Annotation of www/alpha.html, Revision 1.294
1.294 ! bentley 1: <!doctype html>
! 2: <html lang=en id=platform>
! 3: <meta charset=utf-8>
! 4:
1.1 deraadt 5: <title>OpenBSD/alpha</title>
1.3 fn 6: <meta name="description" content="the OpenBSD/alpha page">
1.274 tb 7: <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
8: <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="openbsd.css">
1.278 tb 9: <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.openbsd.org/alpha.html">
1.3 fn 10:
1.275 tb 11:
1.294 ! bentley 12: <h2 id=OpenBSD>
1.275 tb 13: <a href="index.html">
1.294 ! bentley 14: <i>Open</i><b>BSD</b></a>
! 15: alpha
1.274 tb 16: </h2>
1.83 horacio 17: <hr>
1.294 ! bentley 18:
! 19: <table><tr><td>
1.274 tb 20: <p>
1.95 miod 21: OpenBSD/alpha runs on a large set of the alpha computers manufactured by
22: <a href="http://www.digital.com">Digital</a> (then Compaq, now Hewlett-Packard).
1.294 ! bentley 23:
1.273 deraadt 24: <p>
1.95 miod 25: A mailing list dedicated to the OpenBSD/alpha port is available at
1.294 ! bentley 26: <a href="mailto:alpha@openbsd.org">alpha@openbsd.org</a>.
1.95 miod 27: To join the OpenBSD/alpha mailing list, send a message body of <b>"subscribe
28: alpha"</b> to <a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">majordomo@openbsd.org</a>.
29: Please be sure to check our <a href="mail.html">mailing list policy</a> before
30: subscribing.
1.294 ! bentley 31: </table>
1.45 niklas 32:
1.95 miod 33: <hr>
1.265 bentley 34:
1.294 ! bentley 35: <h3 id="history"><strong>History:</strong></h3>
1.95 miod 36:
37: <p>
38: The OpenBSD/alpha port was started in the summer of 1996 by using code
39: from the NetBSD/alpha port which was started by
40: <a href="mailto:cgd@netbsd.org">Chris Demetriou</a> in 1994.
41: After the original OpenBSD port, some
1.45 niklas 42: copyright issues prevented OpenBSD from tracking the NetBSD code.
43: Regardless, work on the alpha port continued and many fixes were made.
1.95 miod 44: Meanwhile, NetBSD continued to make improvements to the
1.83 horacio 45: alpha port which we were unfortunately unable to use. Over time,
1.45 niklas 46: because of a lack of programmer resources and the inability to use
47: NetBSD code, hardware and software support became very outdated. This
48: caused the 2.5 and 2.6 releases of alpha to have few kernel
1.95 miod 49: enhancements. As a result of its becoming so stale, there was no
50: OpenBSD/alpha port included in the 2.7 and 2.8 releases.
1.45 niklas 51:
1.95 miod 52: <p>
1.264 tedu 53: Shortly after OpenBSD 2.8 was released, there was a great deal of
1.95 miod 54: interest in bringing the port up to date. This, coupled with the fact
55: that NetBSD changed the license on its alpha code so that there were no
1.264 tedu 56: longer copyright issues led to an effort to bring the alpha port
1.50 nate 57: back up. (For details on why we were not able to keep tracking the
1.95 miod 58: NetBSD code, check our <a href="policy.html">policy</a> page.)
1.50 nate 59:
1.95 miod 60: <p>
61: Nathan Binkert, Art Grabowski, Niklas Hallqvist and Eric Jackson, with
1.234 sthen 62: the help of a few others, eventually brought the port into good shape
1.95 miod 63: again, and starting with the 2.9 release OpenBSD/alpha is a supported
64: OpenBSD port again.
