diff --git a/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.ps1 b/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.ps1
index 2ff62da5a..3ecd622d5 100644
--- a/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.ps1	
+++ b/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.ps1	
@@ -37,10 +37,7 @@
 .PARAMETER SharedRuntime
     This parameter is obsolete and may be removed in a future version of this script.
     The recommended alternative is '-Runtime dotnet'.
-
-    Default: false
     Installs just the shared runtime bits, not the entire SDK.
-    This is equivalent to specifying `-Runtime dotnet`.
 .PARAMETER Runtime
     Installs just a shared runtime, not the entire SDK.
     Possible values:
@@ -77,44 +74,48 @@
     Skips installing non-versioned files if they already exist, such as dotnet.exe.
 .PARAMETER NoCdn
     Disable downloading from the Azure CDN, and use the uncached feed directly.
+.PARAMETER JSonFile
+    Determines the SDK version from a user specified global.json file
+    Note: global.json must have a value for 'SDK:Version'
 #>
 [cmdletbinding()]
 param(
-   [string]$Channel="LTS",
-   [string]$Version="Latest",
-   [string]$InstallDir="<auto>",
-   [string]$Architecture="<auto>",
-   [ValidateSet("dotnet", "aspnetcore", "windowsdesktop", IgnoreCase = $false)]
-   [string]$Runtime,
-   [Obsolete("This parameter may be removed in a future version of this script. The recommended alternative is '-Runtime dotnet'.")]
-   [switch]$SharedRuntime,
-   [switch]$DryRun,
-   [switch]$NoPath,
-   [string]$AzureFeed="https://dotnetcli.azureedge.net/dotnet",
-   [string]$UncachedFeed="https://dotnetcli.blob.core.windows.net/dotnet",
-   [string]$FeedCredential,
-   [string]$ProxyAddress,
-   [switch]$ProxyUseDefaultCredentials,
-   [switch]$SkipNonVersionedFiles,
-   [switch]$NoCdn
+    [string]$Channel = "LTS",
+    [string]$Version = "Latest",
+    [string]$JSonFile,
+    [string]$InstallDir = "<auto>",
+    [string]$Architecture = "<auto>",
+    [ValidateSet("dotnet", "aspnetcore", "windowsdesktop", IgnoreCase = $false)]
+    [string]$Runtime,
+    [Obsolete("This parameter may be removed in a future version of this script. The recommended alternative is '-Runtime dotnet'.")]
+    [switch]$SharedRuntime,
+    [switch]$DryRun,
+    [switch]$NoPath,
+    [string]$AzureFeed = "https://dotnetcli.azureedge.net/dotnet",
+    [string]$UncachedFeed = "https://dotnetcli.blob.core.windows.net/dotnet",
+    [string]$FeedCredential,
+    [string]$ProxyAddress,
+    [switch]$ProxyUseDefaultCredentials,
+    [switch]$SkipNonVersionedFiles,
+    [switch]$NoCdn
 )
 
 Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
-$ErrorActionPreference="Stop"
-$ProgressPreference="SilentlyContinue"
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+$ProgressPreference = "SilentlyContinue"
 
 if ($NoCdn) {
     $AzureFeed = $UncachedFeed
 }
 
-$BinFolderRelativePath=""
+$BinFolderRelativePath = ""
 
 if ($SharedRuntime -and (-not $Runtime)) {
     $Runtime = "dotnet"
 }
 
 # example path with regex: shared/1.0.0-beta-12345/somepath
-$VersionRegEx="/\d+\.\d+[^/]+/"
+$VersionRegEx = "/\d+\.\d+[^/]+/"
 $OverrideNonVersionedFiles = !$SkipNonVersionedFiles
 
 function Say($str) {
@@ -166,7 +167,7 @@ function Get-CLIArchitecture-From-Architecture([string]$Architecture) {
         { $_ -eq "x86" } { return "x86" }
         { $_ -eq "arm" } { return "arm" }
         { $_ -eq "arm64" } { return "arm64" }
-        default { throw "Architecture not supported. If you think this is a bug, report it at https://github.com/dotnet/cli/issues" }
+        default { throw "Architecture not supported. If you think this is a bug, report it at https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/issues" }
     }
 }
 
