Scientific Linux stops development and the organizations instead turning to CentOS

Scientific Linux, a release based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, announced that it would stop development. Developed by Fermilab, CERN, ETH Zurich, and DESY, Scientific Linux is a free open source Linux distribution based on RHEL. The first version was released on May 10, 2004, nearly 14 years ago. After nearly 14 years of version change, this GNU/Linux distribution will not release the next major release update, Scientific Linux 8.

“Scientific Linux is driven by Fermilab’s scientific mission and focused on the changing needs of experimental facilities. Fermilab is looking ahead to DUNE and other future international collaborations. One part of this is unifying our computing platform with collaborating labs and institutions,” says James Amundson, Head of Scientific Computing Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Amundson further explains, “Toward that end, we will deploy CentOS 8 in our scientific computing environments rather than develop Scientific Linux 8. We will collaborate with CERN and other labs to help make CentOS an even better platform for high-energy physics computing. Fermilab will continue to support Scientific Linux 6 and 7 through the remainder of their respective lifecycles. Thank you to all who have contributed to Scientific Linux and who continue to do so.”

Currently, Fermilab will continue to maintain two branches, Scientific Linux, the 6.x and 7.x series, based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, respectively. These releases will continue to be supported by software and security updates until they end in 2020 and 2024, respectively.

Via: betanews