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Document:	Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Read Me First
Order Number:	EC-QD2VB-TE
Revision:	0
Pages:	18
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OCR Text

Digital Semiconductor

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor
Evaluation Board
Read Me First
Order Number: EC–QD2VB–TE
Revision/Update Information:

Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

This document supersedes the
Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation
Board Read Me First (EC–QD2VA–TE).

July 1995
While Digital believes the information included in this publication is correct as of the date of
publication, it is subject to change without notice.
Possession, use, or copying of the operating system software described in this publication is
authorized only pursuant to a valid written license from Digital Equipment Corporation or an
authorized sublicensor.
Digital Equipment Corporation makes no representations that the use of its products in the
manner described in this publication will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do
the descriptions contained in this publication imply the granting of licenses to make, use, or sell
equipment or software in accordance with the description.
Digital Equipment Corporation grants to the purchaser of Alpha microprocessor or peripheral
sample designs and design tools a fully paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, perpetual and
worldwide license to copy, use, reproduce or have developed products based on or that incorporate
all, or a portion of the sample board designs and to manufacture, have manufactured, market,
sell, lease, license or otherwise distribute such products based on, or that incorporate the sample
Digital Alpha microprocessor or peripheral products.
© Digital Equipment Corporation 1995.
All rights reserved.
AlphaGeneration, DEC, DECchip, DECladebug, Digital, OpenVMS, VAX, VAX DOCUMENT,
the AlphaGeneration design mark, and the DIGITAL logo are trademarks of Digital Equipment
Corporation.
Digital Semiconductor is a Digital Equipment Corporation business.
Digital UNIX Version 3.2 for Alpha is a UNIX 93 branded product.
ABEL is a trademark of Data I/O Corporation.
CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.
Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation.
Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc.
NT and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
PAL and MACH are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
PKZIP is a trademark of PKWARE, Inc.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
Powerview and Viewsim are trademarks of Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively
through X/Open Company Ltd.
All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This document was prepared using VAX DOCUMENT Version 2.1.

1 Introduction to the Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation
Board Kit
The Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board (EB164) Kit is an
evaluation and development module designed to introduce you to the
Alpha 21164 microprocessor and DECchip 21171 chipset and to help you
learn more about designing the chips into your products.
This document, Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Read Me First,
provides an overview of the kit contents and gives some information about how
to begin using the EB164.
Note
If you purchased only the Alpha 21164 Evaluation Board Design Kit,
proceed to Section 6. If you purchased the Alpha 21164 Evaluation
Board Kit, continue reading.

2 EB164 Kit Contents
The Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Kit contains the following:
•

The Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board (EB164)

•

The Alpha Evaluation Board Software Developer’s Kit (EBSDK) on
CD–ROM

•

The Alpha 21164 Evaluation Board Design Kit on 3.5-inch diskettes and a
4 mm 2 60 m DAT cassette

•

The Alpha 21164 Windows NT 3.51 Installation Kit

•

The Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Documentation Set

•

The Alpha 21066A/AlphaPC64 and Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation
Board Accessories Kit
Note
The Windows NT 3.51 operating system is not included and must be
purchased separately.

3 Documentation Provided
The following documentation is included in the EB164 Kit:
Title

Order Number
Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Documentation

Alpha AXP Architecture Handbook

EC–QD2KA–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Data Sheet

EC–QAEPB–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Product Brief

EC–QAENB–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Hardware Reference Manual

EC–QAEQB–TE

SPICE Models for Alpha Microprocessors and Peripheral Chips:
An Application Note

EC–QA4XB–TE

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Software Documentation
PALcode for Alpha Microprocessors System Design Guide

EC–QFGLB–TE

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Debug Monitor User’s
Guide

EC–QHUVB–TE

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Software Design Tools
User’s Guide

EC–QHUWA–TE

Alpha Microprocessors SROM Mini-Debugger User’s Guide

EC–QHUXA–TE

Alpha Evaluation Boards Software Developer’s Kit Read Me First

EC–QERSC–TE

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Windows NT 3.51
Installation Guide

EC–QLUAB–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Documentation
Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Read Me First

EC–QD2VB–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board Product Brief

EC–QCZZC–TE

Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board User’s Guide

EC–QD2UB–TE

Associated DECchip Documentation

DECchip 21171 Core Logic Chipset Product Brief

EC–QC3EB–TE

DECchip 21171 Core Logic Chipset Technical Reference Manual

EC–QE18A–TE

4 Additional Hardware Requirements
Before turning on the power to your EB164, you must provide the following
components in addition to those supplied in the kit. The components needed
depend upon the intended use of the EB164 board.
•

