OpenBSD/alpha

alpha

History and Status:

The OpenBSD/alpha port was begun in the summer of 1996 by using code from the NetBSD/alpha port which was begun by Chris Demetriou <cgd@netbsd.org> in 1994. After the original OpenBSD port, some copyright issues prevented OpenBSD from tracking the NetBSD code. Regardless, work on the alpha port continued and many fixes were made. While we were making fixes, NetBSD continued to make improvements to the alpha port which we were unfortunately unable to use. Over time, because of a lack of programmer resources and the inability to use NetBSD code, hardware and software support became very outdated. This caused the 2.5 and 2.6 releases of alpha to have few kernel enhancements. As a result of its becoming so stale, alpha was not included in the 2.7 and 2.8 releases.

Shortly after 2.8 was released, there has been a great deal of interest in bringing the port up to date. This coupled with the fact that NetBSD changed the license on its alpha code so that there are no longer copyright issues has lead to an effort to bring the alpha port back up. (For details on why we were not able to keep tracking the NetBSD code, check our policy page.)

Nate Binkert, Art Grabowski, Niklas Hallqvist and Eric Jackson, with the help of a few others, eventually brought the port in good shape again, and starting with the 2.9 release alpha is a major OpenBSD port again.

However, there is currently no maintainer for the alpha port. Technical discussion about the alpha port should be directed to <alpha@openbsd.org>. If you are at all interested in development of the alpha port, please send inquiries to this address. If you are interested in the job of alpha port maintainer, help out the project for a while and step up to the job.

Projects (in no particular order):

Testing more platforms and peripherals, to find what issues are remaining
Better documentation
compat_osf1 shared libs
bus_dma on more core chipsets
isa_dma
Floppy support (needs isa_dma first)
Fix 64-bit issues in the non-working PCI drivers
Improve TGA support to include virtual consoles
Improve X11 support

Supported Hardware:

Because of the changes that are currently being made to alpha, the currently supported hardware is in flux. To the best of our knowledge, the following hardware is supported, but there might be occasional breakage on some models. Since there are many models and combinations that we have not tested, we would appreciate very much if you told us about things that work and do not work. To help us keep track of what hardware people use, please mail your dmesg to <dmesg@openbsd.org>. If there are things that do not work, please file a bug report using sendbug(1).

Supported Platforms:

DS20, DS10, XP1000, 264DP, and other EV6 machines using the Tsunami chipset
(Only one processor on the DS20 will be used)
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21143 ethernet.
  - Built-in ISP SCSI.
  - Built-in IDE controller.
  - Built-in USB should work, but has not been thoroughly tested.
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
API UP1000 machines and other EV6 machines using the Irongate chipset
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21040 ethernet.
  - Built-in IDE controller works, though there may be stability issues.
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
Digital Personal Workstation (Miata)
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21043 ethernet.
  - Built-in ISP SCSI, when present (i.e. on ``au'' models).
  - Built-in IDE controller.
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - Built-in audio.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
EB164 based machines (including PC164, 164SX, 164LX, but NOT the 164UX)
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in PCIIDE controller, when present.
  - PCI graphics card (TGA or VGA compatible).
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - ISA IDE controller on the EB164.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
Alphastation 500 and 600
These systems should work, but we need to hear from people about them.
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21040 ethernet.
  - Built-in ISP SCSI.
  - PCI graphics card (TGA or VGA compatible).
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA and EISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - Built-in audio.
  - ISA and EISA devices that require DMA operation.
Alphastation 200, 250, 255 and 400
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21040 ethernet.
  - Built-in ISP SCSI.
  - PCI graphics card (TGA or VGA compatible).
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - Built-in audio.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
AXPpci based machines (including ``Noname'', UDB, Multia)
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial and parallel ports.
  - Built-in DEC21040 ethernet.
  - Built-in 53C810 SCSI (siop)
  - Built-in IDE controller. (though, will not boot from ide)
  - PCI graphics card (TGA or VGA compatible).
  - Most PCI devices (see below).
  - Some ISA devices (see below).
- Unsupported devices:
  - Floppy drive.
  - ISA devices that require DMA operation.
DEC 3000 models 300{,L,X,LX}
These systems should work, but we need to hear from people about them.
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial ports (console on serial port).
  - Built-in LANCE ethernet.
  - Built-in SCSI (53C94).
  - TurboChannel LANCE ethernet cards (PMAD-A). (untested)
- Unsupported devices:
  - Built-in ISDN/audio chip.
  - Built-in framebuffer.
  - Other TurboChannel cards.
DEC 3000 models 400,500,500X,600,700,800,900
These systems should work, but we need to hear from people about them.
- Supported devices:
  - Built-in serial ports (console on serial port).
  - Built-in LANCE ethernet.
  - Built-in SCSI (53C94 or 53CF94-2), although both scsi controllers may not work at the same time.
  - TurboChannel LANCE ethernet cards (PMAD-A). (untested)
- Unsupported devices:
  - Built-in ISDN/audio chip.
  - Built-in framebuffer.
  - Other TurboChannel cards.
At this time none of the following systems are supported:
- API UP2000, UP2000+ (mostly because we don't have any to test on.)
- DECpc AXP150 (2000/300) systems (EISA-bus PC-like systems)
- AlphaServer systems, other than models 400 and 500, which seem to be disguised AlphaStation machines.
- Alpha XL systems.
- DEC 4000, 7000, and 10000 systems (FutureBus+ and XMIBus based).
- EB64+ based systems.
- Samsung 164BX/UX. (No SRM)
- Multiprocessor alpha systems.
- VME Alpha systems.

