API: Alpha Processor Expands Reseller Network
Alpha Processor, Inc. (API) announced a worldwide expansion of its reseller and systems-vendor network, adding new channel partners in North America, Europe and Asia to keep up with growing demand for the UP1000 Alpha motherboard.
CONCORD, Mass. — February 2, 2000 — API today said it has signed a new group of value-added resellers, distributors and system builders to sell and support products based on the UP1000 motherboard and the Alpha 21264 processor. The expansion gives customers in more regions a local source for Alpha boards, processor modules and complete systems, and gives API broader reach into the workstation, cluster and server markets where demand for the UP1000 has grown fastest since its introduction. The move follows the recent expansion of API's Alpha Linux partner program and builds on the long-term roadmap commitment announced with Compaq and Samsung in December.
Demand driving the expansion
The UP1000 was designed to make Alpha available in the same way PC motherboards are: as a standard ATX board that a system builder can drop into a conventional case, fit with ordinary memory, drives and graphics cards, and ship as a finished machine. That approach has attracted a new class of buyers who previously considered Alpha too expensive or too closely tied to a single vendor's systems.
API reports that inquiries have come from a wide mix of customers: universities building Linux clusters, engineering groups looking for faster workstations, render farm operators, and Internet service companies evaluating 64-bit servers. Many of these buyers prefer to purchase through a local reseller that can configure, deliver and support systems, rather than ordering components directly. Expanding the channel is the most direct way to serve them.
What the channel sells
Resellers in the network will offer API products either as components or as part of configured systems. The core of the lineup is the UP1000 platform.
| Item | UP1000 platform detail |
|---|---|
| Processor | Alpha 21264 on Slot B module, speed grades in the several-hundred-MHz range up to roughly 700 MHz |
| Secondary cache | Large off-chip cache on the processor module, several MB |
| Chipset | PC-derived core logic adapted to the Alpha system bus |
| Memory | Standard SDRAM DIMMs |
| Graphics | AGP slot for mainstream graphics cards |
| Expansion | Multiple PCI slots, onboard IDE and USB |
| Form factor | ATX, compatible with standard cases and power supplies |
| Operating systems | Linux distributions for Alpha; other environments as supported |
Because the platform uses industry-standard components wherever possible, resellers can source most of the rest of a system from their existing suppliers, keeping costs and lead times close to what they expect from the PC business.
Types of partners joining
The new members fall into several groups, each serving a different part of the market.
- Distributors stocking UP1000 boards and processor modules for smaller integrators and system builders in their regions.
- Value-added resellers delivering configured workstations and servers with Linux preinstalled, local warranty service and application support.
- Systems vendors designing their own branded Alpha workstations, rack servers and cluster nodes around API boards.
- Specialist integrators focusing on high-performance computing clusters, render farms and technical computing installations.
A current list of channel members is maintained on the partners page.
Support for resellers
API is backing the expansion with programs aimed at making Alpha as easy to sell and support as more familiar platforms. Resellers receive technical training on building and configuring UP1000 systems, access to validated component lists covering memory, graphics, storage controllers and network cards, and escalation paths into API engineering for issues that cannot be resolved locally. Firmware updates, documentation and driver information are distributed through API support.
- Reseller signs a channel agreement and receives sales and technical training.
- Reseller builds evaluation systems using validated components.
- API lists the reseller in its directory and forwards regional leads.
- Reseller sells and supports systems locally, with API as second-level support.
Buyers want to see an Alpha system in the same catalog, from the same vendor, as the rest of their equipment. A broad reseller network gets us there.
An API sales executive
Why Alpha through the channel
For much of its history, Alpha reached customers mainly as complete systems from a single large vendor, sold through direct enterprise sales teams. That model suited large data centers and government labs but left out the smaller engineering firm, the university department with a modest grant, or the startup that wanted a fast Linux server without a long procurement cycle. Those buyers typically work with local resellers who know their requirements and can deliver systems quickly.
A broad reseller network also changes how Alpha is perceived. When a customer can order an Alpha workstation from the same supplier that provides their x86 desktops, storage and networking gear, the platform stops looking exotic. Resellers can put Alpha systems side by side with alternatives, run customer benchmarks on real hardware, and offer the same warranty and service terms they provide for everything else. API believes this visibility is essential if Alpha is to move beyond its traditional technical niche and into general-purpose 64-bit computing.
Looking ahead
API expects the channel to grow further as new products join the lineup, including dual-processor boards such as the UP2000 for server and cluster applications and faster processors built on newer process technology. The same resellers will carry those products, giving customers a clear upgrade path on the Alpha architecture.
About Alpha Processor, Inc.
Alpha Processor, Inc. (API), headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts, was formed in 1998 by Samsung Electronics and Digital Equipment Corporation to bring the Alpha 64-bit RISC architecture to mainstream markets. API designs, markets and supports Alpha processors, motherboards, processor modules and platform solutions for OEMs, system integrators and resellers, with a particular focus on Linux, technical computing and Internet infrastructure.