AlphaStation
Encyclopedia
AlphaStation was the name given to a series of computer workstations, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation
, and latterly 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.
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).
A variant of the AlphaStation 1200 was also sold as the Digital Ultimate Workstation 533au².
Some systems had one of the microprocessors deactivated, which may be reactivated with a license upgrade.
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
, and latterly by Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
and HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. As the name suggests, the AlphaStations were based on the DEC Alpha
DEC Alpha
Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , designed to replace the 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computer ISA and its implementations. Alpha was implemented in microprocessors...
64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
. Supported operating systems for AlphaStations comprise Tru64 UNIX
Tru64 UNIX
Tru64 UNIX is a 64-bit UNIX operating system for the Alpha instruction set architecture , currently owned by Hewlett-Packard . Previously, Tru64 UNIX was a product of Compaq, and before that, Digital Equipment Corporation , where it was known as Digital UNIX .As its original name suggests, Tru64...
(formerly Digital UNIX), OpenVMS
OpenVMS
OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
and Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
(with AlphaBIOS ARC
Advanced RISC Computing
Advanced RISC Computing is a specification promulgated by a defunct consortium of computer manufacturers , setting forth a standard MIPS RISC-based computer hardware and firmware environment....
firmware). Most of these workstations can also run various versions of Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and BSD operating systems.
Other Alpha workstations produced by DEC include the DEC 2000 AXP (DECpc AXP 150)
DEC 2000 AXP
The DECpc AXP 150, code-named Jensen, is an entry-level workstation developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation. Introduced on 25 May 1993, the DECpc AXP 150 was the first Alpha-based system to support the Windows NT operating system and the basis for the DEC 2000 AXP entry-level...
, the DEC 3000 AXP
DEC 3000 AXP
DEC 3000 AXP was the name given to a series of computer workstations and servers, produced from 1992 to around 1995 by Digital Equipment Corporation. The DEC 3000 AXP series formed part of the first generation of computer systems based on the 64-bit Alpha AXP architecture...
, the Digital Personal Workstation
Digital Personal Workstation
The Digital Personal Workstation is a family of entry-level to mid-range workstation computers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation . These workstations are based on the DEC Alpha and Intel Pentium Pro or Pentium II microprocessors...
a-Series and au-Series (codename Miata), the Multia
DEC Multia
The Multia, later re-branded the Universal Desktop Box, was a line of desktop computers introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation on 7 November 1994. The line is notable in that units were offered with either an Alpha AXP or Intel Pentium processor as the CPU, and most hardware other than the...
VX40/41/42 and the Alpha XL/Alpha XLT line (a member of the Alcor Family, which had swappable daughterboard
Daughterboard
A daughterboard, daughtercard or piggyback board is a circuit board meant to be an extension or "daughter" of a motherboard , or occasionally of another card...
with Pentium
Pentium
The original Pentium microprocessor was introduced on March 22, 1993. Its microarchitecture, deemed P5, was Intel's fifth-generation and first superscalar x86 microarchitecture. As a direct extension of the 80486 architecture, it included dual integer pipelines, a faster FPU, wider data bus,...
processor, to transform to a DEC Celebris XL line).
Models
From the XP900 onwards, all AlphaStation models were simply workstation configurations of the corresponding AlphaServer model.Avanti Family
| Model | Code name | # of CPUs |
CPU | CPU MHz |
B-cache | Chipset | Memory | Expansion | Enclosure | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 4/100 | Mustang | 1 | 21064 Alpha 21064 The Alpha 21064 is a microprocessor developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corporation that implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture . It was introduced as the DECchip 21064 before it was renamed in 1994. The 21064 is also known by its code name, EV4... (EV4) |
100 | 512 KB | 21071 | 8 to 384 MB | 1 PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect Conventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer... 1 or 2 PCI/ISA Industry Standard Architecture Industry Standard Architecture is a computer bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers introduced with the IBM Personal Computer to support its Intel 8088 microprocessor's 8-bit external data bus and extended to 16 bits for the IBM Personal Computer/AT's Intel 80286 processor... 1 ISA |
Desktop | 1995-02-23 | ? |
| 200 4/166 | 166 | 1994-11-03 | ? | ||||||||