Supported Peripherals:

SCSI Host Adapters
- Adaptec AIC-7770-based SCSI host adapters (including the Adaptec AHA-274x and AHA-284x families). (ahc)
- Adaptec AHA-[23]94x[W] cards. (ahc)
- Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]xU[2W] cards . (ahc)
- Adaptec AIC-789[29] chips and products like the AHA-29160 based upon it which do 160MB/sec SCSI. (ahc)
- QLogic PCI SCSI controllers (isp)
- Symbios Logic (NCR) 53C8xx-based PCI SCSI host adapters (Including generic/no name cards, old ASUS cards, the DTC-3130 series, Diamond Fireport series, etc.) (siop)
PCI IDE Controllers (pciide)
- Acer Labs M5229
- CMD Tech PCI0640, PCI0643, PCI0646, PCI0648, and PCI0649
- Contaq Microsystems/Cypress CY82C693
Any other PCI IDE-compliant controller should work, but are untested at this point
Ethernet Adapters
- 3Com 3c9xx EtherLink XL adapters (xl), including:
  - 3Com 3c900/3c900B PCI adapters
  - 3Com 3c905/3c905B/3c905C PCI adapters
  - 3Com 3c980/3c980C server adapters
  - 3Com 3cSOHO adapter
  - 3Com 3c900B-FL and 3c900B-FL/FX fiber optic adapters
- 3Com 3c990 3XP Typhoon/Sidewinder PCI adapters (txp), including:
  - 3CR990-TX-95
  - 3CR990-TX-97
  - 3CR990-SVR95
  - 3CR990-SVR97
- Intel i8255x-based (except the i82556) PCI adapters (fxp), including:
  - Intel EtherExpress PRO/10+
  - Intel EtherExpress PRO/100, PRO/100B, and PRO/100+
  - Intel EtherExpress PRO/100+ "Management Adapter"
  - Intel EtherExpress PRO/100 Dual Port
- Digital DC21x4x-based PCI adapters (de), including:
  - Older SMC PCI EtherPower 10, 10/100 (models 8432, 9332, and 9334)
  - Older LinkSys 10, 10/100 (newer models are supported by other drivers)
  - Znyx ZX3xx
  - Cogent EM100FX and EM440TX
  - Digital PCI DE435, EISA DE425, DE450, DE500
  - Asante
  - Almost all other variants work.
Gigabit Ethernet Adapters
- Intel i82452-based adapters (wx), including:
  - Intel Pro/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter
- Broadcom BCM570x (a.k.a. Tigon3) based PCI adapters (bge), including:
  - 3Com 3c996-T (10/100/1000baseTX)
  - Dell PowerEdge 2550 integrated BCM5700 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)
  - SysKonnect SK-9D21 (10/100/1000baseTX)
  - SysKonnect SK-9D41 (1000baseSX)
FDDI Adapters
- Digital DEFPA PCI FDDI adapters (fpa)
Cryptography Accelerators
- Hifn 7751-based boards (hifn), including:
  - GTGI PowerCrypt Encryption Accelerator
  - NetSec 7751
  - Hifn reference board
  - Invertex AEON
Sound Devices
- Ensoniq AudioPCI (eap)
- SoundBlaster PCI128 (eap)

