AlphaStation

AlphaStation is the name given to a series of computer workstations, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation, and later by Compaq and HP. As the name suggests, the AlphaStations were based on the DEC Alpha 64-bit microprocessor. Supported operating systems for AlphaStations comprise Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX), OpenVMS and Windows NT (with AlphaBIOS ARC firmware). Most of these workstations can also run various versions of Linux and BSD operating systems.

This article is about the 1990s DEC computer workstations. For the NASA space station design that evolved into the ISS, see Space Station Alpha. For the Bigelow Aerospace project, see Space Complex Alpha.
AlphaStation
Rack-mounted AlphaStation
DeveloperDEC (1994-1998)
Compaq (1998-2002)
HP (2002-2007)
TypeWorkstation
Release date1994 (1994)
Discontinued2007 (2007)
CPUDEC Alpha

Other Alpha workstations produced by DEC include the DEC 2000 AXP (DECpc AXP 150), the DEC 3000 AXP, the Digital Personal Workstation a-series and au-series (codename Miata), the Multia VX40/41/42 and the Alpha XL/Alpha XLT line (a member of the Alcor family, which had swappable daughterboard with Pentium processor, to transform to a DEC Celebris XL line).

Models

From the XP900 onwards, all AlphaStation models were simply workstation configurations of the corresponding AlphaServer model.

Digital AlphaStation 200 4/233
DEC AlphaStation 600A

Avanti family
Model Code name # of
CPUs		 CPU CPU
MHz		 B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
200 4/100 Mustang 1 21064
(EV4)		 100 512 KB 21071 8 to 384 MB 1 PCI
1 or 2 PCI/ISA
1 ISA		 Desktop 1995-02-23  ?
200 4/166 166 1994-11-03[1]  ?
200 4/233 Mustang+ 21064A (EV45) 233  ?
205 4/xxx LX3 1 21064A
(EV45)		 133 to 333  ?  ?  ?  ? Desktop  ?  ?
250 4/266 M3 1 21064A
(EV45)		 266 2 MB 21072 32 to 512 MB 1 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
1 ISA		 Desktop 1995-04-03  ?
255/233 LX3+ 1 21064A
(EV45)		 233 1 MB 21072 32 to 512 MB 2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
1 ISA		 Desktop 1996-03-06  ?
255/300 300  ?
400 4/166 Chinet 1 21064
(EV4)		 166 512 KB 21071 8 to 384 MB 2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA
3 ISA		 Tower 1995-02-23  ?
400 4/233 Avanti 21064A
(EV45)		 233 1994-11-03[1]  ?
400 4/266 266  ?  ?
400 4/300 300  ?  ?

Alcor Family
Model Code name # of
CPUs		 CPU CPU
MHz		 B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
500/266 Maverick 1 21164
(EV5)		 266 2 MB 21171 32 to 512 MB 1 33 MHz PCI-X
3 PCI		 Desktop 1996-03-06  ?
500/333 333  ?
500/400 Bret 21164A
(EV56)		 400 21172 32 MB to 1 GB  ?
500/500 500 8 MB 1996-08-06[2]  ?
600 5/266 Alcor 1 21164
(EV5)		 266 2 or 4 MB 21171 32 MB to 1 GB 3 33 MHz PCI-X
1 PCI
1 PCI/EISA
3 EISA		 Pedestal 1995-08-02  ?
600 5/300 300  ?
600 5/333 333 4 MB  ?  ?

Noritake and Rawhide Family
Model Code name # of
CPUs		 CPU CPU
MHz		 B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
Noritake Family
600A 5/500 Alcor-Primo 1 21164A
(EV56)		 500 8 MB  ? 32 MB to 1 GB 7 PCI
2 EISA		 Pedestal  ?  ?
Rawhide Family
12001 DaVinci Up to 2 21164A
(EV56)		 400 4 MB  ? 512 MB to 4 GB 5 PCI
1 PCI/ISA		 Pedestal  ?  ?
533  ?  ?  ?

Tsunami Family
Model Code name # of
CPUs		 CPU CPU
MHz		 B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
DS10
VS10
TS10
XP900		 WebBrick 1 21264
(EV6)		 466 2 MB 21272 256 MB to 2 GB
100 MHz SDRAM		 3 PCI-X
1 PCI		 Desktop  ?  ?
21264A
(EV67)		 600  ?  ?
DS20E Goldrack 1, 2 21264A
(EV67)		 667 8 MB
(DDR)		 21272 512 MB to 4 GB 5 PCI-X
1 PCI-X/ISA		 Tower  ?  ?
21264B
(EV68AL)		 833  ?  ?
ES40 Clipper 1, 2, 3, 4 21264A
(EV67)		 667 8 MB
(DDR)		 21272 512 MB to 32 GB
100 MHz SDRAM		 6 or 10 PCI-X Pedestal  ?  ?
21264B
(EV68AL)		 833  ?  ?
XP1000 Monet 1 21264
(EV6)		 500 4 MB 21272 256 MB to 2 GB 2 PCI-X
2 PCI
1 PCI/ISA		 Tower 1999-02-01[3]  ?
Brisbane 21264A
(EV67)		 667  ?  ?

Titan and Marvel Family
Model Code name # of
CPUs		 CPU CPU
MHz		 B-cache Chipset Memory Expansion Enclosure Introduced Discontinued
Titan Family
DS15A HyperBrick II 1 21264C
(EV68CB)		 1000 2 MB  ? 512 MB to 4 GB
133 MHz SDRAM		 4 33 MHz PCI-X
2 66 MHz PCI-X		 Desktop  ?  ?
DS25 Granite 1, 2 21264C
(EV68CB)		 1000 8 MB
(DDR)		  ? 512 MB to 16 GB 4 66 MHz PCI-X
2 33 MHz PCI-X		 Tower  ?  ?
Marvel Family
ES47 Marvel 2P 22 21364
(EV7)		 1000 1.75 MB On-die 512 MB to 16 GB
RDRAM		 1 2× AGP
1 133 MHz PCI-X
4 66 MHz PCI-X		 Tower  ?  ?

^1 A variant of the AlphaStation 1200 was also sold as the Digital Ultimate Workstation 533au².
^2 Some systems had one of the microprocessors deactivated, which may be reactivated with a license upgrade.

References
  1. "Digital's Alpha Salvo Scores Direct Hit; Eight-System Lineup Blankets Competition.". Business Wire, 3 November 1994.
  2. "Digital recaptures desktop workstation performance lead; New AlphaStation 500/500 outdistances HP, Sun, and SGI.". Business Wire, Tuesday, 6 August 1996
  3. Compaq Computer Corporation. Compaq Delivers World's Fastest Workstation: The AlphaPowered Professional Workstation XP1000. Press Release.

See also
  • AlphaVM: A full DEC Alpha system emulator running on Windows or Linux.
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