4. What Systems Does Linux/Alpha Run On?

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The number of Alpha platforms that are supported by Linux is quickly increasing. The following is a list of platforms that are known to work with Linux. If you have any corrections to the list, please send us mail.

• AlphaPC164 (link may not be up yet).
• Mikasa (aka AlphaServer 1000).
• Alcor (aka AlphaStation 600 5/xxx).
• EB164 . The Aspen Timberline and Summit machines are similar to this machine.
• Cabriolet (aka AlphaPC64): This is a PCI-bus based motherboards using the 21064 Alpha CPU. It is more pricey than the low-end systems but it does make for a real nice system and many third-party products are based on this design. This board typically runs at 275MHz but some vendors sell an (overclocked) 300MHz version.
• Mikasa (AlphaSever 1000) Note: Noritake (AlphaServer 1000a) is not supported. Also, the builtin Cirrus graphics card is not (or very poorly) supported by X11.
• Mustang (AS200), M3 (AS250) ??? (AS255) Avanti (AS400) : Linux now runs on all of these AlphaStations. In any case, since X11 is currently supported only for TGA, S3 and Mach64 based cards anyway, you might want to get one of those cards. There is Beta TGA X11 server that can be found at DEC's ftp site The reason for clumping all these machines together is that they are all very similar to program. In particular, they all can run one and the same kernel when booted using the same firmware. Thus, when configuring a kernel, simply pick "Avanti" as the system type since that covers all of the above machines.
• XL The XL machine is also know as the "Windows NT Dream Machine." Well, for what it's worth, (most of them) are perfectly happy running Linux. When considering the purchase of an XL machine, be aware that the Matrox Millenium graphics card is unsupported by the X11 server and that this will remain so unless Matrox changes its policy of releasing programming information under non-disclosure only. The regular XL is based on the 21064 CPU and runs either at 233 or 266MHz with 512KB or 2MB of second level cache, respectively. The newer XL Turbo is based on the 21164A CPU and runs either at 300 or 366MHz. The Turbo always comes with 2MB of second-level cache. While the Linux kernel can be configured to run on the Turbo, there is currently no known way to boot Linux on this box. A fix for this is under way, so hopefully Linux will both build and boot sometime soon.
• Jensen (aka DEC 2000 aka DECpc AXP 150): This is the oldest of all Alpha PCs and comes with an EISA bus. You probably don't want to buy such a machine new anymore since you can now get faster machines for less money. However, it is not uncommon to get really amazing deals for these machines and a Jensen definitively would make a nice home box. The firmware seems a little picky about what graphics card and SCSI controllers it wants, but if you're just looking for an affordable Alpha box, it might be worthwhile to look into it.
• Noname (aka AXPpci33): This is a PCI-bus based motherboard using the 21066 Alpha CPU (Low-Cost Alpha). The core of the 21066 is the same as the 21064. The only difference is that the 21066 also has a memory and I/O controller integrated into the chip (which has the effect that the external interface is much simpler and therefore much cheaper). This board is available in a 166 and a 233MHz version.
• UDB : Linux/Alpha also runs well on the Universal Desktop Box. (That's the box that's called "Multia" when it's running Windows NT.) The TGA graphics card and the builtin soundcard are supported. The UDB is basically a Noname board with more hardware builtin and wrapped into a neat little box. So when configuring a kernel for it, simply select the "Noname" system type. The UDB currently provides the lowest-cost entry point into the Alpha world. There is lots of useful information and pointers to resellers available at this UDB InfoCenter .
• EB* : Digital sells Alpha evaluation boards (e.g., EB66, EB64+, etc.). Reportedly, Linux/Alpha may run on some of these. But they are relatively pricey and, given that they are evaluation boards, they may have other baggage that a normal user would never want.

Linux/Alpha is unlikely to support the TURBOchannel-based Alpha systems in the near future (this is the DEC 3000 series of workstations). The reason for this is two-fold: first, these machines have an I/O system that is very different from PCI-based machines and therefore do not look anything like PCs (e.g., pretty much all drivers would have to be written from scratch). Second, with the advent of PCI, the TURBOchannel is pretty much dead technology (for better or worse) and it just isn't all that much fun to develop software for dead technology (on the other hand, it may soon be possible to buy such systems cheaply, which would make them more interesting to Linux users, I suppose).

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