cluster

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Mixtile Cluster Box supports four Rockchip RK3588 SBCs connected over PCIe

Mixtile Cluster Box supports four Rockchip RK3588 SBCs connected over PCIe

Mixtile Cluster Box

The Mixtile Cluster Box is comprised of four Mixtile Blade 3 Pico-ITX single board computers each powered by a Rockchip RK3588 processor and connected over a 4-lane PCIe Gen3 interface through a U.2 to PCIe/SATA breakout board. We mentioned the Cluster Box last year, but Mixtile had few details about it at the time. The company has now released more technical information, worked on the software, and just launched the box for $339 (without the SBCs). Mixtile Cluster Box specifications: Supported SBCs – Up to 4x Mixtile Blade 3 with Rockchip RK3588, up to 32GB LPDDR4 each, up to 256GB eMMC flash each Control board running OpenWrt 22.03 SoC – MediaTek MT7620A MIPS processor @ 580 MHz System Memory 256 MB DDR2 Storage – 16 MB SPI Flash PCIe Switch – ASMedia ASM2824 with four PCIe 3.0 4-lane ports Storage interfaces via 4x U.2 breakout boards 4x NVMe M.2 M-Key […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Lichee Cluster 4A mini-ITX RISC-V cluster board launched for $929 and up

Lichee Cluster 4A mini-ITX RISC-V cluster board launched for $929 and up

RISC-V cluster board

As expected, Sipeed has now launched their Lichee Cluster 4A mini-ITX cluster board and box taking up to seven RISC-V modules with prices starting at $929 on Aliexpress. All kits on offer are fitted with seven Sipeed LM4A system-on-modules based on the T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V processor in either 8GB/32GB or 16GB/128GB memory and storage configuration. Lichee Cluster 4A specifications: SoM – 7x Sipeed LM4A modules with Alibaba T-Head TH1520 processor (4x C910 @ 1.85GHz) and a total of either 56 or 112GB LPDDR4X, and 224GB or 869GB eMMC flash Storage – 7x microSD card slots, one per slot Video Output – 1x HDMI port connected to slot 1 Networking 1x Gigabit Ethernet port for the cluster 1x Gigabit Ethernet port for slot 1 only 1x Ethernet for BMC control USB 7x USB 3.0 ports, one per slot 1x USB 2.0 port for BMC Power Supply – 12V DC input […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Sipeed unveils RISC-V tablet, portable Linux console, and cluster

Sipeed unveils RISC-V tablet, portable Linux console, and cluster

Sipeed RISC-V tablet, cluster, Linux console

Sipeed has unveiled three new hardware platforms based on the LM4A RISC-V system-on-module found in their LicheePi 4A SBC, namely the Lichee Cluster 4A cluster for native RISC-V compilation, the Lichee Pad 4A 10.1-inch tablet running Android 13 or Debian, and the Lichee Console 4A a portable Linux console with a small 7-inch display and a built-in keyboard. As a quick reminder, the Sipeed LM4A SoM is based on the Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V processor @ 1.8 to 2.5 GHz that has just gotten some support in Linux 6.5, comes with up to 16GB RAM and up to 64 GB eMMC flash, integrates two Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and exposes all I/Os through a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector. We’ve previously noticed the TH1520 module delivers performance similar to the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and even more when using a customized toolchain. Lichee Cluster 4A All new Sipeed hardware platforms feature […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Turing RK1 RK3588 system-on-module for cluster boards is now available (for pre-order)

Turing RK1 RK3588 system-on-module for cluster boards is now available (for pre-order)

Turing RK1 RK3588 SoM

Turing Pi has been making mini-ITX cluster boards for Raspberry Pi CM4 and NVIDIA Jetson modules for over four years, but last year, the company teased their own Turing RK1 system-on-module based on a powerful Rockchip RK3588 Arm processor with 6 TOPS NPU while launching the Turing Pi 2 cluster board on Kickstarter and raising over 2 million dollars in the process. The Turing RK1 is now available for pre-order with the 8GB RAM going for $130, the 16GB model for $170, and you’d have to spend $260 if you need 32GB RAM. Most people will probably want to add $10 to purchase the RK1 heatsink with a built-in fan as well. Pre-orders are expected to start shipping on October 27. Turing RK1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A76 @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Compute Blade – A Rack-mountable PoE-powered Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board with an NVMe SSD (Crowdfunding)

