Debian Added to Compaq Test Drive Program
March 2nd, 2000
The Compaq Testdrive program has recently added Debian's frozen GNU/Linux distribution, potato (aka, Debian 2.2) to the list of systems available for use.
Compaq is now making testdrives available via the Internet for the Open Source community. This is a program that lets users world-wide get a shell account, free of charge, for development and testing purposes.
By registering for a shell account at http://www.testdrive.compaq.com/ developers can evaluate the Debian distributions running on Compaq AlphaServers and ProLiant Servers. Current Debian systems are: AlphaServer DS20 (ev6), AlphaServer XP1000a(ev6.7), and ProLiant 5500 (x86 PIII). All systems have at least two (2) gigs of ram and as much as 100 gigs of "/home" storage courtesy of a network file system.
The AlphaServers have the latest Compaq optimized FORTRAN compilers as well as the GNU tools installed.
These machines provide an excellent means for interested parties to try out the Debian distribution. In addition, they provide valuable uptime and stability statistics on newer hardware that can be used to isolate and correct potential problems on new architectures. These machines should not be used for benchmarking purposes as at any given time there are numerous users working on them.
Debian wishes to thank all of the contributors of the system, especially Michael Waite (Compaq), and David Huggins-Daines, Christian Meder, and Christopher C. Chimelis (all of Debian) for their hard work in configuring and administering these resources.
For more information about the Compaq Testdrive program, please visit the homepage at http://www.testdrive.compaq.com/