The Alpha System emulator will provide a fully binary compatible Alpha Server virtual hardware environment running on either Windows (Server OS preferred but not required) or a Linux host 64bit Intel (Red Hat Enterprise recommended).
Alpha System Cross Platform Hardware Virtualization
The Alpha System emulator will provide a fully binary compatible Alpha Server virtual hardware environment running on either Windows (Server OS preferred but not required) or a Linux host 64bit Intel (Red Hat Enterprise recommended).
This will support the following models of Alpha Systems:-
- AlphaStation 200, 250, DEC3000
- AlphaServer 300, DMCC, Flexor OEM systems
- AlphaStation 500, 600, DPW, XP900, XP1000
- AlphaServer 400, 1000, 1000A
- AlphaServer 800, 1200, 2000, 2100
- AlphaServer 4000, 4100
- AlphaServer DS10, DS15
- AlphaServer DS20, DS25
- AlphaServer ES40, ES45, ES47
- AlphaServer GS80, GS60, ES80
- AlphaServer GS140, GS160
- AlphaServer GS320, GS1280
However, further model types can be emulated so that the Virtual Alpha will appear to be exactly the same hardware type as the original physical system.
This provides the ability to move applications from Alpha System hardware onto new Intel x64 servers and blades, without any code or operational process changes, thereby reducing floor space, power consumption and maintenance costs. It can make the application much more portable and resilient running within a modern SAN environment.
Alpha CPU & System
The legacy Alpha emulator software layer presents almost all virtual on board devices to the upper layer, from the OpenVMS operating system, or Tru64 Unix opearting system, to the applications.
The Emulator works well with mainstream virtualization solutions and products like VMware, Oracle VM, etc.
Performance
The Alpha Emulator utilises unique dynamic instruction translation technology (i.e., DIT) to improve runtime Alpha instruction execution speed. The emulated Alpha may run faster than the original Alpha hardware depending upon which generation of Alpha Server is being replaced.
Tristate can provide a complete solution
- migration onto your own server or virtualised environment
- full migration consultancy to move from the physical System to the emulated System
- ongoing support services for the whole emulator environment
running on either Windows or Linux
Benefits of Emulation
- Absolutely no code/program changes
- More resilient disks and power supplies
- Potentially Higher performance
- Lower power consumption
- Lower cooling costs
- Gigabit Ethernet connections
- Modern backup system
- Run on Windows or Linux
- Smaller footprint
- Virtualised enviroment (VMware, Hyper-V, Oracle-VM)
Evaluation Options
Tristate can also provide various evaluation options, which can be considered to be a Full DR test, as a system will be restored from your normal media. An evaluation can often highlight issues with the restore process that can be resolved prior to requiring an emergency restore.