@@ -183,7 +184,7 @@ function Get-Version-Info-From-Version-Text([string]$VersionText) {
 
     $VersionInfo = @{
         CommitHash = $(if ($Data.Count -gt 1) { $Data[0] })
-        Version = $Data[-1] # last line is always the version number.
+        Version    = $Data[-1] # last line is always the version number.
     }
     return $VersionInfo
 }
@@ -198,67 +199,66 @@ function Load-Assembly([string] $Assembly) {
     }
 }
 
-function GetHTTPResponse([Uri] $Uri)
-{
+function GetHTTPResponse([Uri] $Uri) {
     Invoke-With-Retry(
-    {
-
-        $HttpClient = $null
-
-        try {
-            # HttpClient is used vs Invoke-WebRequest in order to support Nano Server which doesn't support the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet.
-            Load-Assembly -Assembly System.Net.Http
-
-            if(-not $ProxyAddress) {
-                try {
-                    # Despite no proxy being explicitly specified, we may still be behind a default proxy
-                    $DefaultProxy = [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy;
-                    if($DefaultProxy -and (-not $DefaultProxy.IsBypassed($Uri))) {
-                        $ProxyAddress = $DefaultProxy.GetProxy($Uri).OriginalString
-                        $ProxyUseDefaultCredentials = $true
+        {
+
+            $HttpClient = $null
+
+            try {
+                # HttpClient is used vs Invoke-WebRequest in order to support Nano Server which doesn't support the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet.
+                Load-Assembly -Assembly System.Net.Http
+
+                if (-not $ProxyAddress) {
+                    try {
+                        # Despite no proxy being explicitly specified, we may still be behind a default proxy
+                        $DefaultProxy = [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy;
+                        if ($DefaultProxy -and (-not $DefaultProxy.IsBypassed($Uri))) {
+                            $ProxyAddress = $DefaultProxy.GetProxy($Uri).OriginalString
+                            $ProxyUseDefaultCredentials = $true
+                        }
+                    }
+                    catch {
+                        # Eat the exception and move forward as the above code is an attempt
+                        #    at resolving the DefaultProxy that may not have been a problem.
+                        $ProxyAddress = $null
+                        Say-Verbose("Exception ignored: $_.Exception.Message - moving forward...")
                     }
-                } catch {
-                    # Eat the exception and move forward as the above code is an attempt
-                    #    at resolving the DefaultProxy that may not have been a problem.
-                    $ProxyAddress = $null
-                    Say-Verbose("Exception ignored: $_.Exception.Message - moving forward...")
                 }
-            }
 
-            if($ProxyAddress) {
-                $HttpClientHandler = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClientHandler
-                $HttpClientHandler.Proxy =  New-Object System.Net.WebProxy -Property @{Address=$ProxyAddress;UseDefaultCredentials=$ProxyUseDefaultCredentials}
-                $HttpClient = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClient -ArgumentList $HttpClientHandler
-            }
-            else {
+                if ($ProxyAddress) {
+                    $HttpClientHandler = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClientHandler
+                    $HttpClientHandler.Proxy = New-Object System.Net.WebProxy -Property @{Address = $ProxyAddress; UseDefaultCredentials = $ProxyUseDefaultCredentials }
+                    $HttpClient = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClient -ArgumentList $HttpClientHandler
+                }
+                else {
 