A 275-watt industry-standard PC power supply that includes a 3.3-V,
16.0-A dc output

•

A terminal or a serial line connection to another system running a terminal
emulation package

You may want to provide a system enclosure that will accept a full-size
motherboard (optional).
The following additional components are required to install Windows NT 3.51
on the EB164:
•

A PS/2 compatible 101-key keyboard

•

A PS/2 compatible mouse

•

A supported PCI or ISA bus graphics card, cables, and a compatible
monitor

•

A supported PCI or ISA bus SCSI controller and cables

•

A SCSI CD–ROM drive

•

An IDE or SCSI hard drive

For more information about hardware requirements and for the location of
board connectors and jumpers, see the System Configuration and Connectors
chapter in the Alpha 21164 Microprocessor Evaluation Board User’s Guide.
Refer to the Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Windows NT 3.51
Installation Guide provided in the Alpha 21164 Windows NT 3.51 Installation
Kit and the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List1 for Windows NT 3.51 to
determine which SCSI controllers and graphics cards are supported.

To obtain the Hardware Compatibility List, contact Microsoft’s Customer Service
representatives at 1–800–426–9400. You can also access CompuServe Information
Systems in Library 1 of the WINNT forum (GO WINNT) or Library 17 of the
MSWIN32 forum (GO MSWIN32).

5 Starting Up and Using the EB164
After all the required hardware components have been assembled, connect
them to the EB164 by using the module connectors. For a standard system
(without Windows NT), follow the procedure listed in Section 5.1. For a system
using Windows NT, perform the additional steps listed in Section 5.2. For
information about the location of the module connectors, refer to the System
Configuration and Connectors chapter of the Alpha 21164 Microprocessor
Evaluation Board User’s Guide.
Two firmware programs have been loaded into the EB164 1MB flash ROM.
They are the debug monitor and the Windows NT ARC firmware. The debug
monitor is a serial line monitor program used to perform software and
hardware debug functions. The Windows NT ARC firmware is used to install
and boot Windows NT 3.51. The EB164 system has been configured to start
the debug monitor by default. Once the debug monitor is running, you can
switch to Windows NT ARC firmware.

5.1 Starting the Debug Monitor
To start the debug monitor on your EB164, follow this procedure:
1. Connect the 9-pin serial port adapter cable, provided in the kit, to the
COM1 connector at J27. Insert the connector in the proper orientation, so
that pin 1 on the cable matches pin 1 on the board header (as indicated on
the module).
2. Connect your terminal to the COM1 port, using a cable arrangement
appropriate to your terminal. Set the terminal to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1
stop bit, no parity.
3. Connect the power supply to the EB164 board, as shown in Figure 1, with
standard power to J29, and with 3.3-V dc power to J18.
4. Connect the supplied 3.5-inch diskette drive. The 34-pin diskette drive
cable goes from connector J31 on your EB164 to the diskette drive. The
drive should be connected at the very end of the cable closest to the twist
in the cable. Attach a power connector to the drive. Again, make sure to
insert the connector in the proper orientation so that pin 1 on the cable
matches pin 1 on the board header (as indicated on the module).
5. If you plan to use your EB164 on a network, install the Ethernet controller
board (DE435) in one of the PCI connectors as outlined in the DE435
documentation.
6. Turn on the power to your terminal and to the EB164.
7. Observe the debug monitor messages that immediately follow when the
EB164 is turned on. These messages describe your system configuration,
version dates, and memory size, and conclude with the EB164> system
prompt.
8. Verify the memory size and system configuration information displayed.
9. If you do not see the debug monitor messages, turn off the power to the
EB164. Verify that the previous steps were performed correctly, verify the
seating of the memory SIMMs, and check that all the jumpers are in their
default positions. Then repeat steps 6 through 8.
The EB164 is ready to be used. Refer to the Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation
Board Debug Monitor User’s Guide for a complete list of commands.

Figure 1 EB164 Power Connectors

EB164 Board
J29 1

J29
Pin Voltage/Signal
p_dcok
1
Vdd (+5 V)
2
3
+12 V
4
−12 V
5
Ground
6
Ground
7
Ground
8
Ground
9
−5 V
Vdd (+5 V)
10
Vdd (+5 V)
11
Vdd (+5 V)
12

21164
Microprocessor

J18 1

J18
Pin
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Voltage/Signal
+3.3 V
+3.3 V
+3.3 V
Ground
Ground
Ground
Ground
Ground
Ground
+3.3 V
+3.3 V
+3.3 V

