Paul Lussier said:
>> What makes the Alpha systems proprietary, I guess "commercial
>> level" would be a more apropos description, is that it has
>> things like EEPROMs.
Well, I think we're in danger of getting into a semantic battle
here, but I'd like to clarify things a bit. The various implementations
of Alpha-based systems, at least the ones made by DEC and now Compaq,
tend to follow some rules regarding the console implementation. (And,
I'm hoping that Rich will jump in here and help me clarify this). Yes,
it involves EEPROMS (or Flash memory, depending on the box/board),
but can't the same be said for any Intel architecture-based PC
motherboard? Can't you set things like the order in which boots are
attempted between the 'C' drive, the CDROM and/or Floppy? My Asus P2L97DS
certainly does. The Alpha mobos are a bit pickier about what i/o
adapters are supported by the console subsystem for booting, to be
honest (I can't boot off of an Adaptec 2940UW on my old PC164, for
example). But, we do have bootp capability, and can MOP load (using
the quasi-proprietary DECnet Maintenance Operations Protocol) console
firmware, etc.
What I think is fascinating is that Rich said he can do a network
download of a Linux kernel on an Alpha. I've been doing it for years
under Tru64 UNIX (and its predecessors) and my friends upstairs in
(Open)VMS can do it, too. I'm not sure that it would be difficult
to do with Linux. Yes, you'd have to set up a generic kernel, along
the same concept that various distributions do now for Alpha, IA32,
and possibly for other architectures. So, when you get down to it,
it's architecture-specific, but not necessarily proprietary; I believe
that there is a lot of publically available information on how to do it.
(I just don't have time to track it down, and it's sometimes difficult
to determine from here at work what's internal and what's not, and my
dial-up at home is too slow to make a concerted effort to find out.)
HTH,
Bayard
Who's speaking solely for himself in this instance.
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Bayard R. Coolidge N1HO DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed are
Compaq Computer Corp. solely those of the author, and not
Nashua, New Hampshire, USA those of Compaq Computer Corporation
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (DEC '77-'98) or any other entity.
"Brake for Moose - It could save your life" - N.H. Fish & Game Dept.
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