-                $HttpClient = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClient
-            }
-            # Default timeout for HttpClient is 100s.  For a 50 MB download this assumes 500 KB/s average, any less will time out
-            # 20 minutes allows it to work over much slower connections.
-            $HttpClient.Timeout = New-TimeSpan -Minutes 20
-            $Response = $HttpClient.GetAsync("${Uri}${FeedCredential}").Result
-            if (($Response -eq $null) -or (-not ($Response.IsSuccessStatusCode))) {
-                 # The feed credential is potentially sensitive info. Do not log FeedCredential to console output.
-                $ErrorMsg = "Failed to download $Uri."
-                if ($Response -ne $null) {
-                    $ErrorMsg += "  $Response"
+                    $HttpClient = New-Object System.Net.Http.HttpClient
                 }
+                # Default timeout for HttpClient is 100s.  For a 50 MB download this assumes 500 KB/s average, any less will time out
+                # 20 minutes allows it to work over much slower connections.
+                $HttpClient.Timeout = New-TimeSpan -Minutes 20
+                $Response = $HttpClient.GetAsync("${Uri}${FeedCredential}").Result
+                if (($Response -eq $null) -or (-not ($Response.IsSuccessStatusCode))) {
+                    # The feed credential is potentially sensitive info. Do not log FeedCredential to console output.
+                    $ErrorMsg = "Failed to download $Uri."
+                    if ($Response -ne $null) {
+                        $ErrorMsg += "  $Response"
+                    }
 
-                throw $ErrorMsg
-            }
+                    throw $ErrorMsg
+                }
 
-             return $Response
-        }
-        finally {
-             if ($HttpClient -ne $null) {
-                $HttpClient.Dispose()
+                return $Response
             }
-        }
-    })
+            finally {
+                if ($HttpClient -ne $null) {
+                    $HttpClient.Dispose()
+                }
+            }
+        })
 }
 
-
 function Get-Latest-Version-Info([string]$AzureFeed, [string]$Channel, [bool]$Coherent) {
     Say-Invocation $MyInvocation
 
@@ -304,20 +304,59 @@ function Get-Latest-Version-Info([string]$AzureFeed, [string]$Channel, [bool]$Co
     return $VersionInfo
 }
 
-
-function Get-Specific-Version-From-Version([string]$AzureFeed, [string]$Channel, [string]$Version) {
+function Parse-Jsonfile-For-Version([string]$JSonFile) {
     Say-Invocation $MyInvocation
 
-    switch ($Version.ToLower()) {
-        { $_ -eq "latest" } {
-            $LatestVersionInfo = Get-Latest-Version-Info -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Coherent $False
-            return $LatestVersionInfo.Version
+    If (-Not (Test-Path $JSonFile)) {
+        throw "Unable to find '$JSonFile'"
+    }
+    try {
+        $JSonContent = Get-Content($JSonFile) -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json | Select-Object -expand "sdk" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    }
+    catch {
+        throw "Json file unreadable: '$JSonFile'"
+    }
+    if ($JSonContent) {
+        try {
+            $JSonContent.PSObject.Properties | ForEach-Object {
+                $PropertyName = $_.Name
+                if ($PropertyName -eq "version") {
+                    $Version = $_.Value
+                    Say-Verbose "Version = $Version"
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        catch {
+            throw "Unable to parse the SDK node in '$JSonFile'"
         }
-        { $_ -eq "coherent" } {
-            $LatestVersionInfo = Get-Latest-Version-Info -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Coherent $True
-            return $LatestVersionInfo.Version
+    }
+    else {
+        throw "Unable to find the SDK node in '$JSonFile'"
+    }
+    If ($Version -eq $null) {
+        throw "Unable to find the SDK:version node in '$JSonFile'"
+    }
+    return $Version
+}
+
+function Get-Specific-Version-From-Version([string]$AzureFeed, [string]$Channel, [string]$Version, [string]$JSonFile) {
+    Say-Invocation $MyInvocation
+
+    if (-not $JSonFile) {
+        switch ($Version.ToLower()) {
+            { $_ -eq "latest" } {
+                $LatestVersionInfo = Get-Latest-Version-Info -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Coherent $False
+                return $LatestVersionInfo.Version
+            }
+            { $_ -eq "coherent" } {
+                $LatestVersionInfo = Get-Latest-Version-Info -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Coherent $True
+                return $LatestVersionInfo.Version
+            }
+            default { return $Version }
         }
-        default { return $Version }
+    }
+    else {
+        return Parse-Jsonfile-For-Version $JSonFile
     }
 }
 
