CERN Switches Operating Systems Following Software Support Dispute
The image highlights a situation involving CERN and a software vendor dispute. While the text claims IBM forced CERN to abandon 2,200 computers, the context relates to changes in support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which is owned by IBM. Updates to RHEL and the CentOS project have created compatibility issues with older processors used in CERN's specialized hardware. To avoid the significant cost of replacing thousands of machines that would no longer be supported under the new software requirements, CERN has moved toward using Debian. This shift illustrates the challenges large research organizations face when balancing legacy hardware integration with modern software lifecycle policies.
this isnt about ibm tho. and its not exactly about computers in the traditional sense. they are often deeply integrated with custom hardware so not easily swapable. and its about the operating systems next patch not working with older CPUs anymore... linux red head.
They still need the IBM 5100.
Nice.
Any cap want to provide context?
"I was a businessman, doing business". Yes, WAS
Con-cern'd
CERN uses RHEL on the majority of their Computers. RHEL is getting an update and breaking compatibility with older CPU's. Switching to Debian "may" save them the cost of swapping out half of their Computers.
They switched from Redhat Enterprise Linux to Debian due to the CentOS project abandoning support for processors from before 2009 with CentOS stream 9. CentOS stream 10 will force Cern to abandon an additional 17% of their computers.
Im sometimes surprised IBM is still in business. Worked for them about 9 years ago and simce then we used a lot of their tech, but gradually we moved away from that vendor since its too damned expensive. They have wonderful engineers and genuenly good products, but it feels like
Yes, it is real, but the headline is exaggerated for dramatic effect. It refers to a software support dispute between CERN and Red Hat (which is owned by IBM). IBM didn't physically force CERN to throw away hardware; rather, changes to Red Hat's software hardware requirements cre