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Alpha Hardware

To run OpenVMS on systems with Alpha processors, you will need hardware. Various new and many used Alpha systems are available, with prices of various used entry-level Alpha systems often comparable to those of PC systems. The most common Alpha choices for hobbyists are Alpha workstations, typically known as AlphaStation series systems. AlphaStation and the server variant systems known as AlphaServer series systems are available in a wide variety of specific models and prices.

top of pageThe Alpha Microprocessor

The AlphaServer and AlphaStation series provide sixty-four (64) bit virtual addressing, and various physical addressing capabilities. With the smaller AlphaServer and AlphaStation systems being of particular interest, you will want to consider the Alpha microprocessor generation and the microprocessor.

Alpha microprocessors are commonly referred to by their generation, with the most common variants being EV4, EV4s, EV45, EV5,EV56, EV6, EV67, EV68, EV7 and EV7z. Newer systems are faster, can introduce newer architectural features, and provide upward-compatible execution of Alpha binary code. Features specific to newer Alpha microprocessors can be executed on older generations through instruction emulation, albiet slowly. Systems based on the EV4 series are the oldest and slowest, and generally the least desirable systems. EV5 systems are better, but the EV56 variant and newer would be the preferred choice. For a moderate investment, EV6 and later systems are available and affordable. EV56 and later provide byte-word addressing and (when the platform supports it) flat physical addressing capabilities needed for certain I/O peripherals.

What does this all mean to you? You'll want an AlphaServer or AlphaStation EV56, or preferably EV6 or later. This because of the instruction subset capabilities of the EV56, and EV6 and later because of the wide availability of the flat I/O addressing. And the relative speed.

The Mozilla web browser, for instance, best executes on an EV56 or later microprocessor generation. Certain I/O devices and particular device drivers use the flat physical addressing capabilities. Both of these applications use the performance provided by the microprocessor generation and by the flat addressing.

DIGITAL AXP

These are the oldest of the Alpha systems, and do not provide PCI I/O capabilities. DEC 7000 and DEC 10000 series are the largest boxes, and use XMI I/O buses. The DEC 2000 offers limited EISA configurations, and the DEC 3000 series offers add-on cards or a TURBOchannel option, and the DEC 4000 offers Futurebus I/O connections. Obtaining I/O bus peripherals for these systems will be accordingly more difficult. External peripheral connections via SCSI and network are readily available.

The “Jensen” series DEC 2000 model 300 and DEC 2000 model 500 series are largely identical to the DECpc 150 AXP, though the former are the so-called Universal models, and were configured for and could be licensed for OpenVMS Alpha, Tru64 UNIX and Microsoft Windows NT Alpha. The DECpc 150 AXP variant is configured and supported only for Windows NT Alpha. If you do choose one of these particular systems, make certain you do not extend the Adaptec 1740 or 1742 SCSI bus to storage both inside and outside the box. This configuration and the Adaptec 1740 and 1742 series SCSI controllers are very sensitive to the bus length. Also ensure you only have and only use an Adaptec SCSI controller with revision G.1 of the controller ROMs. Also check the support for the graphics controller, as Windows NT and OpenVMS have differing graphics controller support.

And no, AXP doesn't mean anything.

AlphaStation and AlphaServer Series

AlphaStation systems are configured as workstation systems and generally include a graphics controller. AlphaServer series systems are configured as time-sharing or server systems. Most every AlphaServer or AlphaStation system provides SCSI and network access.

EV6 workstation systems include the AlphaStation XP900 (variously also known as the AlphaStation VS10 and more recently known as the AlphaStation DS10) and the AlphaStation XP1000. With the AlphaStation DS (desktop) and ES (mid-range) series, workstations are simply AlphaServer servers configured with graphics controllers. The AlphaServer GS series designation indicates the large-box high-end big-power-plug systems. (Yes, you could probably even install a graphics controller in a GS series server.) Most (all?) DS and ES series offer both SCSI and IDE ATAPI interfaces.