@@ -382,28 +421,11 @@ function Resolve-Installation-Path([string]$InstallDir) {
     return $InstallDir
 }
 
-function Get-Version-Info-From-Version-File([string]$InstallRoot, [string]$RelativePathToVersionFile) {
-    Say-Invocation $MyInvocation
-
-    $VersionFile = Join-Path -Path $InstallRoot -ChildPath $RelativePathToVersionFile
-    Say-Verbose "Local version file: $VersionFile"
-
-    if (Test-Path $VersionFile) {
-        $VersionText = cat $VersionFile
-        Say-Verbose "Local version file text: $VersionText"
-        return Get-Version-Info-From-Version-Text $VersionText
-    }
-
-    Say-Verbose "Local version file not found."
-
-    return $null
-}
-
 function Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed([string]$InstallRoot, [string]$RelativePathToPackage, [string]$SpecificVersion) {
     Say-Invocation $MyInvocation
 
     $DotnetPackagePath = Join-Path -Path $InstallRoot -ChildPath $RelativePathToPackage | Join-Path -ChildPath $SpecificVersion
-    Say-Verbose "Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed: Path to a package: $DotnetPackagePath"
+    Say-Verbose "Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed: DotnetPackagePath=$DotnetPackagePath"
     return Test-Path $DotnetPackagePath -PathType Container
 }
 
@@ -473,7 +495,7 @@ function Extract-Dotnet-Package([string]$ZipPath, [string]$OutPath) {
             if (($PathWithVersion -eq $null) -Or ($DirectoriesToUnpack -contains $PathWithVersion)) {
                 $DestinationPath = Get-Absolute-Path $(Join-Path -Path $OutPath -ChildPath $entry.FullName)
                 $DestinationDir = Split-Path -Parent $DestinationPath
-                $OverrideFiles=$OverrideNonVersionedFiles -Or (-Not (Test-Path $DestinationPath))
+                $OverrideFiles = $OverrideNonVersionedFiles -Or (-Not (Test-Path $DestinationPath))
                 if ((-Not $DestinationPath.EndsWith("\")) -And $OverrideFiles) {
                     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $DestinationDir | Out-Null
                     [System.IO.Compression.ZipFileExtensions]::ExtractToFile($entry, $DestinationPath, $OverrideNonVersionedFiles)
@@ -524,7 +546,8 @@ function Prepend-Sdk-InstallRoot-To-Path([string]$InstallRoot, [string]$BinFolde
         if (-Not $env:path.Contains($SuffixedBinPath)) {
             Say "Adding to current process PATH: `"$BinPath`". Note: This change will not be visible if PowerShell was run as a child process."
             $env:path = $SuffixedBinPath + $env:path
-        } else {
+        }
+        else {
             Say-Verbose "Current process PATH already contains `"$BinPath`""
         }
     }
@@ -534,7 +557,7 @@ function Prepend-Sdk-InstallRoot-To-Path([string]$InstallRoot, [string]$BinFolde
 }
 
 $CLIArchitecture = Get-CLIArchitecture-From-Architecture $Architecture
-$SpecificVersion = Get-Specific-Version-From-Version -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Version $Version
+$SpecificVersion = Get-Specific-Version-From-Version -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -Channel $Channel -Version $Version -JSonFile $JSonFile
 $DownloadLink = Get-Download-Link -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -SpecificVersion $SpecificVersion -CLIArchitecture $CLIArchitecture
 $LegacyDownloadLink = Get-LegacyDownload-Link -AzureFeed $AzureFeed -SpecificVersion $SpecificVersion -CLIArchitecture $CLIArchitecture
 