MK−2306−28

5.2 Starting Windows NT ARC Firmware
If you plan to install Windows NT 3.51 on your EB164, turn off the power to
the EB164, and proceed with the following hardware configuration procedure:
1. Connect the keyboard cable to connector J32.
2. Connect the mouse cable to connector J34.
3. Install the SCSI controller in a free PCI or ISA connector and attach the
CD–ROM drive. If you will be using a SCSI hard drive, install the hard
drive now. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for installing these
devices. Verify that a unique SCSI ID is assigned to each device you attach
to the SCSI bus.
4. If you will be using an IDE hard drive, attach your IDE cable to connector
J28 in the proper orientation and install your hard drive. The disk
should be configured as the primary device on the IDE bus. Refer to the
manufacturer’s instructions for setting up the hard drive.
5. Install the graphics card into either a PCI or ISA connector, depending on
the card you are using. Connect the graphics card to a compatible monitor
following the graphics card manufacturer’s instructions.
6. Verify that the jumper from J14-2 to J14-3 is inserted, allowing the flash
ROM to be written. If the Windows NT ARC firmware is unable to write to
flash ROM, it prints the device error message and stops.
7. Turn on the power to the EB164, and verify that the debug monitor
configuration messages displayed are accurate. If the debug monitor does
not start or if a configuration problem is noted, review your hardware
configuration and then proceed to the next step.

8. The firmware contained in the serial ROM on your EB164 determines
which firmware image is loaded from the flash ROM at power-up. At this
point, you want the serial ROM to load the Windows NT ARC firmware so
you can proceed with installing Windows NT on your EB164.
The serial ROM firmware uses a value stored in the nonvolatile RAM of
the realtime clock to determine which firmware image to load.
Use the following debug monitor commands to select Windows NT ARC
firmware and to verify the selection:
EB164> bootopt nt
O/S type selected: "The Windows NT Operating System"
....Firmware type: "Windows NT Firmware"
EB164> bootopt
Predefined bootoptions are...
"0" "Alpha Evaluation Board Debug Monitor" "DBM"
"1" "The Windows NT Operating System" "NT"
"2" "OpenVMS" "VMS"
"3" "Digital UNIX" "UNIX"
O/S type selected: "The Windows NT Operating System"
....Firmware type: "Windows NT Firmware"
EB164>
The presence of a jumper at J1–25/26 (see CONF11 on the module) forces
the serial ROM firmware to load the alternate image selected by the value
in the nonvolatile RAM. Turn off the power to the EB164 and install the
jumper at J1–25/26. (The absence of this jumper overrides the value stored
in the nonvolatile RAM.)
9. Turn on the power to the EB164. After the power-up diagnostics are run,
the ARC console boot menu appears on the graphics display.
If the ARC console boot menu does not appear, check the output of COM1
for error messages and review your hardware configuration.
You are ready for software installation. Refer to the Alpha Microprocessors
Evaluation Board Windows NT 3.51 Installation Guide for instructions.

5.3 Returning from Windows NT ARC Firmware to the Debug Monitor
You may use either of these two methods to return to the debug monitor after
the Windows NT ARC firmware has been selected:
1. Turn off the power to the EB164, remove the jumper from J1-25/26
(CONF11 on the module), then turn on the power to the EB164.
2. Use the ARC firmware menus to choose the debug monitor.
a. At the Boot menu, choose Supplementary menu....
b. At the Supplementary menu, choose Setup the system....
c.

At the Setup the system menu, choose Machine specific setup....

d. At the Machine specific setup menu, choose Debug Monitor.
e.

Turn off the power to the EB164, then turn the power back on.

6 EB164 Evaluation Board Design Database
This section lists the EB164 Evaluation Board Design Kit contents, and it
describes how to copy and unpack the EB164 evaluation board design database
from DAT cassette and diskettes.

6.1 EB164 Evaluation Board Design Kit
The EB164 Evaluation Board Design Kit contains the following:
•

EB164 Evaluation Board Documentation Set (see Section 3)

•

EB164 Evaluation Board Design Database provided on 3.5-inch diskettes
and a 40 mm 2 60 m DAT cassette

•

SPICE models for Alpha microprocessors and peripheral chips

The SPICE model applicable to the EB164 evaluation board is the 21164
SPICE model. The SPICE Models for Alpha Microprocessors and Peripheral
Chips: An Application Note is included; it provides information for design
engineers who conduct Level 3 SPICE simulations. The application note
contains a pin-to-model reference table for the 21164 microprocessor.
The EB164 Design Database media includes:
•

Example files

•

Vendor’s parts list

•

Schematics in PostScript files

•

Gerber files

•

ABEL source files (including PLD equations)
Note
Regardless of how you access the design database, you must have a
Viewlogic Powerview 5.1 (or later) license to use it.

