    '                                  ALPHA:   =                  A TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY   F As the world approaches the 21st century, powerful factors are driving? the industry toward new computing architectures.  Power-hungry  B applications, such as molecular modeling, econometric forecasting,F visualization, and imaging, are gobbling up compute cycles and storageL space at a rapidly accelerating pace.  Global networking and open computing C are changing the ground rules for communications and integration of E applications across geographies.   At the same time, technologies are E changing much more rapidly and unpredictably than they were even five  years ago.    = In this environment, organizations have to look for more than D evolutionary improvements within existing platforms to achieve theirG long-term goals and emerge as winners in tomorrow's markets.  They need A new technologies and computing architectures that are rich enough D to deliver the performance and solution choices they require for theF future,  while protecting their investment in current technologies.     @ Digital continually evaluates the needs of its customers and the? market--for today and the future.  During this process, Digital D has identified key characteristics that are essential for an optimal' computing architecture for the future.    A By the turn of the century  organizations will find that a 64-bit B architecture is essential.  As computing demands increase, today'sF 32-bit architectures will limit current computing systems. Based on anF historical "consumption" of 6/10ths of a bit per year, existing 32-bitH architectures will soon run out of address space.  However, moving from A 32-bit to 64-bit addressing has a significant impact on software  @ compatibility and represents a fundamental architecture change.   J In existing architectures, performance improvements are derived primarily G from increases in clock speed.  The future will demand more.  Computing D performance in the industry has improved by a factor of 100 over theG past ten years.  Given the ever-accelerating rate of technical advance- C ment and demand for performance, it is likely that an architecture  F with a 25-year horizon will need to scale over a performance range of G at least 1,000.  Clock speed increases will not be enough.  Processors  G will have to issue multiple instructions at the same time and multiple  ? chips will have to be strung together to share the work.   New  @ architectures will be needed to optimize these capabilities.    B Architectures of the future will also need the ability to run any ? operating system and any language.   Today's architectures are  ? optimized for only one or two languages and operating systems.    I Speed barriers in today's architectures will also have to be eliminated.  G Most current architectures haven't anticipated the dramatic increase in D chip speeds, especially in RISC chips.  Inherent bottlenecks result,H precluding efficient use of new technologies.    In addition, customers F will want performance based on world-class fabrication technologies.  D They will seek out architectures that are implemented in chips built) by leading microprocessor manufacturers.    B Alpha, Digital's new computing architecture for the 21st century, ; incorporates all of these essential characteristics.  It is D designed to deliver lasting solutions that will endure over the nextB 25 years.   Alpha computing products, based on this architecture, ? will help organizations manage their global operations, achieve B reduced costs, comply with regulations, and share information withI customers and suppliers.  These products can help scientists, educators,  G health care professionals, engineers, and many others accomplish their  B work more easily, productively, and at a lower cost. Alpha's open D approach will deliver solutions that encompass multivendor products D in a global, distributed, and cost effective computing environment.   > Alpha represents Digital's commitment to be the technology andH solutions leader in open computing through the 1990s and beyond.   AlphaC is an internal code name for three things.   First, it is Digital's : new, open, 64-bit Reduced Instruction Set (RISC) computingD architecture.   This advanced architecture provides very high levelsF of performance and reliability.  It is open, scalable, and designed to> endure over a period of 25 years or more.   Second, Alpha is aC single-chip implementation of the new architecture, offering double G the speed of any commercially available competing technology today. And D third, Alpha will be a family of systems, enabling technologies, and3 services that span the desktop to the data center.    J Investment protection is a key Alpha design feature.   Through significantC engineering efforts in hardware and  software technologies, Digital F will make it easy for customers--both VAX VMS and DECsystems OSF/1--toD move smoothly to Alpha.  This means that customers can satisfy theirB computing needs today from a wide range of Digital systems, and be? assured of a clear and simple path to add Alpha systems to this # environment as their needs change.     A NEW ARCHITECTURE  C A computing architecture is a set of structural rules and interface F standards for building computer systems with a similar look and feel. F For example, IBM's System 360, Motorola's 68000, and Digital's PDP and? VAX families of systems represent computing architectures.    A D computing architecture is important because it determines the limits? of system performance and capacity, and is the basis for binary   compatibility between products.   