Scientific Linux
Encyclopedia
Scientific Linux is a Linux distribution
produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
and the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN). It is a free and open source operating system
based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
and aims to be "as close to the commercial enterprise distribution as we can get it."
This product is derived from the free
and open source
software made available by Red Hat
, Inc., but is not produced, maintained or supported by Red Hat. Specifically, this product is built from the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
versions, under the terms and conditions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux's EULA and the GNU General Public License
.
already had a Linux distribution known as Fermi Linux
LTS 3.0.1, based on RHEL. CERN
was creating their next version of Cern Linux, also based on RHEL. CERN contacted Fermilab about doing a joint collaboration. Connie Sieh was the main developer and driver behind the first prototypes and initial release.
The first official release was on May 10, 2004.
At the release of Scientific Linux 3.0.1, CERN
joined in the collaboration and became co-developers of Scientific Linux.
The name Scientific Linux is actually a misnomer, in that it does not contain scientific software and was named instead for the labs that make it.
Scientific Linux >
Year-month-date
Number (Official)
Name
2004-05-10
Scientific Linux 3.0.1
Feynman
2004-06-21
Scientific Linux 3.0.2
Feynman
2004-10-01
Scientific Linux 3.0.3
Feynman
2005-02-11
Scientific Linux 3.0.4
Feynman
2005-04-20
Scientific Linux 4.0
Beryllium
2005-07-25
Scientific Linux 3.0.5
Feynman
2005-08-06
Scientific Linux 4.1
Beryllium
2005-11-22
Scientific Linux 4.2
Beryllium
2006-05-08
Scientific Linux 4.3
Beryllium
2006-05-26
Scientific Linux 3.0.7
Feynman
2006-10-09
Scientific Linux 4.4
Beryllium
2006-10-31
Scientific Linux 3.0.8
Feynman
2007-05-04
Scientific Linux 5.0
Boron
2007-06-25
Scientific Linux 4.5
Beryllium
2007-10-12
Scientific Linux 3.0.9
Legacy
2008-01-16
Scientific Linux 5.1
Boron
2008-03-12
Scientific Linux 4.6
Beryllium
2008-06-26
Scientific Linux 5.2
Boron
2008-09-03
Scientific Linux 4.7
Beryllium
2009-03-19
Scientific Linux 5.3
Boron
2009-07-28
Scientific Linux 4.8
Beryllium
2009-11-04
Scientific Linux 5.4
Boron
2010-05-19
Scientific Linux 5.5
Boron
2011-03-03
Scientific Linux 6.0
Carbon
2011-04-21
Scientific Linux 4.9
Beryllium
2011-06-21
Scientific Linux 5.6
Boron
2011-07-28
Scientific Linux 6.1
Carbon
2011-09-14
Scientific Linux 5.7
Boron
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
produced by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
and the European Organization for Nuclear Research
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
(CERN). It is a free and open source operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
and aims to be "as close to the commercial enterprise distribution as we can get it."
This product is derived from the free
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software made available by Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, Inc., but is not produced, maintained or supported by Red Hat. Specifically, this product is built from the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
versions, under the terms and conditions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux's EULA and the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
History
FermilabFermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
already had a Linux distribution known as Fermi Linux
Fermi Linux
Fermi Linux is the generic name for Linux distributions that are created and used at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory . These releases have gone through different names: Fermi Linux, Fermi Linux LTS, LTS, Scientific Linux Fermi, SLF...
LTS 3.0.1, based on RHEL. CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
was creating their next version of Cern Linux, also based on RHEL. CERN contacted Fermilab about doing a joint collaboration. Connie Sieh was the main developer and driver behind the first prototypes and initial release.
The first official release was on May 10, 2004.
At the release of Scientific Linux 3.0.1, CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
joined in the collaboration and became co-developers of Scientific Linux.
The name Scientific Linux is actually a misnomer, in that it does not contain scientific software and was named instead for the labs that make it.
Version history
Historical releases of Scientific Linux are the following.End Of Support
See also
- GNUGNUGNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds... - List of Linux distributions
- Red Hat LinuxRed Hat LinuxRed Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...
- Red Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
(RHEL) , the commercial distribution on which Scientific Linux is based - Rocks Cluster DistributionRocks Cluster DistributionRocks Cluster Distribution is a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters. It was started by National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure and the SDSC in 2000 and was initially funded in part by an NSF grant but is currently funded by the followup NSF...
, a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computingHigh-performance computingHigh-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
clusterCluster (computing)A computer cluster is a group of linked computers, working together closely thus in many respects forming a single computer. The components of a cluster are commonly, but not always, connected to each other through fast local area networks...
s.