65:
66: <hr>
1.265 bentley 67:
1.294 ! bentley 68: <h3 id="status"><strong>Current status:</strong></h3>
1.95 miod 69:
70: <p>
71: Currently, all the hardware listed in the
1.120 nick 72: <a href="#hardware">supported hardware</a> section below boots
1.95 miod 73: multi-user, and supports enough of the on-board devices to be generally
1.119 pedro 74: usable, unless specified otherwise.
1.95 miod 75: A large set of PCI cards also work reliably, while ISA devices support has
76: limitations.
77:
78: <p>
1.247 matthieu 79: X11 server support is currently broken on alpha.
1.95 miod 80:
81: <hr>
1.265 bentley 82:
1.294 ! bentley 83: <h3 id="hardware"><strong>Supported hardware:</strong></h3>
1.45 niklas 84:
1.95 miod 85: <p>
86: To the best of our knowledge, the following hardware is supported, but there
87: might be occasional breakage on some models.
88: Since there are many models and combinations that have not been tested,
89: we would appreciate very much if you told us about things that work and
90: do not work.
91: To help us keep track of what hardware people use, please mail your dmesg to
92: <a href="mailto:dmesg@openbsd.org">dmesg@openbsd.org</a>.
93: If there are things that do not work, please file a bug report using
1.294 ! bentley 94: <a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/sendbug.1">
1.95 miod 95: sendbug(1)</a>.
96:
1.170 brad 97: <p>
98:
1.95 miod 99: <h4>Supported Machines:</h4>
1.229 jsg 100: <ul>
1.241 miod 101: <li>DS15, DS15A, DS25, ES45, TS15 and TS202C
102: <li>264DP, CS20, DS10, DS20, DS20L, ES40, XP900, XP1000, and other EV6 machines
1.258 miod 103: using the Tsunami chipset
1.233 miod 104: <li>API UP1000, UP1100, UP2000, and UP2000+ and other EV6 machines using the
105: Irongate chipset
1.229 jsg 106: <li>Digital Personal Workstation (Miata)<br>
1.294 ! bentley 107: <li>EB164 based machines (including PC164, 164SX, 164LX, but <strong>NOT</strong> the
1.229 jsg 108: 164UX)<br>
1.239 jsg 109: <li>AlphaStation 600A, 1200
110: <li>AlphaServer 800 (also known as Digital Server 3300 and 3305), 1000, 1000A
111: <li>AlphaServer 1200, 4000 and 4100
112: <li>AlphaServer 300, 400 and AlphaStation 200, 250, 255 and 400
1.229 jsg 113: <li>AlphaStation 500 and 600
1.294 ! bentley 114: <li>AXPpci based machines (including "Noname", UDB, Multia)
1.229 jsg 115: <li>DEC 3000 models 300{,L,X,LX}
116: <li>DEC 3000 models 400,500,500X,600,700,800,900
117: </ul>
1.116 krw 118:
1.229 jsg 119: <h4>Unsupported Machines</h4>
1.18 johns 120: <ul>
1.294 ! bentley 121: <li>DECpc AXP150 (2000/300) "Jensen" systems (EISA-bus PC-like systems)
1.238 jsg 122: <li>AlphaServer 2000, 2100 and 2100A
1.240 jsg 123: <li>AlphaServer 8200, 8400, GS60 and GS140
1.238 jsg 124: <li>AlphaServer ES47, ES80 and GS1280
125: <li>AlphaServer GS80, GS160 and GS320
1.233 miod 126: <li>Alpha XL systems (no SRM)
127: <li>DEC 4000, 7000, and 10000 systems (FutureBus+ and XMIBus-based)
128: <li>EB64+ based systems
129: <li>Samsung 164BX/UX (no SRM)
130: <li>VME Alpha systems
1.238 jsg 131: <li>Tadpole ALPHAbook
1.4 niklas 132: </ul>
133:
1.229 jsg 134: <h4>Supported devices</h4>
1.50 nate 135: <ul>
1.230 jsg 136: <li>Host Controllers and Bridges, including:
137: <ul>
1.294 ! bentley 138: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/tcasic.4">tcasic(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 139: TURBOchannel host bus,
1.294 ! bentley 140: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/lca.4">lca(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 141: DECchip 21066 Core Logic,
1.294 ! bentley 142: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/apecs.4">apecs(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 143: DECchip 21072/21071 Core Logic,
1.294 ! bentley 144: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/cia.4">cia(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 145: DECchip 2117x Core Logic,
1.294 ! bentley 146: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/tsc.4">tsc(4)</a>
1.241 miod 147: DECchip 21272 and 21274 Core Logic,
1.294 ! bentley 148: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/irongate.4">irongate(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 149: API UP1000 AMD751 Core Logic and AGP,
1.294 ! bentley 150: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/mcbus.4">mcbus(4)</a>
1.230 jsg 151: MCBUS System Bus.
