Scientific Linux
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 Scientific Linux 6.0 with GNOME 2 |
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| Company / developer | Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory / European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
|---|---|
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Free and open source software |
| Initial release | 10 May 2004 |
| Latest stable release | 6.4, 5.9 / March 28, 2013, February 5, 2013 |
| Marketing target | Scientific purpose / High Performance Computing / Servers / Desktops[citation needed] |
| Update method | Yum (PackageKit) |
| Package manager | RPM Package Manager |
| Supported 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 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."[1]
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.
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History [edit]
Fermilab already had a Linux distribution known as Fermi Linux LTS 3.0.1, 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.
Scientific Linux is now maintained by a cooperative of science labs and universities. Fermilab and CERN are its primary sponsors.[2]
Design philosophy [edit]
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.[3]
The distribution is called Scientific Linux because it was initially made and used by scientific labs. It does not contain a large collection of scientific software.[1][4] However, it provides good compatibility to install such software.
Features [edit]
Scientific Linux is a copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with protected components, such as Red Hat trademarks, removed, thus making it freely available.[5] New releases are typically produced about two months after each Red Hat release.[2] As well as a full distro equal to two DVDs, Scientific Linux also comes in LiveCD and LiveDVD versions.[5]
It comes with a comprehensive range of software. It offers Wireless and Bluetooth out of the box, and comes with multimedia codecs, Samba sharing, Compiz,[4] 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 [edit]
Historical releases of Scientific Linux are the following,[6][7] although the release dates may not tell the whole story as each release is subjected to a period of public testing before it is considered 'released'.
| Scientific Linux Release | Architectures | RHEL base | Scientific Linux release date | RHEL release date | Delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0.1 | i386, x86-64 | 3.1 | 2004-05-10 | 2004-01-16 | 106d |
| 3.0.2 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.2 | 2004-06-28 | 2004-05-18 | 41d |
| 3.0.3 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.3 | 2004-10-03 | 2004-09-03 | 30d |
| 3.0.4 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.4 | 2005-02-11 | 2004-12-21 | 52d |
| 3.0.5 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.5 | 2005-07-25 | 2005-05-20 | 66d |
| 3.0.6 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.6 | 2005-11-07 | 2005-09-28 | 40d |
| 3.0.7 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.7 | 2006-05-26 | 2006-03-15 | 72d |
| 3.0.8 | i386, x86-64,IA-64 | 3.8 | 2006-10-31 | 2006-07-20 | 103d |
| 3.0.9 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 3.9 | 2007-10-12 | 2007-06-15 | 119d |
| 4.0 | i386, x86-64 | 4 | 2005-04-20 | 2005-02-14 | 65d |
| 4.1 | i386, x86-64, IA-64 | 4.1 | 2005-08-06 | 2005-06-08 | 59d |
| 4.2 | i386, x86_64 | 4.2 | 2005-11-22 | 2005-10-05 | 48d |
| 4.3 | i386, x86_64 | 4.3 | 2006-05-08 | 2006-03-12 | 57d |
| 4.4 | i386, x86_64 | 4.4 | 2006-10-09 | 2006-08-10 | 60d |
| 4.5 | i386, x86_64 | 4.5 | 2007-06-25 | 2007-05-01 | 55d |
| 4.6 | i386, x86-64 | 4.6 | 2008-03-12 | 2007-11-16 | 117d |
| 4.7 | i386, x86-64 | 4.7 | 2008-09-03 | 2008-07-24 | 41d |
| 4.8 | i386, x86-64 | 4.8 | 2009-07-28 | 2009-05-18 | 71d |
| 4.9 | i386, x86-64 | 4.9 | 2011-04-21 | 2011-02-16 | 64d |
| 5.0 | i386, x86-64 | 5 | 2007-05-14 | 2007-03-14 | 61d |
| 5.1 | i386, x86-64 | 5.1 | 2008-01-16 | 2007-11-07 | 70d |
| 5.2 | i386, x86-64 | 5.2 | 2008-06-26 | 2008-05-21 | 36d |
| 5.3 | i386, x86-64 | 5.3 | 2009-03-19 | 2009-01-20 | 58d |
| 5.4 | i386, x86-64 | 5.4 | 2009-11-04 | 2009-09-02 | 63d |
| 5.5 | i386, x86-64 | 5.5 | 2010-05-19 | 2010-03-31 | 49d |
| 5.6 | i386, x86-64 | 5.6 | 2011-06-21 | 2011-01-13 | 159d |
| 5.7 | i386, x86-64 | 5.7 | 2011-09-14 | 2011-07-21 | 55d |
| 5.8 | i386, x86-64 | 5.8 | 2012-04-24 | 2012-02-21 | 63d |
| 5.9 | i386, x86-64 | 5.9 | 2013-02-05 | 2013-01-08 | 28d |
| 6.0 | i386, x86-64 | 6 | 2011-03-03 | 2010-11-10 | 113d |
| 6.1 | i386, x86-64 | 6.1 | 2011-07-28 | 2011-05-19 | 70d |
| 6.2 | i386, x86-64 | 6.2 | 2012-02-16 | 2011-12-06 | 72d |
| 6.3 | i386, x86-64 | 6.3 | 2012-08-08 | 2012-06-21 | 48d |
| 6.4 | i386, x86-64 | 6.4 | 2013-03-28 | 2013-02-21 | 35d |
| Scientific Linux Release | Full Updates | Maintenance Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2006-07-20 | 2010-10-31 |
| 4 | 2009-03-31 | 2012-02-29 |
| 5 | Q1 2014 | 2017-03-31 |
| 6 | Q2 2017 | 2020-11-30 |
Support [edit]
Security updates are provided for as long as Red Hat continues to release updates and patches for their versions.[8]
See also [edit]
- List of Linux distributions
- Fermi Linux, Fermilab's own custom version of Scientific Linux.
- CentOS, another distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Rocks Cluster Distribution, a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters.
References [edit]
- ^ a b General Questions about Scientific Linux, www.scientificlinux.org
- ^ a b c d e Scientific Linux, the Great Distro With the Wrong Name, www.linux.com, 23 March 2012
- ^ Welcome to Scientific Linux (SL), www.scientificlinux.org
- ^ a b Scientific Linux - It blinded me with science!, www.dedoimedo.com, 3 February 2010
- ^ a b Scientific Linux 5.6 Live released, h-online.com, 11 July 2011
- ^ News Archives, www.scientificlinux.org
- ^ S.L. Distribution Roadmap, www.scientificlinux.org
- ^ End of life dates for SL versions
External links [edit]
| Find more about Scientific Linux at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Media from Commons |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
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Textbooks from Wikibooks |
- Scientific Linux Homepage
- Scientific Linux Forum
- Scientific Linux at DistroWatch
- CERN Linux Home Page
- Fermilab Linux Home Page
- Scientific Linux at DistroWatch
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