AlphaEmu

A DEC AlphaServer ES40 emulator: OpenVMS V8.3 Alpha boots unmodified.

Version	1.00.47 (the latest kit built)
Status	Active development
Platforms	Linux x86-64 (with JIT); aarch64 (interpreter)
Licence	licence to be announced
For whom	Those who want to run OpenVMS Alpha without the hardware: enthusiasts, developers and the keepers of legacy software.

What it is

AlphaEmu is a system emulator of the DEC Alpha EV6 (21264) with the Tsunami 21272 chipset, written in C. OpenVMS V8.3 Alpha boots on it unmodified: from an IDE or SCSI disk, from a CD, over the network (MOP). The guest works on the network, in a VMScluster, with DECwindows, on one to four processors.

No DEC firmware is needed: by default the machine is driven by the emulator's own console (the P00>>> prompt) and its own OpenVMS PALcode written in C. The SRM console remains an option.

Modelled: IDE and SCSI disks (NCR 53C810, QLogic ISP1040), the TZ89 tape, the DE500, Intel 82540EM and DEGXA-TA network adapters. There are whole-machine checkpoints, SMP with a host thread per vCPU and a JIT of the guest code into x86-64.

Why

To keep OpenVMS systems running when the hardware is gone. The emulator is written independently, for compatibility: it contains no OpenVMS code, no SRM console and no DEC PALcode. The OpenVMS distribution and its licences are obtained by the user from their owners.

Quick start Build and run

make                 # needs StarLet installed (/usr/local; otherwise make STARLET=<prefix>)
make test            # conformance tests of the modules, no ROM or disks needed
taskset -c <core> ./alphaemu tools/alphaemu-native.cfg
telnet 127.0.0.1 4021    # the OPA0 console, if console.port = 4021

Source: AlphaEmu/README.md; the configuration keys are in the User's Guide (doc/alphaemu_users_guide.md)

Download

Binary kits (alphaemu-<rev>-x86_64 / aarch64 .tar.gz + .sha256) are built by make binkit. Where they will be published is to be announced.

Source and links

Source links are to be announced.