C Digital's Alpha architecture is a robust, long-lasting architecture I that provides both superior price performance and binary compatibility.   J It is a powerful foundation that subsequent layers of computing technology8 can leverage to satisfy changing customer requirements.   E Digital's Alpha architecture incorporates flat 64-bit addressing that I provides four billion times the address space of a 32-bit architecture.   A In addition to a virtually limitless address space, Alpha's high  E performance features, scalability, and "openness"  make it the first  I architecture able to accommodate both technology and application changes   through the next 25 years.    H Digital has already demonstrated its ability to develop an architecture J with long-term viability that spans multiple generations of semiconductor B technology innovation.  Digital's VAX systems have offered binary G compatibility and high performance across a broad range of systems for  D 15 years, and will continue to do so for years to come.  Alpha will B follow Digital's industry-leading tradition of evolution based on  architectural compatibility.   HIGH-SPEED PROCESSOR ON A CHIP  F Digital's new RISC microprocessor, the 21064-AA, is the first product ? to implement the Alpha architecture.  With a clock speed of 150 E MegaHertz, it is the world's fastest microprocessor.  By comparison,  F the fastest RISC microprocessors available today are approaching only F 100 MegaHertz.   The first chip-level design of the Alpha architectureC has demonstrated performance at 200 MHz, and Digital plans to offer 3 versions of the chip at different speeds over time.   @ The Alpha 21064-AA is a dual-issue processor--able to launch two? instructions at once.  It processes 64-bit virtual and physical : addresses and 64-bit integers and floating point numbers.   J Digital manufactures the Alpha 21064-AA in state-of-the-art facilities in ? Hudson, Massachusetts and South Queensferry, Scotland using the F company's fourth generation of complementary metal oxide semiconductorE chip technology  (CMOS-4).  This advanced process technology is tuned D to very high-speed complex functions with high-speed on-chip memory,> distinguishing it from the manufacturing processes of merchantG semiconductor manufacturers.  In addition, the CMOS-4 process produces  E chips with very high reliability.  Because Digital 21064-AA chips are = produced to run at 3.3 volts compared to the 5.0 volts common C throughout the industry, they use less power and run cooler, making C them more reliable than microprocessors of comparable speed.  Also, H single-chip implementations such as the Digital 21064-AA microprocessor,< are inherently more reliable than multiple-chip processors.   N Alpha's built-in scalability will be able to accommodate products from palmtop@ systems to supercomputers.   Alpha is designed for a 1,000 times; performance improvement--up to 400 billion instructions per F second--during its lifetime.  It can work as a single chip at the low C end or with hundreds or thousands of chips in a massively parallel  ) processing environment at the high end.       @ Very few organizations rely on a single operating environment.  B Different styles of computing--desktop, workstations, datacenter--C demand differing operating environments for optimal performance.    D Alpha can be optimized for any operating system or language, giving D customers the flexibility to satisfy their application requirements ? effectively.  The Alpha architecture includes the concept of a  B Privileged Architecture Library (PALcode) which is similar to the G Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) in a personal computer.  PALcode is a  G privileged library of operating-system-specific software routines that  G automatically perform functions such as context switching, interrupts,  C exceptions, and memory management.  PALcode makes Alpha technology- B independent and software-neutral, allowing Alpha to run different B operating systems efficiently.  Today, Alpha runs VMS and OSF/1.  F Digital is actively engaged in discussions about making other popular 7 high-volume operating environments available on Alpha.     AN ENDURING TECHNOLOGY  A In the future, organizations will increase their demands for open E computing and integration of products from multiple vendors.  At the  C same time, suppliers in the computing industry will require massive C investments in core technologies to assure success. There will be a ? growing number of alliances and collaborations in many areas as E suppliers realize that they can't do everything alone.   The industry E will continue to converge and only a few computing architectures will 	 survive.    B Digital has the leadership competency in core technologies and theB resources to ensure that Alpha will endure.  Digital's 35 years ofE experience in computer architecture and systems design made the Alpha G architecture possible.  Digital's semiconductor group, responsible for  D Alpha chip design and delivery, has a successful fifteen-year track I record, and includes some of the industry's most experienced chip design  H and fabrication experts. In addition, Digital's extensive experience in J networking, compilers, and enabling software, such as Network Application F Support (NAS) and CASE tools, will contribute to a broad set of Alpha ' product offerings in the coming years.    D To achieve the broadest possible use of the Alpha  architecture withD the widest range of operating environments, Digital is entering intoK new alliances.  