AlphaStation

Summary

AlphaStation is the name given to a series of computer workstations, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation, and later by Compaq and HP. As the name suggests, the AlphaStations were based on the DEC Alpha 64-bit microprocessor. Supported operating systems for AlphaStations comprise Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX), OpenVMS and Windows NT (with AlphaBIOS ARC firmware). Most of these workstations can also run various versions of Linux and BSD operating systems.

AlphaStation
Rack-mounted AlphaStation
DeveloperDEC (1994-1998)
Compaq (1998-2002)
HP (2002-2007)
TypeWorkstation
Release date1994 (1994)
Discontinued2007 (2007)
CPUDEC Alpha

Other Alpha workstations produced by DEC include the DEC 2000 AXP (DECpc AXP 150), the DEC 3000 AXP, the Digital Personal Workstation a-series and au-series (codename Miata), the Multia VX40/41/42 and the Alpha XL/Alpha XLT line (a member of the Alcor family, which had swappable daughterboard with Pentium processor, to transform to a DEC Celebris XL line).

Models edit

From the XP900 onwards, all AlphaStation models were simply workstation configurations of the corresponding AlphaServer model.

 
Digital AlphaStation 200 4/233
 
DEC AlphaStation 600A

Avanti family edit

Model Code name # of
CPUs
CPU CPU
MHz
B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
200 4/100 Mustang 1 21064
(EV4)
100 512 KB 21071 8 to 384 MB 1 PCI
1 or 2 PCI/ISA
1 ISA
Desktop 1995-02-23 ?
200 4/166 166 1994-11-03[1] ?
200 4/233 Mustang+ 21064A (EV45) 233 ?
205 4/xxx LX3 1 21064A
(EV45)
133 to 333 ? ? ? ? Desktop ? ?
250 4/266 M3 1 21064A
(EV45)
266 2 MB 21072 32 to 512 MB 1 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
1 ISA
Desktop 1995-04-03 ?
255/233 LX3+ 1 21064A
(EV45)
233 1 MB 21072 32 to 512 MB 2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
1 ISA
Desktop 1996-03-06 ?
255/300 300 ?
400 4/166 Chinet 1 21064
(EV4)
166 512 KB 21071 8 to 384 MB 2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
3 ISA
Tower 1995-02-23 ?
400 4/233 Avanti 21064A
(EV45)
233 1994-11-03[1] ?
400 4/266 266 ? ?
400 4/300 300 ? ?

Alcor Family edit

Model Code name # of
CPUs
CPU CPU
MHz
B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
500/266 Maverick 1 21164
(EV5)
266 2 MB 21171 32 to 512 MB 1 33 MHz PCI-X
3 PCI
Desktop 1996-03-06 ?
500/333 333 ?
500/400 Bret 21164A
(EV56)
400 21172 32 MB to 1 GB ?
500/500 500 8 MB 1996-08-06[2] ?
600 5/266 Alcor 1 21164
(EV5)
266 2 or 4 MB 21171 32 MB to 1 GB 3 33 MHz PCI-X
1 PCI
1 PCI/EISA
3 EISA
Pedestal 1995-08-02 ?
600 5/300 300 ?
600 5/333 333 4 MB ? ?

Noritake and Rawhide Family edit

Model Code name # of
CPUs
CPU CPU
MHz
B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
Noritake Family
600A 5/500 Alcor-Primo 1 21164A
(EV56)
500 8 MB ? 32 MB to 1 GB 7 PCI
2 EISA
Pedestal ? ?
Rawhide Family
12001 DaVinci Up to 2 21164A
(EV56)
400 4 MB ? 512 MB to 4 GB 5 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
Pedestal ? ?
533 ? ? ?

Tsunami Family edit

Model Code name # of
CPUs
CPU CPU
MHz
B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
DS10
VS10
TS10
XP900
WebBrick 1 21264
(EV6)
466 2 MB 21272 256 MB to 2 GB
100 MHz SDRAM
3 PCI-X
1 PCI
Desktop ? ?
21264A
(EV67)
600 ? ?
DS20E Goldrack 1, 2 21264A
(EV67)
667 8 MB
(DDR)
21272 512 MB to 4 GB 5 PCI-X
1 PCI-X/ISA
Tower ? ?
21264B
(EV68AL)
833 ? ?
ES40 Clipper 1, 2, 3, 4 21264A
(EV67)
667 8 MB
(DDR)
21272 512 MB to 32 GB
100 MHz SDRAM
6 or 10 PCI-X Pedestal ? ?
21264B
(EV68AL)
833 ? ?
XP1000 Monet 1 21264
(EV6)
500 4 MB 21272 256 MB to 2 GB 2 PCI-X
2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
Tower 1999-02-01[3] ?
Brisbane 21264A
(EV67)
667 ? ?

Titan and Marvel Family edit

Model Code name # of
CPUs
CPU CPU
MHz
B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
Titan Family
DS15A HyperBrick II 1 21264C
(EV68CB)
1000 2 MB ? 512 MB to 4 GB
133 MHz SDRAM
4 33 MHz PCI-X
2 66 MHz PCI-X
Desktop ? ?
DS25 Granite 1, 2 21264C
(EV68CB)
1000 8 MB
(DDR)
? 512 MB to 16 GB 4 66 MHz PCI-X
2 33 MHz PCI-X
Tower ? ?
Marvel Family
ES47 Marvel 2P 22 21364
(EV7)
1000 1.75 MB On-die 512 MB to 16 GB
RDRAM
1 2× AGP
1 133 MHz PCI-X
4 66 MHz PCI-X
Tower ? ?

^1 A variant of the AlphaStation 1200 was also sold as the Digital Ultimate Workstation 533au².
^2 Some systems had one of the microprocessors deactivated, which may be reactivated with a license upgrade.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Digital's Alpha Salvo Scores Direct Hit; Eight-System Lineup Blankets Competition.". Business Wire, 3 November 1994.
  2. ^ "Digital recaptures desktop workstation performance lead; New AlphaStation 500/500 outdistances HP, Sun, and SGI.". Business Wire, Tuesday, 6 August 1996
  3. ^ Compaq Computer Corporation. Compaq Delivers World's Fastest Workstation: The AlphaPowered Professional Workstation XP1000. Press Release.

External links edit

  • HP AlphaStation range
  • Compaq Alpha System and Model Code Names (at archive.org)
  • FreeBSD/alpha 6.1 Hardware Notes
  • About NetBSD/alpha
  • The OpenBSD/alpha port
  • Debian Alpha system types

See also edit

  • AlphaVM: A full DEC Alpha system emulator running on Windows or Linux.