Linux is popular in cloud computing infrastructure largely thanks to its flexibility and source code availability for customization and fine-tuning. Similarly, the open source OS is used by supercomputer system engineers as a resource that can be expanded or stripped down like no other option.
在而今的巨型云计算机基础设施中，Linux十分流行。这主要得益于其定制和裁剪的灵活性及源码可用性。相似地，该开源操作系统被超级计算机系统工程师用作一种无与伦比的可被扩展或精简的战略资源。 I've been tracking the Top500 Supercomputer List with a particular eye on Linux for some time now, highlighting how Linux continues to power the majority of the world's fastest supercomputing systems. 我一直在跟踪世界计算机Top 500排行；最近一段时间，我把目光特别放在了Linux身上，观察Linux是如何持续驱动世界上最快的几大超级计算机系统。
So it's no surprise to see continued dominance for Linux, but there are some interesting changes every six months when the new fastest supercomputer system list comes out. The most recent list, released last month, reinforces Linux leadership, as every single one of the top 10 fastest supercomputing systems in the world runs Linux. We had previously seen Linux in four of the top five systems or seven to eight of the top 10, but this year was marked by a sweep of the top 10 for Tux. 看Linux持续占统治地位并不足以为奇。但每6个月当最新的计算机Top 500排行出炉时，有一些有趣的变化值得一看。最近的一份排行与刚刚过去的6月发布；它再次显示了Linux的领导地位——最快的10台超级计算机，每一台都运行着Linux。之前我们看到过世界前5 Linux占4，世界前10 Linux占8，但今年，世界前十全部被Linux扫荡！
Unparalleled Flexibility
无与伦比的灵活性 While we have also seen heavy use of "Linux," as opposed to specific distributions, among the world's supercomputing system builders, it is also interesting to see which Linux distributions are gaining on the list, and which operating systems have lost spots. It is also interesting to note that amid the global competition occurring at the supercomputer scale, nearly all of the participants from around the world are using Linux. In terms of gains, we saw most of the increase in Linux supersystems defined as "generic Linux." I believe this indicates use of both free and paid Linux distributions, but mostly it highlights that Linux is being shaped and shifted beyond distribution boundaries by the teams that are building these incredibly powerful systems. Linux is popular in cloud computing infrastructure largely thanks to its flexibility and source code availability for customization and fine-tuning. Similarly, the open source OS is used by supercomputer system engineers as a resource that can be expanded or stripped down like no other option. Another OS that managed growth on the latest list was Windows HPC. That reflects an OS role reversal in HPC -- but nonetheless, it managed to grow from five supercomputer systems on the list a year ago to six on the latest list. Enterprise Linux Slippage
企业级Linux的下滑 The growth in use of generic Linux appears to have come somewhat at the expense of the leading enterprise Linux distributions: Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES). In various versions, both distributions of Linux lost ground from the June 2010 Top500 list compared to this year's. For SLES, which continues to garner enterprise use and credibility despite some uncertainty from its Attachmate acquisition, the OS slipped from a total of 38 systems to 34 on the latest list. In addition, I should point out that despite its No. 2 position in the enterprise server market, SLES has long been the leading Linux distribution and individual OS on the Top500 list. As for RHEL, its representation in nine supercomputing systems in 2010 dropped down to six systems in the latest list. I should also point out there is certainly representation of both RHEL and SLES, as well as their community cousins Fedora and OpenSUSE, in the generic Linux category of the Top500 list, which represents 82.6 percent of the systems. CentOS is increasingly identified as a top choice for supercomputing systems, though the RHEL clone slipped from seven spots on the Top500 list last year to six spots this year. The latest Top500 list reinforces some of the changes in the Linux market that we are currently observing, driven primarily by cloud computing, the confluence of application development and deployment, or devops, and the ongoing impact of unpaid, community Linux. We continue to track these changes and encourage users to weigh in via our brief survey here. |
