ClearFog CX CN9K Mini-ITX 10GbE/5GbE networking SBC runs Linux or FreeBSD

Last year, SolidRun introduced ClearFog CX LX2X networking single board computer offering up to 100GbE via NXP LX2160A 16-core Cortex-A72 communication processor that followed ClearFog CX 8K ARMADA 8040 networking board launched the year before.

The Israeli company is now working on two ClearFog CX CN9K networking SBC’s powered by CEx7 CN913x system-on-module featuring Marvell Octeon TX2 CN913x quad-core Cortex-A72 processor and offering multi-gigabit Ethernet with various 10Gbps, 5Gbps, and Gigabit Ethernet ports.

ClearFog CN9132 Pro

The higher-end version of the ClearFog CX CN9K boards is ClearFog CN9132 Pro with the following specifications:

CEx7 CN9132 COM Express Type 7 module
- SoC – Marvell OCTEON TX2 CN9132 quad-core Arm Cortex A72 up to 2.2 GHz (Industrial temperature up to 2.0 GHz)
- System Memory – Up to 16GB SO-DIMM DDR4 up to2400MT/s (not included by default)
- Storage – Up to 32 GB eMMC flash, SPI NOR flash
- COM Express Type 7 board-to-board connectors with
  - Storage – 2x SATA (Gen III)
  - Networking – 3x XFI, RX AUI, SGMII (configurable SerDes); PPS/PTP (Precision Time Protocol) support
  - PCIe
    - 1x PCIe Gen 3.0 X4
    - 1x PCIe Gen 3.0 X2
    - Up to 6x PCIe Gen 3.0 X1
  - USB – 1x USB 3.0
  - Low-speed I/Os – 5x I2C, 2x UART, SPI bus
- Misc – RTC
- Power Consumption – Up to 15W
- Dimensions – 125 x 95 mm
Carrier board
- Storage
  - 2x SATA (gen 3.0)
  - Up to 3x M.2 2240/2280/22110 PCIe x1 Gen3
  - 1x M.2 2240/2280/22110 PCIe x2 Gen3
  - MicroSD card slot
  - Up to 8GB eMMC flash
- Networking
  - 1x 10GbE SFP+ cage
  - 1x 5GbE RJ45 port with PoE PD
  - 1x 5GbE RJ45 port with PoE PSE
  - 1 x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 MDI
  - Optional ETH SW with 4x 1GbE RJ45 ports
  - PTP (Precision Time Protocol) support
- USB – 3x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0
- Expansion – 1x PCIe Gen3.0 X4, open slot (can mechanically support X16)
- Debugging – Micro USB for debug (UART over USB using FTDI)
- Board management – Micro USB to STM32 for management
- Power Supply – 12V via DC jack or PoE PD
- Dimensions – 214 x 172 mm
Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to 70°C; industrial: 40°C to 85°C
Humidity – 10% to 90%

ClearFog CN9130 Base

If you have a more limited budget or simply lower/different requirements in terms of storage and network connectivity, or power, SolidRun is also working on ClearFog CN9130 Base SBC.

ClearFog CN9310 Base specifications:

CEx7 CN9132 COM Express Type 7 module
- SoC – Marvell OCTEON TX2 CN9130 quad-core Arm Cortex A72 up to 2.2 GHz (Industrial temperature up to 2.0 GHz)
- System Memory – Up to 16GB SO-DIMM DDR4 up to2400MT/s (not included by default)
- Storage – Up to 32 GB eMMC flash, SPI NOR flash
- COM Express Type 7 board-to-board connectors with
  - Storage – No SATA
  - Networking – 1x XFI, RX AUI, SGMII (configurable SerDes); PPS/PTP (Precision Time Protocol) support
  - PCIe
    - 1x PCIe Gen 3.0 X4
    - 1x PCIe Gen 3.0 X1
  - USB – No USB 3.0 interface
  - Low-speed I/Os – 3x I2C, 2x UART, SPI bus
- Misc – RTC
- Power Consumption – Up to 11W
- Dimensions – 125 x 95 mm
Carrier board
- Storage
  - 1x M.2 2240/2280/22110 PCIe x2 Gen3
  - MicroSD card slot
  - Up to 8GB eMMC flash
- Networking
  - 1x 10GbE SFP+ cage
  - 1 x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 MDI
  - Optional ETH SW with 4x 1GbE RJ45 ports
  - No PPT (Precision Time Protocol) support
- USB – 2x USB 2.0
- Expansion – 1x PCIe Gen3.0 X4, open slot (can mechanically support X16)
- Debugging – Micro USB for debug (UART over USB using FTDI)
- Power Supply – 12V via DC jack
- Dimensions – 214 x 172 mm
Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to 70°C; industrial: 40°C to 85°C
Humidity – 10% to 90%

To summarize, there isn’t any SATA port, just one M.2 socket for storage, no USB 3.0 port, no 5GbE PoE port, no STM32 MCU for management, but CPU performance should be the same between CN9132 and CN9130.

Software support and additional information

Both boards have the same software support with Marvell-based Linux Kernel 4.14x or mainline Linux, U-boot, UEFI, DPDK, and FreeBSD with the latter relying on third-party support.

Typical use cases include Network Function Virtualization (NFV),
5G base station, transport network infrastructure, industrial switch router, network monitoring, Smart NIC, secure edge gateway, and Cloud & Data Centers.

Both the modules and ClearFog CX CN9K single board computers appear to be under development, and it’s unclear when they’ll become available and at what price. More details can be found on SolidRun website.

Thanks to miniNodes for the tip.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.