I am not sure if this idea has not already been discussed. It occurred to me that many National Laboratories and HPC centers will have a major short term problem. Namely Scientific Linux is dead and ROCKS for all practical purposes orphaned and dead. Proliferation of CentOS in scientific computing communities is notable. This could be an opportunity to write a multi institutional NSF grant proposal and get funding for the development of Springdale Linux and HPC related RPMs for the needs of US academic communities.
ROCKS had NSF grant for many years. This shouldn't be to hard to pull up if Josko and the crew have any interest. I would be happy to reach above mentioned communities.
I had to touch an Ubuntu box the other day and 45 min was sufficient remainder why I would never use it for anything serious.
Best,
Predrag