Untested Peripherals:

The following peripherals are compiled into the system, but are not known to work. It's our best guess that they do, but any feedback is appreciated.

SCSI Host Adapters
- AdvanSys ABP940UW, ASB3940UW-00, ASB3940U2W-00 and ASB3950U160 PCI SCSI controllers. (adw)
RAID and Cache Controllers
- DPT SmartCache and SmartRaid III/IV PCI/EISA adapters (dpt)
- ICP-Vortex GDT 6xxxR[DNPS] series (gdt)
Serial Ports
- Cyclades PCI Cyclom-{4, 8, 16}Y serial boards (cy)
Communications Controllers
- Universal Serial Bus host controllers, including:
  - USB Universal Host Controller (uhci)
  - USB Open Host Controller (ohci)
Ethernet Adapters
- 3Com 3c503 (ec)
- 3Com 3c509, 3c579, and 3c59x (ep)
- Adaptec "Starfire" AIC-6915 based PCI adapters (sf), including:
  - Adaptec Single32 ANA-69011
  - Adaptec Single64 ANA-62011 and ANA-62020
  - Adaptec Duo64 ANA-62022
  - Adaptec Quartet64 ANA-62044
- ADMtek AL981 ("Comet") and AN983 ("Centaur-P") based PCI adapters (dc), including:
  - Accton EN2242 MiniPCI
  - Linksys LNE100TX v4.x
  - Mototech ME316
- ADMtek AN986-based USB adapters (aue), including:
  - Billionton Systems USB100
  - Corega FEther USB-TX
  - D-Link DSB-650TX
  - I/O Data USB ETTX
  - LinkSys USB100TX, USB100H1 and USB10TA
  - Melco Inc. LUA-TX
  - SMC 2202USB
  - SOHOware NUB100
  - Kingston KNU101TX
- AMD LANCE and PCnet-based PCI adapters (le), including:
  - BOCALANcard/PCI
  - AT&T StarLAN 10, EN100, and StarLAN Fiber
- ASIX 88140A/88141-based PCI adapters (dc), including:
  - CNet Pro110B
  - Alfa Inc. GFC2204
- CATC USB-EL1210A-based USB adapters (cue), including:
  - CATC Netmate and Netmate II
  - Belkin F5U111
- Davicom DM9100, DM9102, and DM9102A based PCI adapters (dc), including:
  - Jaton XpressNet
- Digital DC2114x-based four port cards, (de) including:
  - Adaptec ANA-6944A
  - Cogent EM400
  - Compex 400TX
  - Znyx ZX346
- Kawasaki LSI KL5KUSB101B-based USB adapters (kue), including:
  - 3Com 3C19250
  - 3Com 3c460 HomeConnect
  - ADS Technologies USB-10BT
  - Aox USB101
  - ATen UC10T
  - Corega USB-T
  - D-Link DSB-650
  - Entegra NET-USB-E45
  - Kawasaki USB101
  - LinkSys USB10T
  - Netgear EA101
  - Peracom USB
  - SMC 2102/2104USB
  - I/O Data USB-ET/T
- Lite-On PNIC/PNIC-II-based adapters (dc), including:
  - Kingston KNE110TX
  - LinkSys LNE100TX
  - Matrox Networks FastNIC 10/100
  - Netgear FA310TX
- Macronix 98713/98715/98725-based adapters (dc), including:
  - Accton EN1217
  - Addtron AEF-320TX/AEF-330TX
  - NDC Communications SOHOware SFA110A
  - SVEC PN102-TX Fast Ethernet card
- National Semiconductor DP83815-based PCI adapters (sis), including:
