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===== QEMU =====

[[https://www.qemu.org/|QEMU]] is the easiest way to run Alpha/Linux without Alpha hardware, and the usual way to test kernel and toolchain changes. It has two modes, both covered here:

  * **System emulation**, ''qemu-system-alpha'', emulates a complete Alpha system, an AlphaServer ES40 class machine, and boots an Alpha kernel.
  * **User-mode emulation**, ''qemu-alpha'', runs individual Alpha/Linux programs on another architecture's kernel. With ''binfmt_misc'' it runs a whole Alpha chroot.

The history of QEMU's Alpha support, and of the other Alpha emulators, is on the [[software:emulators#qemu|Emulators]] page.

==== System emulation ====

=== The machine ===

QEMU's only Alpha machine is ''clipper'', which is also the default. It emulates up to four CPUs, EV67 by default, with the 21272 Tsunami core logic, a CMD646 IDE controller, VGA, and an Intel e1000 network card. [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/hw/alpha/dp264.c|hw/alpha/dp264.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)] A generic Alpha kernel runs on it, as does one built with ''CONFIG_ALPHA_DP264''; see [[documentation:kernel|Kernel]].

QEMU does not run Digital's SRM console. Its firmware, qemu-palcode, provides enough for Linux to boot, but has no command prompt and none of the console's I/O services. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/debian-alpha-mbox/2011-May.mbox#L823|"Re: QEMU Alpha system status"]], Richard Henderson, debian-alpha, 5 May 2011)] QEMU therefore cannot boot from a disk or CD by itself. The kernel, and the initrd if one is used, are always passed to QEMU from the host with ''-kernel'' and ''-initrd'', and the kernel arguments with ''-append''. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/debian-alpha-mbox/2021-March.mbox#L470|"Bug#986009: installation-reports: document qemu workarounds and bug in newer d-i image (fwd)"]], Thorsten Glaser, debian-alpha, 27 Mar 2021)]

QEMU loads the kernel as an ELF file, and does not decompress it. A kernel that is gzip-compressed, such as a distribution's ''vmlinuz'' or the kernel build's ''arch/alpha/boot/vmlinux.gz'', must be decompressed first. [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/tests/functional/alpha/test_clipper.py|tests/functional/alpha/test_clipper.py]], QEMU 11.1.0)] ''file'' shows which it is:

<code>
file vmlinuz
zcat vmlinuz > vmlinux
</code>

=== Booting an installer ===

The Debian Ports netinst CD carries its kernel and initrd as ''/boot/vmlinuz'' and ''/boot/initrd.gz''. Copy them out of the ISO, for example with ''bsdtar'' or ''7z'', or by loop-mounting it, and decompress the kernel. Replace ''VERSION'' with the version in the downloaded image's name:

<code>
bsdtar -xf debian-VERSION-alpha-NETINST-1.iso boot/vmlinuz boot/initrd.gz
zcat boot/vmlinuz > vmlinux
qemu-img create -f qcow2 alpha.qcow2 20G
</code>

Then boot the installer with the new disk and the ISO attached:

<code>
qemu-system-alpha -M clipper -m 2G -smp 2 -nographic \
    -kernel vmlinux -initrd boot/initrd.gz -append 'console=ttyS0' \
    -drive file=alpha.qcow2,format=qcow2 \
    -cdrom debian-VERSION-alpha-NETINST-1.iso \
    -nic user
</code>

The installer partitions the disk with a BSD disklabel and tries to install aboot, exactly as on real hardware. The aboot it installs is not used under QEMU, but it does no harm, and the same disk image can later be written to a real disk.

