Running Linux, Third Edition

Appendix C. Installing Linux on Digital/Compaq Alpha Systems

by Barrett G. Lyon, Lar Kaufman, and Richard Payne

In 1992, Digital introduced a 64-bit, superscaler, RISC-based architecture called the Alpha, winning impressive reviews in the industry for speed. Linux is an attractive alternative to the official operating systems shipped with the Alpha. But installation varies from system to system because the Alpha has evolved rapidly and has been shipped over the years with a wide variety of hardware and firmware (startup programs stored in ROM). This appendix is an introduction to the main issues and tasks in installing Linux, but you will also need to carefully read the documents for Linux installation and your hardware, and show a somewhat adventurous willingness to experiment.

A discussion of Alpha systems must cover years of hardware evolution from the older style UDB system to the current DS and AS series systems, as well as standard OEM configurations. Because there are so many different BIOS configurations and boot options, it’s impossible to give detailed installation instructions for every type of Alpha system. We hope this discussion will be a guide to help users who are new to the Alpha architecture understand what to do when installing a new system.

Note

This discussion does not cover VAX, MIPS, AMD, or Intel CPU-based systems or hardware that share peripheral and packaging technologies with Alpha-based systems. We will focus only on the installation of Linux on Alpha ...