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DECFAQECE/CIS DEC Alpha Cluster Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)This Cluster no longer exists but this page has been left here for historic purposes This page answers some of our more common questions about our cluster of DEC Alphas. If you have any specific questions or problems that aren't answered below, please use the Help Request System.
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General QuestionsWhat machines are in the cluster?The cluster consists of nine DEC Alpha AXP machines:
Logins are restricted to porsche.cis only. Why can't I log into <hostname>?Logins are permitted only on porsche.cis. The other eight DEC clients are intended to be dedicated machines for jobs submitted to the Network Queueing System (NQS). What in the world is "Digital UNIX"?[From DEC's Software Products Descriptions] The Digital UNIX Operating System is a 64-bit advanced kernel architecture based on Carnegie-Mellon University's Mach V2.5 kernel design with components from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) 4.3 and 4.4, UNIX[R] System V, and other sources. Digital UNIX is Digital Equipment Corporation's implementation of the Open Software Foundation [TM] (OSF[R]) OSF/1 R1.0, R1.1, and R1.2 technology, and the Motif[R] R1.2.3 graphical user interface and programming environment. Under the X/Open UNIX branding program, Digital has received the UNIX brand for the Digital UNIX operating system, and is licensed to use the UNIX trademark in conjunction with the Digital UNIX product. To reinforce the UNIX Brand and to better reflect the true nature of Digital's standards-compliant UNIX product, the operating sytem name has been changed from DEC OSF/1 to Digital UNIX. This name change will be gradually phased into the product binaries and documentation. Digital UNIX provides symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), realtime support, and numerous features to assist application programmers in developing applications that use shared libraries, multithread support, and memory mapped files. The full features of the X Window System[TM], Version 11, Release 5 (X11R5) from the X Consortium are supported and an Advanced Development Kit of Release 6 (X11R6) is provided. Digital UNIX complies with numerous other standards and industry specifications, including X/Open[TM]'s XPG4 and XTI, POSIX[R], FIPS, and System V Interface Definition (SVID). By providing support for the SVID, Digital UNIX supports System V applications. To ensure a high level of compatibility with Digital's ULTRIX Operating System, the Digital UNIX Operating System is compatible with Berkeley 4.3 and System V programming interfaces. Digital UNIX conforms with the OSF Application Environment Specification (AES) that specifies an interface for developing portable applications that will run on a variety of hardware platforms. Where can I find documentation for Digital UNIX and the Alphas?We have a complete set of documentation in the EE/CIS lab office in 113 Evans Hall that can be checked out. We have available the entire DEC Digital UNIX (OSF/1) documentation set and a copy of the SunOS to DEC OSF/1 Porting Guide. ProgrammingWhat resources are available to help me port my code from SunOS/Solaris to Digital UNIX?The most common cause of problems is the fact that the Alpha is a 64-bit processor. Some sample architectural differences between SunOS and Digital UNIX: SunOS/SPARC Digital UNIX/Alpha
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size of long 32 bits 64 bits
size of pointer 32 bits 64 bits
endianism big little
These and other important differences are discussed fully in the SunOS to DEC OSF/1 Porting Guide. Please read this extremely helpful guide if you are having problems getting your code to run. A useful debugging tool is the Why won't DEC's C++ compiler, cxx, work?A license for cxx has not been purchased. Use g++ if you are writing C++ code. My code refuses to compile under gcc/g++ 2.7.1. Are gcc/g++ 2.6.3 and/or libg++ 2.6.2 available on the DECs?In short, no. We have tried unsuccessfully several times to compile gcc/g++ 2.6.3 and libg++ 2.6.2, which are somewhat more stable versions, on the Alphas. Only gcc/g++ 2.7.1 and libg++ 2.7.1 are available. Why do I keep getting "Warning: Linking some objects which contain..." from /usr/bin/ld when I use gcc and/or g++?Should you see the message: /usr/bin/ld:
Warning: Linking some objects which contain exception information sections
and some which do not. This may cause fatal runtime exception handling
problems (last obj encountered without exceptions was
(some file..)
when compiling, do not be alarmed. This is a widely known and reported problem with gcc/g++ on DEC Alphas, but will not cause any problems. It is merely an annoyance. David M. Carver, carver AT ee.udel.edu Comments (Add Your Own) |