The guest needs at least 2 GiB of memory. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/debian-alpha-mbox/2020-January.mbox#L2582|"Re: Booting Debian in qemu-system-alpha"]], Philippe Mathieu-Daudé, debian-alpha, 27 Jan 2020)] Quote the ''-append'' string with plain ASCII quotes: typographic quotes copied from a web page end up in the kernel command line, and the kernel then ignores ''console=ttyS0''. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/debian-alpha-mbox/2020-January.mbox#L2336|"Re: Booting Debian in qemu-system-alpha"]], Richard Henderson, debian-alpha, 24 Jan 2020)]

=== Booting the Gentoo install CD ===

Gentoo's minimal install CD carries its default kernel and initramfs as ''/boot/gentoo'' and ''/boot/gentoo.igz'', and a second pair, ''/boot/gentoo_nolsa'' and ''/boot/gentoo_nolsa.igz'', built without ''CONFIG_ALPHA_LEGACY_START_ADDRESS''; either runs under QEMU. The kernel is gzip-compressed and is decompressed in the same way, and the kernel arguments are those of the CD's own ''/etc/aboot.conf'', with ''console=ttyS0'' added: [(>[[https://distfiles.gentoo.org/releases/alpha/autobuilds/20260426T153103Z/|install-alpha-minimal-20260426T153103Z.iso]], distfiles.gentoo.org, 26 Apr 2026)]

<code>
bsdtar -xf install-alpha-minimal-VERSION.iso boot/gentoo boot/gentoo.igz
zcat boot/gentoo > vmlinux-gentoo
qemu-system-alpha -M clipper -m 2G -smp 2 -nographic \
    -kernel vmlinux-gentoo -initrd boot/gentoo.igz \
    -append 'looptype=squashfs loop=/image.squashfs cdroot console=ttyS0' \
    -drive file=alpha.qcow2,format=qcow2 \
    -drive file=install-alpha-minimal-VERSION.iso,media=cdrom,index=1 \
    -nic user
</code>

The CD is attached as the second drive on the IDE controller's primary channel. QEMU's CMD646 enables only its primary channel, [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/hw/ide/cmd646.c|hw/ide/cmd646.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)] and Linux does not use a disabled channel, [(>[[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/ata/pata_cmd64x.c?h=v7.3-rc1|drivers/ata/pata_cmd64x.c]], Linux 7.3)] so the CD's init script does not find a CD attached with ''-cdrom'', which QEMU places on the secondary channel. [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/system/vl.c|system/vl.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)] The CD starts a root shell, from which Gentoo is installed as on real hardware, following the [[https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:Alpha|Gentoo Handbook for Alpha]].

=== Booting the installed system ===

Because QEMU cannot load the kernel from the disk, the installed system's kernel and initrd have to be copied out to the host, the kernel decompressed, and both passed to QEMU as before:

<code>
qemu-system-alpha -M clipper -m 2G -smp 2 -nographic \
    -kernel vmlinux-installed -initrd initrd.img-installed \
    -append 'root=/dev/sda3 console=ttyS0' \
    -drive file=alpha.qcow2,format=qcow2 \
    -nic user
</code>

The ''root='' argument must name the installed root partition, which depends on how the disk was partitioned; ''parted print'' in the guest or on the host shows the layout.

The files can be copied out with ''virt-copy-out'' from libguestfs, or by attaching the image with ''qemu-nbd'' and mounting the ''/boot'' partition. The partitions appear as ''/dev/nbd0p1'' and so on only if the host kernel reads the Alpha disklabel, which needs ''CONFIG_OSF_PARTITION''; [(>[[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/block/partitions/Kconfig?h=v7.3-rc1|block/partitions/Kconfig]], Linux 7.3)] otherwise, the partition's offset from ''parted'' can be passed to ''mount'' instead. In this example, 1048576 is the start of partition 1, the ''/boot'' file system, in bytes; it depends on the layout:

<code>
modprobe nbd
qemu-nbd --connect=/dev/nbd0 alpha.qcow2
parted /dev/nbd0 unit B print
mount -o ro,offset=1048576 /dev/nbd0 /mnt
zcat /mnt/vmlinuz > vmlinux-installed
cp /mnt/initrd.img initrd.img-installed
umount /mnt
qemu-nbd --disconnect /dev/nbd0
</code>

Each time the guest installs a new kernel, it has to be copied out again. A common alternative is to build the kernel on the host with a cross compiler and pass it to QEMU directly, which is how most kernel testing is done; see [[documentation:kernel#cross_compiling|Kernel: Cross compiling]].