152: </ul>
1.294 ! bentley 153: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/com.4">com(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 154: built-in serial.
1.294 ! bentley 155: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/lpt.4">lpt(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 156: built-in parallel.
1.294 ! bentley 157: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/de.4">de(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 158: built-in DEC Ethernet.
1.294 ! bentley 159: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/fxp.4">fxp(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 160: built-in i8255x Ethernet.
1.294 ! bentley 161: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/le.4">le(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 162: built-in LANCE Ethernet.
1.294 ! bentley 163: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/qlw.4">qlw(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 164: built-in ISP SCSI controller.
1.294 ! bentley 165: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/ahc.4">ahc(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 166: built-in Adaptec SCSI controller.
1.294 ! bentley 167: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/siop.4">siop(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 168: built-in 53C810 SCSI controller.
1.294 ! bentley 169: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/asc.4">asc(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 170: built-in 53C94/53CF94-2 SCSI controller.
1.294 ! bentley 171: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/pciide.4">pciide(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 172: built-in IDE controller.
1.294 ! bentley 173: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/usb.4">usb(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 174: built-in USB supports most USB devices.
1.294 ! bentley 175: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/uvideo.4">uvideo(4)</a>
1.236 jasper 176: UVC-compatible Video devices.
1.294 ! bentley 177: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/pci.4">pci(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 178: most PCI devices.
1.294 ! bentley 179: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/isa.4">isa(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 180: some ISA devices.
1.294 ! bentley 181: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/eisa.4">eisa(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 182: some EISA devices.
1.294 ! bentley 183: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/pckbd.4">pckbd(4)</a>
1.232 jsg 184: PS/2 and AT keyboards.
1.294 ! bentley 185: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/pms.4">pms(4)</a>
1.232 jsg 186: PS/2 mice.
1.294 ! bentley 187: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/le.4">le(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 188: TURBOchannel LANCE Ethernet cards (PMAD-A) on DEC 3000.
1.294 ! bentley 189: <li><a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/asc.4">asc(4)</a>
1.231 jsg 190: TURBOchannel SCSI (53C94) (PMAZ-A) on DEC 3000.
1.229 jsg 191: </ul>
192:
193: <h4>Unsupported devices</h4>
194: <ul>
195: <li>Floppy drive.
196: <li>ISA devices that require DMA operation.
197: <li>ISA IDE controller
1.294 ! bentley 198: (<a href="https://man.openbsd.org/alpha/wdc.4">wdc</a>)
1.229 jsg 199: on the EB164.
200: <li>Built-in framebuffer on DEC 3000.
1.189 martin 201: </ul>
202:
1.3 fn 203: <hr>
1.265 bentley 204:
1.294 ! bentley 205: <h3 id="install">
1.98 miod 206: <strong>Getting and installing OpenBSD/alpha:</strong>
1.294 ! bentley 207: </h3>
1.98 miod 208:
209: <p>
210: The latest supported OpenBSD/alpha release is
1.293 tj 211: <a href="65.html">OpenBSD 6.5</a>.
1.98 miod 212: Here are the
1.293 tj 213: <a href="https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/6.5/alpha/INSTALL.alpha">
1.286 tj 214: OpenBSD/alpha installation instructions</a>.
