Alpha Virtualization

Migration Specialties Avanti replaces Digital, Compaq, and HP Alpha hardware and Charon-AXP emulators with virtual hardware hosted on Windows systems. Avanti improves the reliability of legacy Alpha applications while reducing their operating costs. Avanti allows Alpha OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix software to be fully virtualized under products such as VMware®, all with no changes to the legacy application. Source code is not necessary and recompiles are not required.

Alpha Virtualization Advantages

• Virtual OpenVMS & Tru64 UNIX environment.
• Quick deployment: Three to five day implementation.
• Replace Charon-AXP installations in minutes.
• Modern hardware: Improves reliability, performance & energy efficiency.
• VM's: Supported on VMware, VMware vMotion, Sun VirtualBox, Apple Boot Camp & others.
• Allows mutliple copies on a single host.
• Lower operating costs with a smaller data center footprint.
• Binary compatibility: Application source code not required.
• Improved integration with Microsoft Windows.
• High ROI: Preservation of investment in software & vested employee knowledge.
• No change in operation or user environments.
• Supported by HP.

Avanti Products

Avanti is a commercial virtual Alpha solution designed to support demanding Alpha replacements. Avanti is suitable to replace low end Alpha hardware outright. Avanti can be used to replace high end Alpha hardware where performance is not a critical component. Avanti supports OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix systems. See the Avanti SPD and Pricing Guide for additional information.

AvantiFlex is a custom configurable version of Avanti. Customers that do not require the full power of Avanti, but need some of its advanced features, can customize their Avanti configuration with just the components they require at a reduced cost. The number of license units purchased determine the features available under AvantiFlex. Like Avanti, AvantiFlex supports OpenVMS and Tru64 Unix systems. See the Avanti SPD and Pricing Guide for additional information.

AvantiFlex License Unit Utilization

An AvantiFlex base package includes one EV4 CPU, 128MB memory, one narrow SCSI controller, two NICs, two virtual serial ports, and 10 license units. Thus, a customer could immediately create one of the following configurations using the base package:

• Virtual Alpha configured with 512MB of memory.
• Virtual Alpha configured with two Narrow SCSI controllers.
• Virtual Alpha configured with 3 NICs.
• Virtual Alpha configured with 2 physical serial ports.

To add additional Avanti features, additional license units are required. Here are two sample AvantiFlex configurations and the additional license units required to create them. Remember, AvantiFlex already includes 10 license units in the base package.

Annual support contract covering 48 hour response, 8 – 5 MT, M – F telephone, fax, and e-mail support services and product updates. U.S. customers, Federal holidays excluded. European customers, Netherlands Federal holidays excluded.

Available for Avanti & AvantiFlex. Provides 30 days (720 hours) of runtime support for Avanti installations. Should the primary Avanti key become unavailable for any reason, the Backup Key can be used to keep an Avanti system running until a replacement key is obtained. The Backup Key can also be used for testing and DR exercises. Customers with an active support contract are entitled to a refresh of the Backup Key to 720 hours once per year. See the Virtual Alpha Pricing Guide for additional details.

Virtual Machines

Migration Specialties virtual Alpha solutions are fully supported in virtual environments. Our products are in active use running on VMware, Sun VirtualBox, and Apple Boot Camp virtual systems. Several clients have implemented VMware vMotion solutions, further improving application reliability and operational efficiency.

Replace Charon-AXP

Avanti can replace a Charon-AXP installation in minutes. Avanti is fully compatible with Charon disk containers and the idle loop utility. Simply define the desired virtual Alpha using Avanti's intuitive configuration utility and boot. TOC for Avanti is often less than the support cost for Charon.

Porting to Avanti

Porting Alpha applications to Avanti is essentially the same as porting them to new Alpha hardware. The following six steps are all that is required to complete an Avanti port:

1. Configure Avanti to match the legacy Alpha hardware.
2. Install the base OpenVMS or Tru64 Unix O/S.
3. Backup the legacy Alpha disks to the Avanti system.
4. Restore the legacy system disks on the Avanti system.
5. Boot the legacy system under Avanti and adjust network parameters.
6. Shut down the legacy Alpha hardware.

Avanti Trivia: Avanti creates a virtual Alpha environment that is indistinguishable from a real Alpha. The emulated Alpha environment is so accurate that it can be forced to bug check like a genuine Alpha.

Turnkey Ports

For customers that no longer have the skills in-house to port an Alpha system, Migration Specialties offers turnkey porting services. Turnkey services include system configuration, software porting, and onsite installation. Remote porting services are also feasible with direct access to the Alpha and Avanti hardware.

Obtaining a Quote

To obtain an Avanti porting quote, run the DCL procedure VMS_INFO.COM. Tru64 Unix users can run the built in sys_check tool. E-mailed the resulting system information to Migration Specialties for review.

• OpenVMS: VMS_INFO.COM system configuration reporting procedure.
• Tru64 Unix: HP sys_check tool.
• Request an .

Alpha History

Digital Equipment Corporation introduced the Alpha series of computers in 1992. Alphas represented the first commercially viable 64-bit systems and set 64-bit computing standards for the next decade. The series was produced for 15 years, with new hardware deliveries ending in July 2007. Like their VAX predecessors, Alpha systems ranged from desktop workstations to mainframes. The system was offered with two operating systems, OpenVMS (formerly VMS) and Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX and DEC OSF/1), which were supported across the entire range of Alpha platforms. Alpha systems were well received and deployed in a broad range of environments.

Compaq Computer obtained the VAX and Alpha product lines when it purchased Digital Equipment Corporation in 1998. Compaq's subsequent merger with HP in 2002 placed the Alpha line in the hands of Digital's former competitor, HP. Alpha systems have been supplanted by Itanium-based Integrity systems.