| AlphaServer DS15, DS25, ES45, TS202c | |
|---|---|
| Codename | HyperBrick (DS15), Granite (DS25), Privateer (ES45), Falcon (TS202c) |
| CPU | 21264C (EV68) |
| Processors | 1 (DS15), 1 or 2 (DS25), 1 to 4 (ES45) |
| Core logic | Titan |
| Memory | Up to 4 GiB (DS15), 16 GiB (DS25), 32 GiB (ES45) |
| Buses | 64-bit PCI, AGP |
| Firmware | SRM (last V7.3-2 on the DS15, DS25, and ES45) |
| Kernel option | CONFIG_ALPHA_TITAN |
| Linux | Supported (DS15, DS25, ES45); Untested (TS202c) |
The DS15 (HyperBrick), DS25 (Granite), and ES45 (Privateer) use the Titan core logic, the successor to Tsunami. 1) The DS15 has an EV68 CPU and replaced the DS10, largely because the Tsunami chipset had reached end of life. 2) The DS15 and DS25 were also sold, with graphics, as AlphaStations. 3) 4)
The DS15A is a RoHS compliant DS15, otherwise identical and interchangeable. 5) 6) 7)
Except where noted, the following comes from the ES45 Technical Summary. 11)
The models differ only in the PCI backplane and memory motherboards. The original Model 2 has 1 GHz CPUs and 720 W power supplies; Models 1B, 2B, and 3B were sold with 1 GHz or 1.25 GHz CPUs and take 1080 W supplies. 12) 13)
| Model | Maximum memory | I/O slots | PCI throughput |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 16 GiB | Two 33 MHz PCI, four 66 MHz PCI, one 4X AGP | 1.32 GB/s plus 1 GB/s AGP |
| 2, 2B | 32 GiB | Four 33 MHz PCI, six 66 MHz PCI | 1.85 GB/s |
| 3B | 32 GiB | Eight 33 MHz PCI, two 66 MHz PCI | 1.32 GB/s |
The 33 MHz slots are 5 V and the 66 MHz slots are 3.3 V. Seven of the ten slots are hot pluggable on Models 2, 2B, and 3B, and four of the seven on Model 1B.
Use the final SRM version, V7.3-2, on the DS15, DS25, and ES45 (see final SRM versions). The TS202c V6.8B firmware release carries SRM V6.8-20. 14)
set heap_expand none; the console_memory_allocation old fix used on other systems does not work on the ES45 (reported under Tru64 UNIX). 15)
Current kernels support the DS15, DS25, and ES45 (CONFIG_ALPHA_TITAN, or a generic kernel), which boot from SRM with aboot. 18) The kernel also recognizes the TS202c (Falcon), 19) but no one has reported running Linux on it; its firmware release notes list Tru64 UNIX as its only operating system. 20) The SRM console on Titan machines occupies the low memory where older systems load the kernel, so the kernel must start at 8 MiB or above, and preferably 16 MiB. 21) A generic kernel must therefore be built with CONFIG_ALPHA_LEGACY_START_ADDRESS turned off; with it on, as in the default configuration, the kernel leaves out Titan support entirely (see Kernel). 22)
The DS15's onboard Intel 82559ER Ethernet ports use the e100 driver and its Adaptec 7899 SCSI controller the aic7xxx driver. 23) 24)
The DS25's onboard devices are an Intel 82559ER 10/100 Ethernet controller, a Broadcom 5703C gigabit Ethernet controller, a dual-channel Adaptec AIC-7899 SCSI controller, and the Acer Labs M1543C IDE controller for the DVD-ROM. 25) They use the e100, tg3, aic7xxx, and pata_ali drivers. 26) 27) The ES45 has no onboard network or SCSI controller; its onboard devices are the Acer Labs M1543C, whose IDE controller (pata_ali) serves the DVD-ROM, and the PCI hot-plug controllers, while network and SCSI adapters are PCI cards. 28) 29)
For a serial console, see Using SRM; on the DS15, COM1 is also the RMC port (see Specifications).
Debian has run on all three supported models. An ES45 with three 1.25 GHz CPUs, "Imago", was a Debian build daemon in 2012. 30) A DS15 was running Debian Ports with Linux 5.8.1 in 2020. 31) Debian's SMP kernels failed on an ES45 and a DS25 from version 5.4 on; in 2022 a self-built Linux 6.0.7 SMP kernel worked again on the dual-CPU DS25, 32) 33) and the same DS25 ran Debian's own 6.3.0-1-alpha-smp kernel in 2023. 34)
The following sources conflict with each other or with the account given above. They are listed here for further investigation.
ALPHA_TITAN help text says "AlphaServer ES45/DS25 SMP based on EV68 and Titan chipset."