@@ -550,14 +573,14 @@ if ($DryRun) {
     }
     $RepeatableCommand = ".\$ScriptName -Version `"$SpecificVersion`" -InstallDir `"$InstallRoot`" -Architecture `"$CLIArchitecture`""
     if ($Runtime -eq "dotnet") {
-       $RepeatableCommand+=" -Runtime `"dotnet`""
+        $RepeatableCommand += " -Runtime `"dotnet`""
     }
     elseif ($Runtime -eq "aspnetcore") {
-       $RepeatableCommand+=" -Runtime `"aspnetcore`""
+        $RepeatableCommand += " -Runtime `"aspnetcore`""
     }
     foreach ($key in $MyInvocation.BoundParameters.Keys) {
-        if (-not (@("Architecture","Channel","DryRun","InstallDir","Runtime","SharedRuntime","Version") -contains $key)) {
-            $RepeatableCommand+=" -$key `"$($MyInvocation.BoundParameters[$key])`""
+        if (-not (@("Architecture", "Channel", "DryRun", "InstallDir", "Runtime", "SharedRuntime", "Version") -contains $key)) {
+            $RepeatableCommand += " -$key `"$($MyInvocation.BoundParameters[$key])`""
         }
     }
     Say "Repeatable invocation: $RepeatableCommand"
@@ -636,8 +659,22 @@ if ($DownloadFailed) {
 Say "Extracting zip from $DownloadLink"
 Extract-Dotnet-Package -ZipPath $ZipPath -OutPath $InstallRoot
 
-#  Check if the SDK version is now installed; if not, fail the installation.
-$isAssetInstalled = Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed -InstallRoot $InstallRoot -RelativePathToPackage $dotnetPackageRelativePath -SpecificVersion $SpecificVersion
+#  Check if the SDK version is installed; if not, fail the installation.
+$isAssetInstalled = $false
+
+# if the version contains "RTM" or "servicing"; check if a 'release-type' SDK version is installed.
+if ($SpecificVersion -Match "rtm" -or $SpecificVersion -Match "servicing") {
+    $ReleaseVersion = $SpecificVersion.Split("-")[0]
+    Say-Verbose "Checking installation: version = $ReleaseVersion"
+    $isAssetInstalled = Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed -InstallRoot $InstallRoot -RelativePathToPackage $dotnetPackageRelativePath -SpecificVersion $ReleaseVersion
+}
+
+#  Check if the SDK version is installed.
+if (!$isAssetInstalled) {
+    Say-Verbose "Checking installation: version = $SpecificVersion"
+    $isAssetInstalled = Is-Dotnet-Package-Installed -InstallRoot $InstallRoot -RelativePathToPackage $dotnetPackageRelativePath -SpecificVersion $SpecificVersion
+}
+
 if (!$isAssetInstalled) {
     throw "`"$assetName`" with version = $SpecificVersion failed to install with an unknown error."
 }
diff --git a/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.sh b/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.sh
index 61337044f..45e443eda 100755
--- a/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.sh	
+++ b/assets/install scripts/dotnet-install.sh	
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ get_linux_platform_name() {
     else
         if [ -e /etc/os-release ]; then
             . /etc/os-release
-            echo "$ID.$VERSION_ID"
+            echo "$ID${VERSION_ID:+.${VERSION_ID}}"
             return 0
         elif [ -e /etc/redhat-release ]; then
             local redhatRelease=$(</etc/redhat-release)
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ get_linux_platform_name() {
     return 1
 }
 
+is_musl_based_distro() {
+    (ldd --version 2>&1 || true) | grep -q musl
+}
+
 get_current_os_name() {
     eval $invocation
 
@@ -168,15 +172,15 @@ get_current_os_name() {
         return 0
     elif [ "$uname" = "FreeBSD" ]; then
         echo "freebsd"
-        return 0        
+        return 0
     elif [ "$uname" = "Linux" ]; then
         local linux_platform_name
         linux_platform_name="$(get_linux_platform_name)" || { echo "linux" && return 0 ; }
 
