FreeAXP™ - A Free Virtual Alpha

Migration Specialties FreeAXP can replace legacy Alpha hardware with a Windows-hosted virtual machine. FreeAXP is a free Avanti™ virtual Alpha technology demonstrator. FreeAXP can be hosted on Windows 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Virtual Alphas developed using FreeAXP are fully compatible with Avanti. FreeAXP is designed to replace hobbyist and non-critical Alpha systems. Clients requiring additional performance and capabilities should consider Avanti.

FreeAXP Features

• Free for commercial & personal use!
• No product registration required!
• Virtual OpenVMS & Tru64 UNIX environment.
• Native 32 & 64-bit Windows host O/S support.
• Simple configuration.
• No expiration date.
• Portability: Have an Alpha available on a laptop.
• VM's: Supported on VMware, VMware vMotion, Sun VirtualBox, Apple Boot Camp & others.
• Binary compatibility: Application source code not required.
• Support: Free user forum or paid annual support.
• Supported by HP.

Binary Compatibility

FreeAXP is designed to virtualize legacy Alpha hardware. The product is binary compatible with real Alpha hardware, allowing the resident operating system and software to be ported to FreeAXP without modification or the need for source code. FreeAXP offers a simple way to upgrade existing Alpha systems to new hardware.

FreeAXP Components

FreeAXP provides the following user configurable components:

• 32 - 128MB of virtual memory
• Up to seven storage devices
• One physical CD-ROM
• Two 100Mb NIC
• Two virtual serial ports (1 console, 1 terminal)

Supported O/S

Avanti and FreeAXP have been tested building and booting the following operating systems.

Host O/S

Avanti and FreeAXP have been tested on native Windows hardware and running under VMware®, Sun VirtualBox, and Apple Boot Camp. FreeAXP runs under the following 32 and 64-bit host operating systems. Avanti runs under 64-bit host O/S only.

• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows 8
• Windows 7
• Windows Vista
• Windows XP

Virtual Machines

FreeAXP is fully supported in virtual environments. FreeAXP is in active use running on VMware, Sun VirtualBox, and Apple Boot Camp virtual systems.

The OpenVMS Hobbyist web site provides a FreeAXP forum to report issues and exchange ideas with the FreeAXP community. Migration Specialties moderates the forum and watches it for problem reports. FreeAXP questions and bug reports should be filed on the forum and will be addressed as time permits. We thank the folks at OpenVMS Hobbyist for providing this service and encourage you to browse the site for OpenVMS information.

FreeAXP Links

• FreeAXP™ V2.4.1.502
• FreeAXP™ V2.3.1.474
• FreeAXP™ V2.2.0.453 with Heads, Cylinders, and Sectors options added to advanced Disk options.
• FreeAXP™ V2.2.0.435
• FreeAXP™ V2.1.2.422 32-bit Fix
• FreeAXP™ V2.0.0.377
• Virtual Alpha User Guide
• FreeAXP™ Release Notes
• FreeAXP™ User Forum - Sponsored by OpenVMS Hobbyist.
• FreeAXP™ SPD
• FreeAXP™ License
• MIM: Make Image. Provided by Enrico Granata, copyright © 2010. MIM is a command line utility that allows quick creation of container files used with virtual VAX and Alpha systems. MIM is intuitive to use. Simply run MIM at the command line to obtain usage instructions.
• mktape Utility: A utility to create virtual tapes in the SimH vtape format from real tapes using a real SCSI tape drive on a Windows-based system.
• Tru64 Disks: Provided by John Manger of Caponier Ltd., the following empty disk image files are available for download to support OSF/1 and Tru64 Unix users. These are empty RZ disk images that have been correctly formatted with appropriate Unix disk-labels. They can be used to support authentic DEC RZ-style volumes of the correct size. The canned disks facilitate migrations and early versions of OSF/1 and Tru64.
  • RZ24
  • RZ24L
  • RZ25
  • RZ25M
  • RZ27
  • RZ35