6.2 Copying and Unpacking the Hardware Design Database from the
DAT Cassette
The hardware design database provided on DAT cassette is in a tar file called
eb164_db.tar.

To copy and unpack the tar file, follow this procedure:
1. Enter the following command to copy eb164_db.tar from the DAT cassette
to the current directory on your system:
tar xv eb164_db.tar
2. Enter the following command to unpack the tar file:
tar xvf eb164_db.tar
This command creates an archive area and unpacks all the files in the
correct places for Viewlogic operation.
3. Set the archive area as the current default work area.
4. Include the following Viewlogic library areas in the search path:
•

builtin

•

dio (this is available with the ViewPLD option)

6.3 Copying and Unpacking the Hardware Design Database from the
Diskettes
The four 3.5-inch diskettes that contain the hardware design database files
were archived using a public-domain compression utility. Each zip archive
includes a category of design database files, which are described in the table
in the following section. You can access and read these files on an industrystandard personal computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive. Use UNZIP.EXE
(included on the diskettes) to unpack the files in each archive.
Files on the Diskettes
The hardware design database diskettes contain the following files:
Archive Name

Archive Contents

Comments

unzip.exe

Utility used to decompress the
ZIP files.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

t1_read.me

Provides a general description of
the diskette contents.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

eb164ps1.zip

Contains all the layer plots,
soldermask plots, silk-screen
plots and solderpaste plots
necessary to manufacture the
EB164.

These files are B-size (11 in x 17 in)
PostScript files.

Disk 1

Archive Name

Archive Contents

Comments

unzip.exe

Utility used to decompress the
ZIP files.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

t2_read.me

Provides a general description of
the diskette contents.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

eb164ps2.zip

Contains the unit assembly
drawings for the EB164.

The assembly drawings provide a pictorial
representation of the EB164, with
component designations for each device.

eb164brd.zip

Contains all the necessary files
to have the EB164 printed
circuit board fabricated.

—

eb164bom.zip

Contains the EB164 parts list.

This file references Digital part numbers.

venbom.zip

Contains the EB164 parts list.

This file references vendor part numbers.

unzip.exe

Utility used to decompress the
ZIP files.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

t3_read.me

Provides a general description of
the diskette contents.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

eb164ps.zip

Contains the PostScript file
of the EB164 board-level
schematics.

These files are provided for information.
You can create the same files by using the
database provided.

Disk 2

Disk 3

Archive Name

Archive Contents

Comments

unzip.exe

Utility used to decompress the
ZIP files.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

t4_read.me

Provides a general description of
the diskette contents. These files
were generated with Powerview
Version 5.1.1.

This file does not need to be unpacked.

eb164pal.zip

Contains the industry-standard
JEDEC files that were used to
program all the PAL components
and MACH devices.

These files are not needed to simulate
and are included only to provide you
with the ability to re-create all of the
programmable devices on the module.

eb164sch.zip

Contains schematic files for
the EB164 Viewlogic schematic
database.

Copy this file to the /SCH Viewlogic
database subdirectory.

eb164sym.zip

Contains symbol files for the
EB164 Viewlogic schematic
database.

Copy this file to the /SYM Viewlogic
database subdirectory.

eb164xrf.zip

Contains the cross-reference
file for the EB164 Viewlogic
schematic database.

—

eb164wir.zip

Contains all the wirelist files.

Copy this file to the /WIR Viewlogic
database subdirectory.

Disk 4

7 Alpha Evaluation Boards Software Developer’s Kit
The Alpha Evaluation Boards Software Developers Kit is supplied on CD–ROM
and includes the following:
•

Software tools for use with an Alpha Windows NT or Digital UNIX host
system

•

Debug monitor source files

•

Sample PALcode source files

•

SROM power-up code source files

The following documentation is provided as part of the kit.
•

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Debug Monitor User’s Guide

•

Alpha Microprocessors Evaluation Board Software Design Tools User’s
Guide

•

Alpha Microprocessors SROM Mini-Debugger User’s Guide

•

Alpha Evaluation Boards Software Developer’s Kit Read Me First

•

PALcode for Alpha Microprocessors System Design Guide

Refer to the Alpha Evaluation Boards Software Developer’s Kit Read Me First
for installation instructions.

8 Registration Card
To register your evaluation board and be notified of changes, and updates, as
well as new kits and products available from Digital Equipment Corporation,
please complete the registration card included in the kit, or send the following
information to the address listed below:
Name
Company
Address
Phone number
FAX number
Product purchased
Serial number
Date purchased
Mail the previous information to:
Digital Equipment Corporation
Marketing/Product Updates
HLO2-2/M9
77 Reed Road
Hudson, MA 01749-2895