Hackaday · Creativity & design

Pixar's Transition to Linux

Pixar Animation Studios, known for its pioneering computer animation, transitioned its workflow from Silicon Graphics (SGI) Unix workstations to Linux.

The studio's early workflow relied on powerful Unix machines from SGI. As RISC workstations became less viable, many Unix users moved to Windows NT, but Pixar sought an alternative that maintained a Unix-like environment.

Pixar had a significant investment in its internal Unix-based software, estimated at millions of lines of code, and wished to avoid porting it to Windows. This led them to explore POSIX-compliant operating systems.

The path of least resistance pointed towards Linux. By 2001, Pixar completed the port to Linux. In 2003, a new render farm utilizing Xenon processors and x86 architecture solidified the studio's move to Linux, which has since become an industry standard.

The article raises questions about why other Unix-dependent industries, such as CAD/CAM, did not follow Pixar's lead to Linux, and why Pixar specifically chose Linux over other Unix-like systems such as BSD.

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