Re: Gentoo/Alpha is without a build machine

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I would be a user but Gentoo alpha seems to lack many things needed to make
it suitable for daily use. I use my PWS with the last Debian release and
with OpenVMS.

That said, I have a rack mount Alphaserver DS10 that is operational but not
in use. I could donate that, but perhaps it isn't large enough?



On Sun, Sep 1, 2019, 16:47 Matt Turner <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Our build and testing machine which was graciously hosted for free for
> many years has been decommissioned. I had planned to host an
> AlphaServer ES47 and a DS20L at a local university, but the DS20L blew
> a capacitor and the ES47 has never been stable enough to warrant using
> it for much more than a personal testing machine. I personally have
> other machines (UP1500, PC164{,LX,BX,SX}, DP264) but they're not ideal
> for building installation media and offering remote build testing
> access to multiple developers. I also have 2x 600MHz DS10Ls which
> could presumably be hosted at OSUOSL, but again, single CPU 600MHz
> systems are pretty useless as a replacement for our quad-CPU ES40.
>
> Ideally we'd have the DS20L fixed and the ES47 stabilized and then
> continue using them. That would require:
>
> (1) I would be able to replace the capacitors on the DS20L and have it
> working again, but I tried and the new ones blew up too, so that's
> evidently just a symptom of the problem and not the problem itself.
> Electrical engineering advice required if this is to be fixed.
>
> (2) I would be able to figure out what's causing the ES47 to be
> unstable. It seems to lock up under load but I haven't really made
> much progress beyond that.
>
> So we're considering various options. Should we stop alpha support all
> together? Should we replace stable alpha keywords with ~alpha? Should
> we make the alpha profiles unstable and allow dependency breakage?
> Should we try to find another suitable build machine and host it?
>
> I guess the answer to some of these will depend on how many
> Gentoo/alpha users there are. I personally would like to keep alpha
> support alive, while reducing the amount of work to keep it going.
>
> So, do we have users? Do they have opinions? Can they offer help?
>
> Thanks,
> Matt
>
>

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<div dir=3D"auto">I would be a user but Gentoo alpha seems to lack many thi=
ngs needed to make it suitable for daily use. I use my PWS with the last De=
bian release and with OpenVMS.=C2=A0<div dir=3D"auto"><br></div><div dir=3D=
"auto">That said, I have a rack mount Alphaserver DS10 that is operational =
but not in use. I could donate that, but perhaps it isn&#39;t large enough?=
</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div></div><br><di=
v class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Sun, Sep 1=
, 2019, 16:47 Matt Turner &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">mattst=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" sty=
le=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hello,=
<br>
<br>
Our build and testing machine which was graciously hosted for free for<br>
many years has been decommissioned. I had planned to host an<br>
AlphaServer ES47 and a DS20L at a local university, but the DS20L blew<br>
a capacitor and the ES47 has never been stable enough to warrant using<br>
it for much more than a personal testing machine. I personally have<br>
other machines (UP1500, PC164{,LX,BX,SX}, DP264) but they&#39;re not ideal<=
br>
for building installation media and offering remote build testing<br>
access to multiple developers. I also have 2x 600MHz DS10Ls which<br>
could presumably be hosted at OSUOSL, but again, single CPU 600MHz<br>
systems are pretty useless as a replacement for our quad-CPU ES40.<br>
<br>
Ideally we&#39;d have the DS20L fixed and the ES47 stabilized and then<br>
continue using them. That would require:<br>
<br>
(1) I would be able to replace the capacitors on the DS20L and have it<br>
working again, but I tried and the new ones blew up too, so that&#39;s<br>
evidently just a symptom of the problem and not the problem itself.<br>
Electrical engineering advice required if this is to be fixed.<br>
<br>
(2) I would be able to figure out what&#39;s causing the ES47 to be<br>
unstable. It seems to lock up under load but I haven&#39;t really made<br>
much progress beyond that.<br>
<br>
So we&#39;re considering various options. Should we stop alpha support all<=
br>
together? Should we replace stable alpha keywords with ~alpha? Should<br>
we make the alpha profiles unstable and allow dependency breakage?<br>
Should we try to find another suitable build machine and host it?<br>
<br>
I guess the answer to some of these will depend on how many<br>
Gentoo/alpha users there are. I personally would like to keep alpha<br>
support alive, while reducing the amount of work to keep it going.<br>
<br>
So, do we have users? Do they have opinions? Can they offer help?<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Matt<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div>

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