Support for Specific Hardware

Testing Non-Listed Hardware

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.

Support Terminology

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.

Alpha Systems

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).