CERN transitioning industrial computers to Debian after being a longtime RHEL institution
Summary
CERN is transitioning its industrial accelerator-control computers from RHEL-derived systems to Debian. The move is driven by concerns over a compiler flag default that could render older hardware obsolete, with CERN targeting 2,200+ systems to run Debian 13 by the end of 2026; data centers and experimental computing will remain on RHEL/AlmaLinux. The article also notes onboarding tooling gaps and multi-version package support challenges in Debian.