Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!aurora!labrea!agate!ucbvax!ucsd!sdcsvax!darrell
From: edj@aramus.ksr.com (E. Douglas Jensen)
Newsgroups: comp.os.research
Subject: Re:  comp.os.research
Message-ID: <4583@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Date: 2 Feb 88 18:56:22 GMT
Sender: darrell@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU
Lines: 29
Approved: mod-os@sdcsvax.uucp

[ This is in response to a query that I sent to Doug about the state of the ]
[ Alpha system.  --DL                                                       ]

We did not intend to support the first generation (existence proof) version
of Alpha outside CMU.  However, because Alpha is so capable and effective, we
are under great pressure from our sponsors to begin transition of the
technology into the real-time control application domain.  That has the
advantages to us of getting feedback from real industrial users, plus
facilitating further funding for continued research and development of
Alpha.  But of course I am trying to very carefully control the export of CMU
Alpha since it does require considerable time on our part to educate and
support its users.

The second-generation "industrial strength" Alpha has additional features
(e.g., UNIX interoperability) and will be portable and supported by Kendall
Square Research.  Release 2 will occur in 9/89 and release 3 in 9/90; 3 will
have very extensive and elaborate facilities for fault tolerance, an unusual
object store, and other features not currently found even in research OS's.
But again I am under great pressure to have a supportable interim version of
CMU release 1 until 9/89's release 2 of the new version;  I have not decided
what to do about that yet, except that I expect to subcontract to someone to
handle most of that work since I don't have the manpower at either CMU or KSR
to do more than supervise it.

You can read about the prototype of Alpha's kernel in the thesis of one of my
PhD students:  Northcutt, Mechanisms for Reliable Distributed Real-Time
Operating Systems, Academic Press, 1987.  Feel free to contact me for further
information about Alpha.

Doug