Today, an email from Pat Riehecky on the Scientific Linux mailing list announced the end of this exciting GNU/Linux distribution. I spent nearly four months last year using Scientific Linux, so hearing this news naturally saddened me.
Scientific Linux was (or rather, was) a CentOS-based distribution specifically developed for use in Fermilab projects. Some of the key r installing it included its exceptional stability, full compatibility with CentOS, and the fact that it was “the same system used by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) to accelerate particles”
The Announcement Email
Scientific Linux was driven by Fermilab, with its mission focused on meeting the needs of experimental research institutions.
Now, Fermilab is shifting toward the DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) project, and part of this transition involves standardizing computing platforms across these labs and institutions.
*As a result, instead of developing Scientific Linux 8, we will be using CentOS 8 in our laboratory and computing environments. We will collaborate with CERN and other research centers to further enhance CentOS for high-energy physics computing.*
Fermilab will continue supporting Scientific Linux 6 & 7 for the remainder of their lifecycle. Thank you to everyone who contributed—and will continue contributing—to Scientific Linux.
— Jim Amundsen
Head of Scientific Computing