Compute Blade – A Rack-mountable PoE-powered Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board with an NVMe SSD (Crowdfunding)

Compute Blade Raspberry Pi CM4 rack

Uptime Lab Compute Blade is yet another Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board, but it’s kind of unique with its long design designed to be mounted in racks and the board features an M.2 socket for an NVMe SSD plus an Ethernet port with PoE+ support. The board is designed for high-density, low-power consumption, plug-and-play blade servers for home and data-center use and users can build Home labs, edge servers with lower latency than cloud services, and CI/CD systems (build farms) for testing and software development. Compute Blade specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 support and potentially alternative system-on-modules such as Radxa CM3 and Pine64 SoQuartz Storage NVMe SSD socket up to 22110 (2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 also supported) Optional MicroSD card slot Video Output – Optional HDMI port up to 4Kp60 Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE+ USB USB Type-C port to flash the bootloader, eMMC/SD card, and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on Sipeed LM4A – T-Head TH1520 RISC-V module to power Raspberry Pi 4 competitor and cluster board

Sipeed LM4A – T-Head TH1520 RISC-V module to power Raspberry Pi 4 competitor and cluster board

RISC-V modules cluster board

Sipeed LM4A is a quad-core RISC-V system-on-module based on the T-Head TH1520 SoC found in the ROMA laptop and destinated to be found in a Raspberry Pi SBC competitor as well as a cluster board. The LM4A, which stands for Lichee Module 4 Model A, comes with 4GB to 16GB RAM, and up to 64GB flash, and connects to the carrier board through a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector. The TH1520 is one of the rare RISC-V SoCs with a 3D GPU, and the SBC based on LM4A has been shown to outperform the Raspberry Pi 4 in benchmarks as we’ll see below. Sipeed LM4A specifications: SoC – Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V Xuantie C910 (RV64GCV) processor @ 2.5 GHz, Xuantie C906 audio DSP @ 800 MHz, low power Xuantie E902 core, 50 GFLOPS Imagination 3D GPU, and 4 TOPS NPU System Memory – 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB RAM Storage – Optional […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on DeskPi Super6C mini-ITX board takes up to 6x Raspberry Pi CM4 modules

DeskPi Super6C mini-ITX board takes up to 6x Raspberry Pi CM4 modules

Mini-ITX cluster board 6x Raspberry Pi CM4

You may remember the Turing Pi 2 mini-ITX cluster board that supports up to four Raspberry Pi CM4 modules. It now has some competition with the DeskPi Super6C board, still based on the mini-ITX form factor, and taking up to six Raspberry Pi CM4 modules. The Super6C offers a much slimmer design since the modules are inserted horizontally instead of vertically, plus each module comes with its own M.2 NVMe SSD socket besides a microSD card slot. The board also features two Gigabit Ethernet ports and two HDMI outputs, as well as four USB 2.0 ports. DeskPi Super6C specifications: SoM – 6x sockets for up Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Storage 6x M.2 PCIe Gen2 x1 2280 sockets, one per CM4 module 6x MicroSD card slots, one per CM4 module Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0 output, 1x HDMI 1.4a output, both attached to the first Raspberry Pi CM4 module […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Mixtile reveals U.2 to PCIe/SATA breakout board for Rockchip RK3588 cluster

Mixtile reveals U.2 to PCIe/SATA breakout board for Rockchip RK3588 cluster

Mixtile Blade 3 cluster: boards connection

Mixtile Blade 3 is a Rockchip RK3588 SBC with up to 32GB RAM designed for server applications, notably to build clusters through a U.2 edge connector with 4-lane PCIe Gen3, SATA 3.0 to interconnect multiple boards. What was not clear so far is how multiple boards would be connected, as we were just shown two boards connected by a U.2 cable, which does not scale, and does not provide power as the 12V input also comes with the U.2 connector. The company has now provided more details showing how it’s done, namely through a breakout board that connects to the U.2 edge connector, and allows cluster design as shown below. The U.2 breakout board comes with a 6-pin connector 12V power, pair of SFF-8643 (mini SAS) connectors for PCIe daisy-chaining, and a SATA port. Since short SFF-8643 cables are hard to find, Mixtile will provide custom 15-cm cables with the […]