Alpha/Linux Wiki

The Marvel systems are the last Alpha machines, built from 21364 (EV7) processors whose on-chip memory controllers and router links connect directly to each other, without core logic between them. The GS1280 was sold in models with up to 64 CPUs. ¹⁾

Except where noted, the following comes from the ES47 and ES80 QuickSpecs. ²⁾

• Up to eight Alpha 21364 (EV7) processors at 1150 MHz or 1000 MHz, with on-chip memory controllers and switch logic providing 12.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth per processor
• 1.75 MiB of seven-way set associative ECC protected L2 cache on each chip
• Up to 8 GiB of RDRAM per CPU, with optional RAID memory
• A glueless multiprocessor architecture assembled from system building block drawers, dual CPU building block modules, and I/O expansion drawers; the ES47 Tower holds one drawer, and the ES80 models 2, 3, 6, and 8 hold one to four
• Each two-processor building block drawer has five PCI-X/PCI slots and one AGP slot
• Maximums: ES47 Tower two CPUs, 16 GiB, five PCI slots; ES47 four CPUs, 32 GiB, 32 PCI slots; ES80 Model 8 eight CPUs and 64 GiB
• Optional standard I/O drawer with 11 configurable PCI-X/PCI slots and one AGP slot, or high performance I/O drawer with eight 133 MHz PCI-X slots
• N+1 voltage regulator modules, hot plug redundant power supplies and fans, dual AC input, ECC on memory, cache, and system data paths
• GS1280 systems were also sold with 1.3 GHz EV7s, ³⁾ and the 1150 MHz version identifies itself as "hp AlphaServer GS1280 7/1150" ⁴⁾
• An ES47 Model 2 becomes a Model 4 by adding a second two-processor drawer. PCI hot plug is not supported, and powering off an I/O expansion drawer crashes the operating system even when every card in it is redundant ^{5) 6)}
• A system can be split into hardware partitions as small as two processors, each with its own dedicated CPU, memory, and I/O and its own console ⁷⁾

Each system building block drawer has a backplane manager (MBM), a microcontroller that monitors and controls environmental conditions in the drawer, stores the system configuration and partition information, and loads the console; each I/O drawer has a PCI backplane manager (PBM). ⁸⁾ In the two-processor drawer, the backplane manager logic is on the I/O expander module. ⁹⁾

The MBM provides a server management command line interface, with the prompt MBM>, which displays the configuration and environmental status, powers the system or a partition on and off, halts and resets it, updates firmware, and creates and deletes partitions. ¹⁰⁾ It is reached from a serial terminal attached to the MBM connector on the drawer's backplane, by telnet over the server management LAN, or from the AlphaServer Management Station. ¹¹⁾

The SRM console and the operating system run behind the MBM. The connect command opens a virtual terminal session to the primary CPU of a partition, where the SRM console, and Linux booted with console=srm, appear. Typing the escape sequence Esc Esc MBM (^[^[MBM) returns to the MBM> prompt from either. The sequence is case insensitive, and can be changed with set escape. ¹²⁾

MBM> power on
...
MBM> connect
Connecting to partition. Use the sequence ^[^[MBM to return.
P00>>> ^[^[MBM
MBM>

power on and connect need no arguments on a system with a single hard partition; otherwise the partition is named with -hp and -sp. ¹³⁾ If the server management variable srm_auto_connect is on, the MBM connects to the console automatically after power-up diagnostics, instead of staying at the MBM> prompt. ¹⁴⁾ Other commands include power off, reset, show system, show power, and help. ¹⁵⁾

• The console is not a serial port: it is reached through the backplane manager's connect command (see Server management), or through the USB port in a master I/O drawer, a network connection, or a local terminal ¹⁶⁾
• Linux therefore cannot use ttyS0 as its console, and must be booted with console=srm ¹⁷⁾
• HP gave SRM V6.4-8 as the minimum console version for the ES47; ¹⁸⁾ the final version is V7.3-1 (see Final versions)

Current kernels support the Marvel systems, with CONFIG_ALPHA_MARVEL or a generic kernel, booted from the SRM console with aboot and console=srm. A generic kernel must be built without CONFIG_ALPHA_LEGACY_START_ADDRESS, which the default configuration enables and which leaves out Marvel support; see Kernel. ¹⁹⁾ Linux uses at most 32 CPUs, so it cannot use every processor of the largest GS1280. ²⁰⁾

• Distribution kernels: Debian's Alpha kernel is a generic kernel built with CONFIG_ALPHA_LEGACY_START_ADDRESS off, so it includes Marvel support. ²¹⁾ Gentoo's distribution kernel, sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel, takes its Alpha configuration from Debian's. ²²⁾ Gentoo's Alpha installation CD carries two kernels, gentoo, built with the option on, and gentoo_nolsa, built with it off; the second is the one for the Marvel (see Installation: Distribution kernels). ^{23) 24)}
• I/O devices: a master I/O drawer has a Combination Adapter that provides Ultra3 SCSI for the drawer's two disks and its DVD/CD-RW drive, and USB for the keyboard and mouse. ²⁵⁾ The SRM console of one ES80 lists an Adaptec AIC-7892 SCSI controller, a CMD 649 IDE controller, from which it booted the installation DVD, and a four-function USB controller. ²⁶⁾ The AIC-7892 uses the aic7xxx driver, and the CMD 649 the pata_cmd64x driver. ^{27) 28)}
• The kernel has no NUMA support for the Marvel: Alpha NUMA support was removed in Linux 5.14. ²⁹⁾
• Two bugs in the Marvel interrupt setup, present since Linux 2.6.38, are fixed in Linux 7.3, which is at the release candidate stage as of September 2026, and are marked for backporting to stable kernels: the IO7 interrupts were not marked as level-triggered, and a locking error produced a lockdep warning at boot. ^{30) 31)}

• Power, weight, and noise: the ES47 Tower weighs up to 59 kg and dissipates 783 to 850 W, with a declared noise level of 47 dBA at the bystander position. It runs on 100 to 120 V or 200 to 240 V, but on 100 to 120 V it needs two power supplies and has no power supply redundancy. ³²⁾ Rack systems are supplied through either three-phase power distribution units or single-phase units with 200 to 240 V, 20 A input plugs. ³³⁾
• Stability: one ES47 used for Gentoo testing locked up under load, and was never stable enough for use as a build machine; the cause was not found. ³⁴⁾

When Compaq announced its move to Itanium in June 2001, it said that the EV7 would require new systems and that the existing ES, DS, and GS systems had never been intended to run it. ³⁵⁾

The following sources conflict with each other or with the account given above. They are listed here for further investigation.

• Default escape sequence
  • AlphaServer ES47/ES80/GS1280 Server Management CLI Reference, p. 2-2: the esc_sequence variable defaults to "^[^[MBM", as the connect and telnet examples also show.
  • AlphaServer ES47/ES80/GS1280 Server Management CLI Reference, p. 3-68: "The default escape sequence is ^[^[SPMU."