124 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
124 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE>Brief Introduction to Alpha Systems and Processors: The Systems</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="Alpha-HOWTO-8.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="Alpha-HOWTO-6.html" REL=previous>
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<LINK HREF="Alpha-HOWTO.html#toc7" REL=contents>
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<A HREF="Alpha-HOWTO-8.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="Alpha-HOWTO.html#toc7">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s7">7. The Systems</A></H2>
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<P> The applications engineering group in DS produces example designs using the
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CPUs and support chipsets. These are typically PC-AT size motherboards, with
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all the functionality that you'd typically find on a high-end Pentium
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motherboard. Originally, these example designs were intended to be used as
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starting points for third-parties to produce motherboard designs from. These
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first-generation designs were called Evaluation Boards (EBs). As the
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amount of engineering required to build a motherboard has increased (due to
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higher-speed clocks and the need to meet RF emission and susceptibility
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regulations) the emphasis has shifted towards providing motherboards that
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are suitable for volume manufacture.
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<P>
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<P> Digital's system groups have produced several generations of machines using
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Alpha processors. Some of these systems use support logic that is designed by
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the systems groups, and some use commodity chipsets from DS. In some cases,
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systems use a combination of both.
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<P>
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<P> Various third-parties build systems using Alpha processors. Some of these
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companies design systems from scratch, and others use DS support chipsets,
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clone/modify DS example designs or simply package systems using build and
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tested boards from DS.
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<P>
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<P> The EB64: Obsolete design using 21064 with memory controller implemented
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using programmable logic. I/O provided by using programmable logic to interface
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a 486<->ISA bridge chip. On-board Ethernet, SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD), Ethernet
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and ISA. PC-AT size. Runs from standard PC power supply.
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<P>
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<P> The EB64+: Uses 21064 or 21064A and APECs. Has ISA and PCI expansion (3
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ISA, 2 PCI, one pair are on a shared slot). Supports 36-bit DRAM SIMs. ISA bus
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generated by Intel SaturnI/O PCI-ISA bridge. On-board SCSI (NCR 810 on PCI)
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Ethernet (Digital 21040), KBD, MOUSE (PS2 style), SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD),
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RTC/NVRAM. Boot
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ROM is EPROM. PC-AT size. Runs from standard PC power supply.
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<P>
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<P> The EB66: Uses 21066 or 21066A. I/O sub-system is identical to EB64+. Baby
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PC-AT size. Runs from standard PC power supply. The EB66 schematic was
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published as a marketing poster advertising the 21066 as "the first
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microprocessor in the world with embedded PCI" (for trivia fans: there are
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actually 2 versions of this poster - I drew the circuits and wrote the spiel
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for the first version, and some Americans mauled the spiel for the second
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version)
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<P>
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<P> The EB164: Uses 21164 and ALCOR. Has ISA and PCI expansion (3 ISA slots,
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2 64-bit PCI slots (one is shared with an ISA slot) and 2 32-bit PCI slots.
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Uses plus-in Bcache SIMMs. I/O sub-system provides SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD),
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KBD, MOUSE (PS2 style), RTC/NVRAM. Boot ROM is Flash. PC-AT-sized motherboard.
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Requires power supply with 3.3V output.
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<P>
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<P> The AlphaPC64 (aka Cabriolet): derived from EB64+ but now baby-AT
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with Flash boot ROM, no on-board SCSI or Ethernet. 3 ISA slots, 4 PCI
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slots (one pair are on a shared slot), uses plug-in Bcache SIMMs.
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Requires power supply with 3.3V output.
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<P>
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<P> The AXPpci33 (aka NoName), is based on the EB66. This design is produced by
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Digital's Technical OEM (TOEM) group. It uses the 21066 processor running at
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166MHz or 233MHz. It is a baby-AT size, and runs from a standard PC power
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supply. It has 5 ISA slots and 3 PCI slots (one pair are a shared slot). There
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are 2 versions, with either PS/2 or large DIN connectors for the keyboard.
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<P>
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<P> Other 21066-based motherboards: most if not all other 21066-based
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motherboards on the market are also based on EB66 - there's really not many
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system options when designing a 21066 system, because all the control is done
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on-chip.
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<P>
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<P> Multia (aka the Universal Desktop Box): This is a very compact
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pedestal desktop system based on the 21066. It includes 2 PCMCIA
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sockets, 21030 (TGA) graphics, 21040 Ethernet and NCR 810 SCSI disk
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along with floppy, 2 serial ports and a parallel port. It has limited
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expansion capability (one PCI slot) due to its compact size. (There is
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some restriction on when you can use the PCI slot, can't remember
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what) (Note that 21066A-based and Pentium-based Multia's are also
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available).
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<P>
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<P> DEC PC 150 AXP (aka Jensen): This is a very old Digital system - one of the
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first-generation Alpha systems. It is only mentioned here because a number of
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these systems seem to be available on the second-hand market. The Jensen is a
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floor-standing tower system which used a 150MHz 21064 (later versions used
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faster CPUs but I'm not sure what speeds). It used programmable logic to
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interface a 486 EISA I/O bridge to the CPU.
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<P>
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<P> Other 21064(A) systems: There are 3 or 4 motherboard designs around (I'm
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not including Digital <EM>systems</EM> here) and all the ones I know of
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are derived from the EB64+ design. These include:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI>EB64+ (some vendors package the board and sell it unmodified); AT
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form-factor.
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</LI>
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<LI>Aspen Systems motherboard: EB64+ derivative; baby-AT form-factor.
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</LI>
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<LI>Aspen Systems server board: many PCI slots (includes PCI bridge).
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</LI>
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<LI>AlphaPC64 (aka Cabriolet), baby AT form-factor.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>
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<P> Other 21164(A) systems: The only one I'm aware of that isn't simply
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an EB164 clone is a system made by DeskStation. That system is implemented
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using a memory and I/O controller proprietary to Desk Station. I don't know
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what their attitude towards Linux is.
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="Alpha-HOWTO-8.html">Next</A>
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