-        if [[ $linux_platform_name == "rhel.6" ]]; then
+        if [ "$linux_platform_name" = "rhel.6" ]; then
             echo $linux_platform_name
             return 0
-        elif [[ $linux_platform_name == alpine* ]]; then
+        elif is_musl_based_distro; then
             echo "linux-musl"
             return 0
         else
@@ -202,7 +206,7 @@ get_legacy_os_name() {
     else
         if [ -e /etc/os-release ]; then
             . /etc/os-release
-            os=$(get_legacy_os_name_from_platform "$ID.$VERSION_ID" || echo "")
+            os=$(get_legacy_os_name_from_platform "$ID${VERSION_ID:+.${VERSION_ID}}" || echo "")
             if [ -n "$os" ]; then
                 echo "$os"
                 return 0
@@ -245,20 +249,29 @@ check_pre_reqs() {
     fi
 
     if [ "$(uname)" = "Linux" ]; then
-        if [ ! -x "$(command -v ldconfig)" ]; then
-            echo "ldconfig is not in PATH, trying /sbin/ldconfig."
-            LDCONFIG_COMMAND="/sbin/ldconfig"
+        if is_musl_based_distro; then
+            if ! command -v scanelf > /dev/null; then
+                say_warning "scanelf not found, please install pax-utils package."
+                return 0
+            fi
+            LDCONFIG_COMMAND="scanelf --ldpath -BF '%f'"
+            [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep libintl)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libintl. Probable prerequisite missing; install libintl (or gettext)."
         else
-            LDCONFIG_COMMAND="ldconfig"
+            if [ ! -x "$(command -v ldconfig)" ]; then
+                say_verbose "ldconfig is not in PATH, trying /sbin/ldconfig."
+                LDCONFIG_COMMAND="/sbin/ldconfig"
+            else
+                LDCONFIG_COMMAND="ldconfig"
+            fi
+            local librarypath=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:-}
+            LDCONFIG_COMMAND="$LDCONFIG_COMMAND -NXv ${librarypath//:/ }"
         fi
 
-        local librarypath=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:-}
-        LDCONFIG_COMMAND="$LDCONFIG_COMMAND -NXv ${librarypath//:/ }"
-
-        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep libunwind)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libunwind. Probable prerequisite missing; install libunwind."
-        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep libssl)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libssl. Probable prerequisite missing; install libssl."
+        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep zlib)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate zlib. Probable prerequisite missing; install zlib."
+        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep ssl)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libssl. Probable prerequisite missing; install libssl."
         [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep libicu)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libicu. Probable prerequisite missing; install libicu."
-        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep -F libcurl.so)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libcurl. Probable prerequisite missing; install libcurl."
+        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep lttng)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate liblttng. Probable prerequisite missing; install libcurl."
+        [ -z "$($LDCONFIG_COMMAND 2>/dev/null | grep libcurl)" ] && say_warning "Unable to locate libcurl. Probable prerequisite missing; install libcurl."
     fi
 
     return 0
@@ -360,7 +373,7 @@ get_normalized_architecture_from_architecture() {
             ;;
     esac
 
-    say_err "Architecture \`$architecture\` not supported. If you think this is a bug, report it at https://github.com/dotnet/cli/issues"
+    say_err "Architecture \`$architecture\` not supported. If you think this is a bug, report it at https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/issues"
     return 1
 }
 
@@ -435,11 +448,53 @@ get_latest_version_info() {
     return $?
 }
 
+# args:
+# json_file - $1
+parse_jsonfile_for_version() {
+    eval $invocation
+
+    local json_file="$1"
+    if [ ! -f "$json_file" ]; then
+        say_err "Unable to find \`$json_file\`"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    sdk_section=$(cat $json_file | awk '/"sdk"/,/}/')
+    if [ -z "$sdk_section" ]; then
+        say_err "Unable to parse the SDK node in \`$json_file\`"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    sdk_list=$(echo $sdk_section | awk -F"[{}]" '{print $2}')
+    sdk_list=${sdk_list//[\" ]/}
+    sdk_list=${sdk_list//,/$'\n'}
+    sdk_list="$(echo -e "${sdk_list}" | tr -d '[[:space:]]')"
+
+    local version_info=""
+    while read -r line; do
+      IFS=:
+      while read -r key value; do
+        if [[ "$key" == "version" ]]; then
+          version_info=$value
+        fi
+      done <<< "$line"
+    done <<< "$sdk_list"
+    if [ -z "$version_info" ]; then
+        say_err "Unable to find the SDK:version node in \`$json_file\`"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    unset IFS;
+    echo "$version_info"
+    return 0
+}
+
 # args:
 # azure_feed - $1
 # channel - $2
 # normalized_architecture - $3
 # version - $4
+# json_file - $5
 get_specific_version_from_version() {
     eval $invocation
 