| 200 4/233 | Mustang+ | 21064A Alpha 21064 The Alpha 21064 is a microprocessor developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corporation that implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture . It was introduced as the DECchip 21064 before it was renamed in 1994. The 21064 is also known by its code name, EV4... (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 | ? | ||||||
| 400 4/266 | 266 | ? | ? | ||||||||
| 400 4/300 | 300 | ? | ? | ||||||||
Alcor Family
| Model | Code name | # of CPUs |
CPU | CPU MHz |
B-cache | Chipset | Memory | Expansion | Enclosure | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500/266 | Maverick | 1 | 21164 Alpha 21164 The Alpha 21164, also known by its code name, EV5, is a microprocessor developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corporation that implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture . It was introduced in January 1995, succeeding the Alpha 21064A as Digital's flagship microprocessor... (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 Alpha 21164 The Alpha 21164, also known by its code name, EV5, is a microprocessor developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corporation that implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture . It was introduced in January 1995, succeeding the Alpha 21064A as Digital's flagship microprocessor... (EV56) |
400 | 21172 | 32 MB to 1 GB | ? | |||||
| 500/500 | 500 | 8 MB | 1996-08-06 | ? | |||||||
| 600 5/266 | Alcor | 1 | 21164 (EV5) |
266 | 2 or 4 MB | 21171 | 32 MB to 1 GB | 3 33 MHz PCI-X PCI-X PCI-X, short for PCI-eXtended, is a computer bus and expansion card standard that enhances the 32-bit PCI Local Bus for higher bandwidth demanded by servers. It is a double-wide version of PCI, running at up to four times the clock speed, but is otherwise similar in electrical implementation and... 1 PCI 1 PCI/EISA Extended Industry Standard Architecture The Extended Industry Standard Architecture is a bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers... 3 EISA |
Pedestal | 1995-08-02 | ? |
| 600 5/300 | 300 | ? | |||||||||
| 600 5/333 | 333 | 4 MB | ? | ? | |||||||
Noritake and Rawhide Family
| 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 | |||||||||||
| 1200 | DaVinci | Up to 2 | 21164A (EV56) |
400 | 4 MB | ? | 512 MB to 2 GB | 5 PCI 1 PCI/ISA |
Pedestal | ? | ? |
| 533 | ? | ? | ? | ||||||||
Tsunami Family
| Model | Code name | # of CPUs |
CPU | CPU MHz |
B-cache | Chipset | Memory | Expansion | Enclosure | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS10 VS10 XP900 |
WebBrick | 1 | 21264 Alpha 21264 The Alpha 21264 was a Digital Equipment Corporation RISC microprocessor introduced in October, 1996. The 21264 implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture .- Description :... (EV6) |
466 | 2 MB | 21272 | 256 MB to 2 GB 100 MHz SDRAM SDRAM Synchronous dynamic random access memory is dynamic random access memory that is synchronized with the system bus. Classic DRAM has an asynchronous interface, which means that it responds as quickly as possible to changes in control inputs... |
3 PCI-X 1 PCI |
Desktop | ? | ? |
| 21264A Alpha 21264 The Alpha 21264 was a Digital Equipment Corporation RISC microprocessor introduced in October, 1996. The 21264 implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture .- Description :... (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 Alpha 21264 The Alpha 21264 was a Digital Equipment Corporation RISC microprocessor introduced in October, 1996. The 21264 implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture .- Description :... (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 | ? |
| Brisbane | 21264A (EV67) |
667 | ? | ? | |||||||
Titan and Marvel Family
| Model | Code name | # of CPUs |
CPU | CPU MHz |
B-cache | Chipset | Memory | Expansion | Enclosure | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan Family | |||||||||||
| DS15A | HyperBrick II | 1 | 21264C Alpha 21264 The Alpha 21264 was a Digital Equipment Corporation RISC microprocessor introduced in October, 1996. The 21264 implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture .- Description :... (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 | 2 | 21364 Alpha 21364 The Alpha 21364, code-named "Marvel", also known as EV7 is a microprocessor developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , later Compaq Computer Corporation, that implemented the Alpha instruction set architecture .- History :... (EV7) |
1000 | 1.75 MB | On-die | 512 MB to 16 GB RDRAM RDRAM Direct Rambus DRAM or DRDRAM is a type of synchronous dynamic RAM. RDRAM was developed by Rambus inc., in the mid-1990s as a replacement for then-prevalent DIMM SDRAM memory architecture.... |
1 2× AGP Accelerated Graphics Port The Accelerated Graphics Port is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a video card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. Since 2004 AGP has been progressively phased out in favor of PCI Express... 1 133 MHz PCI-X 4 66 MHz PCI-X |
Tower | ? | ? |
A variant of the AlphaStation 1200 was also sold as the Digital Ultimate Workstation 533au².
Some systems had one of the microprocessors deactivated, which may be reactivated with a license upgrade.