ScientificLinux

Scientific Linux

The PSI group has agreed to standardize on Scientific Linux keeping track of CERN official releases - now 5.4

• Installing Linux
• Scientific Linux Local Repository

Other useful RPM repositories:

• DAG
• Kernel sources can be found at http://psi.phys.wits.ac.za/public/SL41/collected/SRPMS/ or ftp://ftp.scientificlinux.org/linux/redhat/enterprise/4/en/os/i386/SRPMS/
  • expand them by
    rpm -ivh kernel...rpm
cd /usr/src/redhat
rpmbuild -bp -target=i686 /SPECS/kernel...
  • you might need to install
    yum install rpm-build redhat-rpm-config gnupg
• [[|EPEL]
  • check at http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/i386/repoview/epel-release.html
  • (for SL5) rpm -Uvh http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386/epel-release-5-3.noarch.rpm
  • (for SL4) rpm -Uvh http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/4/i386/epel-release-4-9.noarch.rpm
  • yum install cernlib-devel cernlib-utils paw geant321

Other useful software

• Acrobat Reader
  • install by
    sudo yum install --enablerepo dag acroread mozilla-acroread
• LyX - The Document Processor
  LyX is a word processor that uses LaTeX for output. You get the perfect typesetting of LaTeX without having to learn the LaTeX markup syntax, help in writing formulas and inserting images, etc etc.
  • install by yum --enablerepo=dag install lyx latex-xft-fonts
  • for Windows, there is LyX for Win32
• OpenOffice Dictionaries for UK English, Afrikaans etc
  • get your dictionary from http://lingucomponent.openoffice.org/dictpack.html or from the local copy http://psi.phys.wits.ac.za/private/OpenOffice-LangPack/
  • you probably want en_EN-pack.zip
  • sudo -H ooffice /usr/lib/ooo-1.1/share/dict/ooo/DicOOo.sxw
  • choose "Off-line language pack installation"
  • write the full path to the zip file - don't use the "Browse" button, it crashes !

Known problems:

• I have had kernel OOPS and panic when using a USB-2 pendrive.
  A bug report has been submitted:
  https://www.scientificlinux.org/collector.2004-08-03.0265953686/59
  • the same pendrive works on USB-1
  • a USB-1 pendrive works on the same PC
  • the problem can be "solved" by disabling USB2, by adding to /etc/modprobe.conf
install ehci_hcd false
  • fixed in SL 4.3
• Both SL 4.1 and 4.2 did not want to install on the VMIVME-7750, with a kernel panic on disk access.
  • the solution is to install with a kernel paramenter ide=nodma.
  • I have not yet tried to run a kernel without ide=nodma.
  • my RH8 recovery CD did work without the ide=nodma.