[rescue] Alpha and Linux?

[Toby Thain]

On 2020-02-12 12:37 AM, Dave McGuire wrote:
> On 2/12/20 12:35 AM, Toby Thain wrote:
>>>> I am pondering if i should try using a version of Linux on my Alphastation
>>>> 200 4/266. I'm considering it for the simple reason that I hope to build
>>>> more modern software on it than is available for Tru64 and still have the
>>>> ability to run the Open Genera application with the Tru64 support.
>>>>
>>>> Gentoo appears to be fairly recent - 2014. Debian dropped support around
>>>> 5.0 2009  but it is all still there online.
>>>>
>>>> Anyone here try this or am I better off sticking with Tru64? This is an
>>>> older machine with a maxed out 768 mb of ram ;)
>>>>
>>>> Thoughts?
>>>
>>>   I tried running Linux on Alphas many years ago.  I wasn't particularly
>>
>> It ran fine.
> 
>   Yes but OSF/1 and NetBSD kicked the ever-loving snot out of it
> performance-wise. ;)
> 
>   I think it was something about spending most of its time in the
> unaligned access fixup routine.  But those are very dusty neurons; I
> messed with it in the late 1990s I think.

You may be right about the innards.

It was kind of my daily driver on a 1000A around 2000-2001.

--Toby


> 
>               -Dave