintained: 2017-03-31
6	Old version, no longer maintained: Q2 2017	Old version, no longer maintained: 2020-11-30
7	Old version, no longer maintained: Q4 2019	Old version, no longer maintained: 2024-06-30

See also

• Fermi Linux, Fermilab's own custom version of Scientific Linux
• CentOS, another distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• AlmaLinux, the recommended replacement distribution
• Rocks Cluster Distribution, a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters

References

1. "Scientific Linux 7.9 x86_64 is now available". October 20, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
2. Carla Schroder (March 23, 2012). "Scientific Linux, the Great Distro With the Wrong Name". Linux.com.
3. "General Questions about Scientific Linux (Community)". Scientific Linux.
4. Cooper, Glenn (October 25, 2021). "Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution". listserv.fnal.gov. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
5. "Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution". news.fnal.gov. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
6. "Scientific Linux @ CERN: Next Version". CERN. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
7. "CC7: CERN CentOS 7". CERN. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
8. "Welcome to Scientific Linux (SL)". Scientifix Linux.
9. "Scientific Linux – It blinded me with science!". Dedoimedo. February 3, 2010.
10. "Scientific Linux 5.6 Live released". The H. July 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013.
11. "News Archives". Scientifix Linux. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
12. "S.L. Distribution Roadmap". Scientifix Linux. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
13. Scientific Linux – It blinded me with science!, Dedoimedo
14. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 351, 26 April 2010
15. Scientific Linux 6 – Another great distro, but, Dedoimedo
16. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 419, 22 August 2011
17. Scientific Linux 6.1 Carbon review – Almost there, Dedoimedo
18. Scientific Linux 6.5 Carbon – Fast and dubious, Dedoimedo
19. Scientific Linux 7.1 review – More fiasco, Dedoimedo
20. Download Scientific Linux 7.5, Softpedia Linux
21. "End of life dates for SL versions". Scientifix Linux. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.

External links

• Scientific Linux Homepage
• Scientific Linux at DistroWatch