  - NetGear FA311
  - NetGear FA312
- Novell NE1000, NE2000 (ISA, and PCI variants thereof) (ne)
- RealTek 8129/8139-based adapters (rl), including:
  - Accton MPX 5030/5038
  - Allied Telesyn AT2550
  - D-Link DFE530TX+
  - D-Link DFE538TX
  - Encore ENL832-TX 10/100 M PCI
  - Genius GF100TXR
  - KTX-9130TX 10/100 Fast Ethernet
  - Longshine LCS-8038TX-R
  - NDC NE100TX-E
  - Netronix EA-1210 Net Ether 10/100
  - Nortel BayStack 21
  - OvisLink LEF-8129TX, LEF-8139TX
  - SMC EZ Card 10/100 PCI 1211-TX
- SiS 900 and SiS 7016-based PCI adapters (sis), including:
  - Mototech ME313
  - NetSurf NS-KFE30D
- SMC/WD 8003, 8013, and the SMC "Elite16" ISA boards (we)
- Sundance ST201-based PCI adapters (ste), including:
  - D-Link DFE-550TX
- Texas Instruments ThunderLAN PCI adapters (tl), including:
  - Compaq Netelligent PCI Adapters
  - Compaq NetFlex 3/P
  - Compaq Deskpro integrated adapter
  - Compaq Prosignia integrated adapter
  - Olicom OC2135, OC2183, OC2325, OC2326
  - Racore 8165 and 8148
  - TI ThunderLAN adapters
- Winbond W89C840F-based adapters (wb), including:
  - Trendware TE100-PCIE
  - Compex RL100-ATX 10/100
Please be aware that many NE2000 adapters fail or perform very poorly. We do not recommend using them, but your mileage may vary.
Gigabit Ethernet Adapters
- Alteon Tigon I/II-based adapters (ti), including:
  - 3Com 3c985 and 3c985B
  - Alteon ACEnic V (fiber and copper)
  - Digital EtherWORKS 1000SX
  - Farallon PN9000SX
  - Netgear GA620 and GA620T
  - SGI Tigon
- SysKonnect SK-984x (9841/9842/9843/9844) based adapters (sk)
ATM Adapters
- Efficient Networks EN-155 and Adaptec ANA-590x ATM interfaces (en)
FDDI Adapters
- Digital DEFEA EISA FDDI adapters (fea)
WAN Adapters
- Lan Media Corporation SSI (T1)/HSSI/DS1/DS3 WAN interfaces (lmc)
Universal Serial Bus (USB) Devices
- USB Audio (uaudio)
- USB Diamond MultiMedia Rio MP3 players (urio)
- USB Ethernet adapters (aue, cue, kue), see above
- USB Generic Human Interface Devices (catch-all) (uhid)
- USB Handspring Visor (uvisor)
- USB Hubs (uhub)
- USB Keyboards (ukbd)
- USB Mass Storage devices, i.e., USB floppy drives and USB memory stick controllers (umass)
- USB Mice (umouse)
- USB Modems (umodem)
- USB Printers (ulpt)
- USB Scanners (uscanner, usscanner)
- USB-USB cables (upl)
Sound Devices
- C-Media CMI8[37]38 (cmpci)
- ESS Solo-1 PCI AudioDrive (eso)
- Forte Media FM801 audio (fms)
- VIA VT82C686A SouthBridge integrated AC'97 audio (auvia)
- S3 SonicVibes (sv)

Snapshots:

Snapshots of the alpha port are available on an irregular basis.

www@openbsd.org
$OpenBSD: alpha.html,v 1.69 2001/10/11 19:11:47 jufi Exp $