=== Kernel development ===

A kernel from a cross build is passed to QEMU as the uncompressed ''vmlinux'' at the top of the build tree, with the disk image of an installed system as its root file system. Modules, if the configuration uses them, have to be installed into that image first, for example over ''qemu-nbd''.

<code>
qemu-system-alpha -M clipper -m 2G -nographic \
    -kernel linux/vmlinux -append 'root=/dev/sda3 console=ttyS0' \
    -drive file=alpha.qcow2,format=qcow2 -nic user
</code>

''-cpu'' selects the emulated processor, as in user-mode emulation. The models are ''ev4'', ''ev5'', ''ev56'', ''pca56'', ''ev6'', ''ev67'' (the default), and ''ev68''. [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/target/alpha/cpu.c|target/alpha/cpu.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)] [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/hw/alpha/dp264.c|hw/alpha/dp264.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)] ''-cpu ev56'' checks that a kernel runs on the oldest processor current kernels support.

QEMU's gdb stub debugs the guest kernel. ''-s'' listens for gdb on TCP port 1234, and ''-S'' stops the CPU before the first instruction, so that breakpoints can be set before the kernel starts. [(>[[https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/gdb.html|"GDB usage"]], QEMU documentation)] A gdb built for Alpha, such as ''gdb-multiarch'', then connects with the kernel's symbols:

<code>
gdb-multiarch linux/vmlinux
(gdb) target remote :1234
(gdb) continue
</code>

A kernel built with ''CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO'' gives source-level debugging.

=== Networking ===

''-nic user'' gives the guest an e1000 card on QEMU's built-in NAT network, with DHCP; the guest reaches the outside world, but not the other way round. To log in to the guest with ''ssh'', forward a port from the host:

<code>
-nic user,hostfwd=tcp::2222-:22
</code>

and connect to port 2222 on the host. For a guest on the host's own network, use a bridge or tap device, as for any other QEMU guest.

=== Serial console and graphics ===

With ''-nographic'', the guest's first serial port is connected to QEMU's standard input and output, and the firmware sets up the system for a serial console. ''console=ttyS0'' in ''-append'' sends the kernel's messages there, and most distributions then start a login prompt on it. <key>C-a</key> <key>x</key> quits QEMU, and <key>C-a</key> <key>c</key> switches to the QEMU monitor.

Without ''-nographic'', QEMU emulates a VGA card, and the kernel uses it unless told otherwise. The serial console is still available with ''-serial stdio'' or in the ''View'' menu.

==== User-mode emulation ====

''qemu-alpha'' runs a single Alpha/Linux program on another architecture, translating its system calls to the host kernel's. It needs the program's shared libraries, which it looks for under the directory given with ''-L'' or the ''QEMU_LD_PREFIX'' variable:

<code>
alpha-linux-gnu-gcc -o hello hello.c
qemu-alpha -L /usr/alpha-linux-gnu ./hello
</code>

This is the quickest way to test a program built with a cross compiler. The CPU is EV67 by default; ''-cpu'' selects another, for example ''-cpu ev56'' to check that a program does not use newer instructions. [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/linux-user/alpha/elfload.c|linux-user/alpha/elfload.c]], QEMU 11.1.0)]

=== binfmt_misc and chroots ===

Registered with the kernel's ''binfmt_misc'', a statically linked ''qemu-alpha'' runs Alpha programs transparently, which makes a complete Alpha root file system usable as a chroot on an x86-64 host. It can then be used to build packages natively, or to prepare a disk for a real Alpha system. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/debian-alpha-mbox/2019-July.mbox#L1219|"Re: systemd woes continue"]], Michael Cree, debian-alpha, 17 Jul 2019)]