@@ -447,27 +502,35 @@ get_specific_version_from_version() {
     local channel="$2"
     local normalized_architecture="$3"
     local version="$(to_lowercase "$4")"
-
-    case "$version" in
-        latest)
-            local version_info
-            version_info="$(get_latest_version_info "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" false)" || return 1
-            say_verbose "get_specific_version_from_version: version_info=$version_info"
-            echo "$version_info" | get_version_from_version_info
-            return 0
-            ;;
-        coherent)
-            local version_info
-            version_info="$(get_latest_version_info "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" true)" || return 1
-            say_verbose "get_specific_version_from_version: version_info=$version_info"
-            echo "$version_info" | get_version_from_version_info
-            return 0
-            ;;
-        *)
-            echo "$version"
-            return 0
-            ;;
-    esac
+    local json_file="$5"
+
+    if [ -z "$json_file" ]; then
+        case "$version" in
+            latest)
+                local version_info
+                version_info="$(get_latest_version_info "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" false)" || return 1
+                say_verbose "get_specific_version_from_version: version_info=$version_info"
+                echo "$version_info" | get_version_from_version_info
+                return 0
+                ;;
+            coherent)
+                local version_info
+                version_info="$(get_latest_version_info "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" true)" || return 1
+                say_verbose "get_specific_version_from_version: version_info=$version_info"
+                echo "$version_info" | get_version_from_version_info
+                return 0
+                ;;
+            *)
+                echo "$version"
+                return 0
+                ;;
+        esac
+    else
+        local version_info
+        version_info="$(parse_jsonfile_for_version "$json_file")" || return 1
+        echo "$version_info"
+        return 0
+    fi
 }
 
 # args:
@@ -558,24 +621,6 @@ resolve_installation_path() {
     return 0
 }
 
-# args:
-# install_root - $1
-get_installed_version_info() {
-    eval $invocation
-
-    local install_root="$1"
-    local version_file="$(combine_paths "$install_root" "$local_version_file_relative_path")"
-    say_verbose "Local version file: $version_file"
-    if [ ! -z "$version_file" ] | [ -r "$version_file" ]; then
-        local version_info="$(cat "$version_file")"
-        echo "$version_info"
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    say_verbose "Local version file not found."
-    return 0
-}
-
 # args:
 # relative_or_absolute_path - $1
 get_absolute_path() {
@@ -600,7 +645,7 @@ copy_files_or_dirs_from_list() {
     local osname="$(get_current_os_name)"
     local override_switch=$(
         if [ "$override" = false ]; then
-            if [[ "$osname" == "linux-musl" ]]; then
+            if [ "$osname" = "linux-musl" ]; then
                 printf -- "-u";
             else
                 printf -- "-n";
@@ -724,7 +769,7 @@ calculate_vars() {
     normalized_architecture="$(get_normalized_architecture_from_architecture "$architecture")"
     say_verbose "normalized_architecture=$normalized_architecture"
 
-    specific_version="$(get_specific_version_from_version "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" "$version")"
+    specific_version="$(get_specific_version_from_version "$azure_feed" "$channel" "$normalized_architecture" "$version" "$json_file")"
     say_verbose "specific_version=$specific_version"
     if [ -z "$specific_version" ]; then
         say_err "Could not resolve version information."
@@ -809,13 +854,27 @@ install_dotnet() {
     say "Extracting zip from $download_link"
     extract_dotnet_package "$zip_path" "$install_root"
 