Personal Workstation -au Series

As the name implies, these systems are generally configured as workstations.

The Personal Workstation series is broadly divided into the -a series intended for Microsoft Windows NT Alpha, and the the -au Alpha Universal series intended and supported for OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, and Windows NT Alpha. The -a series is not supported by HP for use with OpenVMS, but various hobbyists have gotten specific models to bootstrap with OpenVMS Alpha. Please see the OpenVMS FAQ for additional details.

The series is among the first Alpha systems offering integrated IDE ATAPI connections. There are limitations on the IDE support, centrally involving the southbridge hardware interface present; the choice of the Intel Saturn (SIO) and the Cypress. In particular, the Cypress variant is required for OpenVMS bootstraps from IDE devices on the series. Please see the for additional details, and for assistance differentiating the Intel Saturn SIO and the Cypress southbridges.

Other Alpha Systems

If you have the physical space available and the willingness to pay for the electricity consumed for the system and for the cooling, other Alpha systems can certainly be considered and configured for hobbyist use. Check the physical size of the system you are considering, and the kilowatt requirements; weight, size, thermal and power consumption details are available in the old DIGITAL Systems and Options Catalog (SOC) documents for the older platforms.

top of pageThe Alpha Hobbyist Hardware Rules Of Thumb

Which Alpha system? The AlphaStation XP1000 provides good expandability, an EV6-class processor, and room for a gigabyte or more of physical memory.

The AlphaStation DS10 (and depending on the age and the presence or absence of a graphics controller, this system is known as the AlphaStation DS10, the AlphaStation XP900, or as the AlphaServer DS10) is also a good choice, includes a low- to moderate-speed EV6 microprocessor, and provides either a StorageWorks disk enclosure and a slimline (12.7mm) optical drive, or a standard-height optical drive. (There are some AlphaStation DS10 and AlphaServer DS10 series systems with IDE ATA system disks. IDE ATA performance within this configuration is comparatively low when compared to SCSI, and it is best to locate and use a SCSI controller and a SCSI system disk; yes, OpenVMS IDE ATA performance is well below that seen on Windows PC IDE ATA connections.)

Personal Workstation series systems are less expensive choices, though these will typically offer only older Alpha microprocessors.

All of these systems offer PCI I/O, and various I/O options are available.

I'd not generally select an older AlphaStation or AlphaServer system, given the comparatively low performance of Alpha microprocessors, particularly those systems configured with microprocessors prior to EV56. This is not to imply that these are bad systems, simply that these are now old and that there are newer and faster choices typically available. Some of the older systems can require specialized I/O bus hardware peripherals should expansion be required, and these widgets can be difficult to locate as compared to the more recent and more widely available PCI adapters. (Alpha systems first supported on OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 or later will generally have an EV56 or later microprocessor. Minimum OpenVMS version support information is available via a link in the OpenVMS FAQ.)

If you acquire an AlphaStation series system, do ensure the graphics controller is one specifically supported by OpenVMS. Some DIGITAL POWERSTORM graphics controllers are supported by OpenVMS Alpha, for instance, and some are not. (If the particular system was formerly used with Microsoft Windows NT for Alpha, by Linux, or by Tru64 UNIX, do check this detail as the particular graphics controller support can and does differ across these operating systems.

SCSI CD and DVD devices for use on OpenVMS must support 512-byte block reads. This includes the DIGITAL RRD series drives such as the RRD45 or RRD46, and various Plextor series SCSI drives (including PlexWriter CD-R/RW drives). ATAPI CD and DVD devices need not have 512-byte support, as the OpenVMS device driver SYS$DQDRIVER (available only on OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64) transparently de-blocks the typical 2048-byte sectors into the 512-byte blocks expected by OpenVMS. (Please see the OpenVMS FAQ for related details.)

Also remember to check the platform support status within the OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) for any system(s) of interest, as well, as that will indicate which platforms and configurations have been formally tested.

Free OpenVMS hobbyist licenses are available for OpenVMS Alpha.