Distributions package the static binary and its binfmt registration: Debian as ''qemu-user-static'' (or ''qemu-user'' with ''qemu-user-binfmt'' in newer releases), and Gentoo as ''app-emulation/qemu'' with the ''static-user'' USE flag, ''alpha'' in ''QEMU_USER_TARGETS'', and the ''qemu-binfmt'' service. Elsewhere, the registration can be written by hand as a ''systemd-binfmt'' configuration file, ''/etc/binfmt.d/qemu-alpha.conf''. The magic and mask are those in QEMU's own ''scripts/qemu-binfmt-conf.sh'': [(>[[https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/blob/v11.1.0/scripts/qemu-binfmt-conf.sh|scripts/qemu-binfmt-conf.sh]], QEMU 11.1.0)]

<code>
:qemu-alpha:M::\x7fELF\x02\x01\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x26\x90:\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfe\xfe\x00\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfe\xff\xff\xff:/usr/bin/qemu-alpha-static:F
</code>

The ''F'' flag makes the kernel open the interpreter when the entry is registered, so it works inside a chroot without copying ''qemu-alpha-static'' into it.

A Gentoo chroot starts from a stage3 tarball:

<code>
mkdir alpha-root
tar -xpf stage3-alpha-openrc-*.tar.xz -C alpha-root
cp /etc/resolv.conf alpha-root/etc/
mount --types proc /proc alpha-root/proc
mount --rbind /sys alpha-root/sys
mount --make-rslave alpha-root/sys
mount --rbind /dev alpha-root/dev
mount --make-rslave alpha-root/dev
chroot alpha-root /bin/bash
</code>

A Debian one is built with ''debootstrap'' (or ''mmdebstrap'') from Debian Ports, which needs the ports archive keyring from the ''debian-ports-archive-keyring'' package:

<code>
debootstrap --arch=alpha \
    --keyring=/usr/share/keyrings/debian-ports-archive-keyring.gpg \
    unstable alpha-root http://deb.debian.org/debian-ports/
chroot alpha-root /bin/bash
</code>

Inside the chroot, ''uname -m'' reports ''alpha'', and programs behave as on an Alpha system, with some exceptions: the host's kernel and page size are the ones in effect, ''/proc'' describes the host, and not every system call is emulated identically. Test results under user-mode emulation are therefore not final, and failures should be confirmed under system emulation or on hardware before they are reported as Alpha bugs.

==== Limitations ====

  * **No SRM console.** QEMU runs its own firmware, so there is no ''%%>>>%%'' prompt, no SRM environment variables, and no way to test SRM or the [[software:firmware:srm|SRM]] behavior of a kernel.
  * **No aboot.** [[software:boot_loaders:aboot|aboot]] depends on the SRM console's I/O services, which qemu-palcode does not provide, so it cannot be tested, and QEMU cannot boot a disk the way real hardware does.
  * **No OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX.** Both need the SRM console, and neither runs under QEMU. [(>[[https://raymii.org/s/articles/NetBSD_on_QEMU_Alpha.html|"Install NetBSD 9.2 on a DEC Alpha CPU in QEMU with X11"]], Remy van Elst, 18 Aug 2021)] The [[software:emulators#es40_and_axpbox|ES40 and AXPbox]] emulators and the commercial emulators run the real SRM firmware, and with it OpenVMS and Tru64.
  * **One system type.** Only the Tsunami platform is emulated. Code specific to other chipsets, such as the CIA, Pyxis, Titan, or Marvel, needs real hardware to test.
  * **Timing and memory ordering.** QEMU's speed relative to real hardware depends on the host, and its memory model is the host's, so it does not reproduce the Alpha's weak memory ordering. Bugs in barriers and in timing-dependent code often do not show up under QEMU. See [[documentation:porting:memory_model|Memory Model]].

{{tag>documentation emulator qemu}}