1.98 miod 215:
216: <p>
217: Snapshots are made available from time to time, in
1.292 tj 218: <a href="https://cdn.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/alpha">this location</a>
219: as well as on a few
1.98 miod 220: <a href="ftp.html">mirrors</a>.
221: Here are the
1.292 tj 222: <a href="https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/alpha/INSTALL.alpha">
1.282 tb 223: OpenBSD/alpha snapshot installation instructions</a> as well.
1.98 miod 224:
225: <p>
1.289 tb 226: Installation media provided:
1.116 krw 227:
1.98 miod 228: <ul>
1.282 tb 229: <li><strong>CD image</strong> (installXX.iso)
1.98 miod 230: <p>
1.282 tb 231: The CD ISO provides an <i>El Torito</i> 2.88MB floppy image
1.98 miod 232: that contains drivers for the most popular devices found in alpha
233: hardware.
234: This also includes minimal USB support (storage devices, keyboard and
1.231 jsg 235: some Ethernet adapters).<br>
1.98 miod 236: For the latest list of drivers available on this image, please take a
237: look at the
1.291 bentley 238: <a href="https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/src/sys/arch/alpha/conf/RAMDISKBIG?rev=HEAD">RAMDISKBIG</a>
1.98 miod 239: kernel configuration file.
1.286 tj 240: <!-- XXXrelease - uncomment when/if floppies return
1.282 tb 241: <li><strong>Floppy A</strong> (floppyXX.fs)
1.98 miod 242: <p>
243: This 1.44MB floppy image supports the following alpha hardware:
244: <ul>
1.116 krw 245: <li>AlphaStation 200, 250, 255, 400
1.288 tb 246: <!-- <li>AlphaStation 500, 600 XXXrelease: if floppies return, close comment
1.213 martin 247: <li>AlphaServer 800, 1000, 1000A, 1200, and 4100
1.294 ! bentley 248: <li>AXPpci33 based machines, such as the "Noname", UDB, and Multia
1.116 krw 249: <li>EB164 based machines, such as the PC164, 164SX and 164LX
250: <li>Personal Workstation (Miata)
1.98 miod 251: </ul>
1.116 krw 252: <p>
1.98 miod 253: It contains support for the on-board devices found on these machines,
1.234 sthen 254: however due to lack of space there are only a few other drivers.
1.98 miod 255: In particular, <i>this floppy lacks cdrom support</i> and will <i>not</i>
256: allow installation from cdrom media.<br>
257: For the latest list of drivers available on this image, please take a
258: look at the
1.291 bentley 259: <a href="https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/src/sys/arch/alpha/conf/RAMDISK?rev=HEAD">RAMDISK</a>
1.98 miod 260: kernel configuration file.
1.282 tb 261: <li><strong>Floppy B</strong> (floppyBXX.fs)
1.98 miod 262: <p>
263: This 1.44MB floppy image supports the following alpha hardware:
264: <ul>
1.116 krw 265: <li>Alpha Processor, Inc. UP1000
266: <li>XP1000, 264DP, DS10, and DS20, CS20
267: <li>Alpha Processor, Inc. UP2000, UP2000+
1.241 miod 268: <li>DS15, DS15A, DS25, ES45, and TS15, TS202C
1.98 miod 269: </ul>
1.116 krw 270: <p>
1.98 miod 271: It contains support for the on-board devices found on these machines,
1.234 sthen 272: however due to lack of space there are only a few other drivers.
1.98 miod 273: In particular, <i>this floppy lacks cdrom support</i> and will <i>not</i>
274: allow installation from cdrom media.<br>
275: For the latest list of drivers available on this image, please take a
276: look at the
1.291 bentley 277: <a href="https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/src/sys/arch/alpha/conf/RAMDISKB?rev=HEAD">RAMDISKB</a>
1.98 miod 278: kernel configuration file.
1.288 tb 279: -->
1.98 miod 280: </ul>