Scientific Linux
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Screenshot  Scientific Linux 6.0's default GNOME desktop | |
| 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 release | 6.3, 5.8 / August 8, 2012, April 24, 2012 |
| Marketing target | Scientific purpose / High Performance Computing / Servers / Desktops[citation needed] |
| 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 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.
History
Fermilab 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.
Release history
Historical releases of Scientific Linux are the following. [1][2]
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
See also
- GNU, Linux
- List of Linux distributions
- Red Hat Linux
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the commercial distribution on which Scientific Linux is based
- CentOS, another distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Rocks Cluster Distribution, a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters.
