Red Hat Linux/Alpha supports a variety of hardware based on the Alpha processor
and the PCI bus. This section describes the various systems known to be
compatible or incompatible with Red Hat Linux/Alpha 6.2, at the time that
this manual was printed. This section also explains the difference
between "supported," "compatible" and "incompatible" hardware.
Please Note
The most recent list of hardware supported by Red Hat Linux/Alpha can be found
at Red Hat's website at http://www.redhat.com/hardware.
You should check the website for up-to-date hardware compatibility
information before you begin the installation. The website is the
definitive source for hardware compatibility information.
Hardware not explicitly listed is, by definition, not supported. We
make no claims of compatibility with Red Hat Linux for any hardware
that is not listed.
Running Linux on an Alpha system is similar to running Linux on the
more well-known Intel platform. Many Alpha systems contain an ISA
and/or PCI bus similar to that of an Intel system. However, only a
subset of the peripherals that work on Intel systems will work on an
Alpha. Sometimes, peripherals won't work because of driver
differences that need to be ironed out in the kernel or in XFree86.
Some hardware, however, is not compatible because it expects the world
to be 32-bit, like Intel machines, and not 64-bit, like Alphas.
Before you attempt to use hardware that isn't listed to work with the
Alpha, you should check the Red Hat Linux/Alpha mailing list for information on
the hardware. Information on how to join the Alpha mailing list,
<axp-list@redhat.com>, is available from http://www.redhat.com/community/list_subscribe.html.
You can also check the AlphaLinux website at http://www.alphalinux.org to
see if an installation attempt on a particular system is feasible.
Currently, only a select few models of Alpha-based systems are being
tested in the Red Hat Quality Assurance labs. However, as more testing
is done, both in-house and in the field, more information will become
available in order to improve the Alpha version of Red Hat Linux and allow us
to upgrade the status of more types of machines.
Linux runs on a majority of the different Alpha systems that exist on
the market and we are constantly working to increase the level of
compatibility for all Alpha machines. If more information is made
available to us about installing Red Hat Linux on a certain class of machine,
it becomes easier to qualify that machine for support.
If you have successfully installed Red Hat Linux on a particular class of
Alpha machine, and you have information that you think can help
increase the reliability of ensuring future installations on machines
of that class, please send e-mail to
<faq-maintainer@redhat.com> and tell us about your
experiences.
The following terms are used in this chapter to describe the level of
support provided for specific hardware:
Certified
Certified hardware has passed all certification tests and
requires no special action on the part of the user in order to
set up the system. Certified systems are completely supported by
Red Hat technical support. A badge may be on the physical hardware
indicating its Red Hat Linux certified status.
Tier-2
Tier-2 supported hardware has been certified by Red Hat's QA. The
Linux kernel can detect and use Tier-2 hardware. Red Hat will
provide support to users installing Official Red Hat Linux boxed set
software on Tier-2 hardware.
Tier-3
Tier-3 supported hardware is not certified, but should be
detected by and usable with the Linux kernel. Tier-3 hardware
includes hardware that Red Hat support technicians have personal
experience with and/or hardware which is known to be reliable
both in-house and in the field. However, some users may have
reported problems with some versions of the hardware, or with
the hardware's interactions with other hardware. Therefore,
while Tier-3 installations can be supported under most
circumstances, they cannot be guaranteed in all cases. Official
Red Hat Linux boxed set owners can expect installation support for
Tier-3 hardware, but it will be limited to:
Determining whether Red Hat Linux recognizes the hardware
Providing information on what drivers to use, what options to
give to the kernel/module/driver, and so on
Instructing users on when to perform Alpha Firmware upgrades
Directing users to online information sources
Compatible but unsupported
Hardware that is listed as compatible but unsupported should be
detected by the Linux kernel and should work with the Linux
kernel under certain circumstances. However, the drivers for
this hardware may be experimental or the hardware's
functionality may be problematic. Owners of the Official Red Hat Linux
boxed set will get information on which included drivers may
work with the hardware and how to determine if Linux recognizes
the hardware. Drivers for compatible but unsupported hardware
are not always available from Red Hat. Support for third-party
drivers will not be provided.
Incompatible
Incompatible hardware is known to NOT work with Red Hat Linux. Drivers
or patches for this hardware may be found on the Internet, but
Red Hat will not support them. The AlphaLinux website at http://www.alphalinux.org/
or the Compaq Digital Alpha FTP site at ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/linux/
may be useful for support with this hardware.
Not Listed
Systems which are not listed here are not considered compatible
and are not supported. However, hardware that is not listed may
become compatible and supported in the future.
Hardware vendors reuse product names on different hardware. This
may be confusing to the consumer, since you may purchase
something that appears to be supported but has a slightly
different name (e.g., an added letter or plus sign). Usually,
these changes indicate that the hardware is very different, and
thus will not be supported.
Table 3-1 provides a snapshot of various
Alpha systems, the support provided by Red Hat for those systems, whether
each system supports MILO and/or SRM, and the MILO image file needed
for the system (if the system supports MILO).