These will include licensing agreements with semiconductor  F manufacturers for the Alpha architecture as well as relationships withK computer companies who will use Alpha chips in their systems.  With Alpha,  I Digital will become a "merchant" company, selling chips in volume to the  K outside world.  Digital is already working with Cray Research who will use  J Alpha chips in its new MPP supercomputer and Kubota Corporation, who will J use Alpha chips in building new, high-performance graphics workstations.  F Digital anticipates that others will soon take advantage of the Alpha  technology.   G Digital is also marketing the Alpha chip for use in embedded, technical E original equipment manufacturer (OEM) applications.   To make a full  C range of applications, tailored to Alpha's strengths, available to  D customers, Digital is also working closely with software application@ developers on a support program to help software companies move  their applications to Alpha.    . A MIGRATION STRATEGY FOR INVESTMENT PROTECTION  D Ensuring that Alpha products integrate seamlessly with other DigitalH platforms has been an Alpha design goal since its inception.   Digital'sB migration strategy for Alpha will give customers, who own or buy a@ system from Digital today, a clear and simple path to add Alpha ? systems, as they become available over time, to their existing  B computing environments.  Customer investments in applications and D data, training, and peripherals will be preserved.  No other vendor J has provided this level of investment protection with its RISC offerings.   D Built in data compatibility will allow customers to move informationC back and forth between VAX VMS and Alpha VMS systems.  In addition, B VAX VMS systems and Alpha systems will be able to share disks in a@ VAXcluster.  Customers will be able to move information back andE forth between DECsystems/DECstations running OSF/1 and Alpha systems  2 running OSF/1 through similar data compatibility.   C Source code compatibility will enable customers to run most VAX VMS ? programs on Alpha VMS systems following a simple re-compile and C re-link. This capability will empower Digital customers to redeploy E existing applications on Alpha systems to accelerate performance.  In E addition, customers can use the VAX systems they buy today to develop B applications  to run on both VAX and Alpha systems of tomorrow.   C Similar source code compatibility will allow customers to run their B DECsystems/DECstations OSF/1 applications on Alpha systems running* OSF/1 following a re-compile and re-link.   E Through sophisticated Digital binary translators, customers will also B be able to run most DECsystem/DECstation OSF/1 and VAX VMS programD images on Alpha systems.  These software tools will translate OSF/1 G executable images for DECsystems/DECstations and VMS executable images  D for VAX to the corresponding executable images on Alpha. Using theseD features, customers can run applications on Alpha that they can't orB don't want to re-compile and achieve performance comparable to the# then-current OSF/1 or VMS systems.    H In addition, Digital customers will benefit from common user interfaces I and support for common peripherals.  For example, all Alpha systems will  K provide DECwindows and Motif, eliminating the need for retraining of users  H who are already familiar with these environments.  To protect customers'I investments in peripherals, Alpha will support the Turbochannel, XMI, CI, L SCSI, DSSI, and Future+ buses.  Customers will be able to  move many VAX or J DECsystem/DECstation peripherals to Alpha systems at a time that makes theI most business sense for them.  Because peripherals often represent 50% or K more of system cost, customers will derive a significant financial benefit   through this compatibility.    SERVICE AND SUPPORT   D Even the best technology is useful only if it can be maintained and @ used effectively.  Training, consulting support, and maintenance? services are vital to maximizing investment in today's advanced @ technologies.  Digital's Alpha Services deliver support designed3 specifically to meet the needs of Alpha customers.    @ Through its Alpha Vendor/Channels Services, Digital will provide? comprehensive support for vendors who buy and incorporate Alpha ? products in their own product offerings.  Digital professionals > will be available to assist vendors in designing, prototyping,E testing, manufacturing, distributing, and servicing Alpha products.   E Vendors can take advantage of tailored support packages, consulting,  B and training programs. For example, Digital can help vendors plan B successful service programs and even provide services, on Digital C and non-Digital products, on behalf of vendors.  Currently Digital  B supports more than 200 software products from 50 vendors and over - 10,000 products from 1,000 hardware vendors.    C Alpha End-User Services will help end users in planning, designing, C implementing, and managing an Alpha environment.  Service offerings > will include consulting, education and training, client/serverE management services, integration and migration services, and others.     
 IN SUMMARY  F Alpha clearly positions Digital for the future.    It is a technology K foundation supporting open computing, from the desktop to the data center,  J in the 1990s and beyond.  With Alpha, Digital will provide customers with L technology, systems, and services to achieve current and long-term business 4 objectives and gain maximum competitive advantages.     & 68000 is a trademark of Motorola, Inc.                                                  