-    #  Check if the SDK version is now installed; if not, fail the installation.
-    if ! is_dotnet_package_installed "$install_root" "$asset_relative_path" "$specific_version"; then
-        say_err "\`$asset_name\` with version = $specific_version failed to install with an unknown error."
-        return 1
+    #  Check if the SDK version is installed; if not, fail the installation.
+    # if the version contains "RTM" or "servicing"; check if a 'release-type' SDK version is installed.
+    if [[ $specific_version == *"rtm"* || $specific_version == *"servicing"* ]]; then
+        IFS='-'
+        read -ra verArr <<< "$specific_version"
+        release_version="${verArr[0]}"
+        unset IFS;
+        say_verbose "Checking installation: version = $release_version"
+        if is_dotnet_package_installed "$install_root" "$asset_relative_path" "$release_version"; then
+            return 0
+        fi
     fi
 
-    return 0
+    #  Check if the standard SDK version is installed.
+    say_verbose "Checking installation: version = $specific_version"
+    if is_dotnet_package_installed "$install_root" "$asset_relative_path" "$specific_version"; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    say_err "\`$asset_name\` with version = $specific_version failed to install with an unknown error."
+    return 1
 }
 
 args=("$@")
@@ -826,6 +885,7 @@ temporary_file_template="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dotnet.XXXXXXXXX"
 
 channel="LTS"
 version="Latest"
+json_file=""
 install_dir="<auto>"
 architecture="<auto>"
 dry_run=false
@@ -912,6 +972,10 @@ do
             runtime_id="$1"
             non_dynamic_parameters+=" $name "\""$1"\"""
             ;;
+        --jsonfile|-[Jj][Ss]on[Ff]ile)
+            shift
+            json_file="$1"
+            ;;
         --skip-non-versioned-files|-[Ss]kip[Nn]on[Vv]ersioned[Ff]iles)
             override_non_versioned_files=false
             non_dynamic_parameters+=" $name"
@@ -953,22 +1017,25 @@ do
             echo "          Possible values:"
             echo "          - dotnet     - the Microsoft.NETCore.App shared runtime"
             echo "          - aspnetcore - the Microsoft.AspNetCore.App shared runtime"
-            echo "  --skip-non-versioned-files         Skips non-versioned files if they already exist, such as the dotnet executable."
-            echo "      -SkipNonVersionedFiles"
             echo "  --dry-run,-DryRun                  Do not perform installation. Display download link."
             echo "  --no-path, -NoPath                 Do not set PATH for the current process."
             echo "  --verbose,-Verbose                 Display diagnostics information."
             echo "  --azure-feed,-AzureFeed            Azure feed location. Defaults to $azure_feed, This parameter typically is not changed by the user."
             echo "  --uncached-feed,-UncachedFeed      Uncached feed location. This parameter typically is not changed by the user."
-            echo "  --no-cdn,-NoCdn                    Disable downloading from the Azure CDN, and use the uncached feed directly."
             echo "  --feed-credential,-FeedCredential  Azure feed shared access token. This parameter typically is not specified."
+            echo "  --skip-non-versioned-files         Skips non-versioned files if they already exist, such as the dotnet executable."
+            echo "      -SkipNonVersionedFiles"
+            echo "  --no-cdn,-NoCdn                    Disable downloading from the Azure CDN, and use the uncached feed directly."
+            echo "  --jsonfile <JSONFILE>              Determines the SDK version from a user specified global.json file."
+            echo "                                     Note: global.json must have a value for 'SDK:Version'"
             echo "  --runtime-id                       Installs the .NET Tools for the given platform (use linux-x64 for portable linux)."
             echo "      -RuntimeId"
             echo "  -?,--?,-h,--help,-Help             Shows this help message"
             echo ""
             echo "Obsolete parameters:"
             echo "  --shared-runtime                   The recommended alternative is '--runtime dotnet'."
-            echo "      -SharedRuntime                 Installs just the shared runtime bits, not the entire SDK."
+            echo "                                     This parameter is obsolete and may be removed in a future version of this script."
+            echo "                                     Installs just the shared runtime bits, not the entire SDK."
             echo ""
             echo "Install Location:"
             echo "  Location is chosen in following order:"