To ensure maximum performance when emulating an Alpha-based system it is important to follow some guidelines regarding the set up of the host system. These are described in the following sections.
Hardware Requirements
To run the CHARON-AXP/SMA(+) emulator products the host system must have at least two CPUs (or cores) and must be either an Intel 64 or AMD64 based processor.
When determining the best hardware configuration it is generally best to follow these three basic rules:
Use a processor with a speed of at least 2.8GHz.
Allow for 1 CPU (or core) plus the number of emulated CPUs.
Allow for a minimum of 2GB of RAM plus the total RAM of the emulated system.
There are other options available to achieve higher performance, including high-speed I/O controllers, but these basic rules are an excellent starting point to get a system up and running.
HP Software Support
In order to maintain an HP Services software support agreement for the operating system running on the CHARON-AXP/SMA(+) emulator, it is required that the host system be manufactured by Hewlett-Packard.
Operating System
The CHARON-AXP/SMA(+) virtual machine products can be run on both Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux-based systems. The following Microsoft Windows editions and versions are supported by Stromasys as host environments:
Microsoft Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Windows 8, 8.1, Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2
The following distributions and releases of GNU/Linux are also supported host environments:
Fedora 17 - 20
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3 - 6.5
CentOS 6 - 7
This manual covers the Microsoft Windows targeted versions of CHARON-AXP/SMA(+). For the GNU/Linux version of CHARON-AXP, please consult the /wiki/spaces/DocCHAXPSMAv2240L/overview.