pfsense News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Maiyunda M1 Alder Lake-N mini PC comes with four quick-release M.2 NVMe SSD slots, four 2.5GbE ports

Maiyunda M1 is an unusual Intel N100 or Core i3-N305 Alder Lake-N mini PC and soft router equipped with four M.2 NVMe SSD slots so users can replace storage devices without having to open the enclosure, as well as four 2.5GbE ports for networking applications. The mini PC also supports up to 32GB DDR5 memory, wireless connectivity through an internal M.2 socket (that can also be used as a fifth NVMe SSD socket), dual 4K display setups through HDMI and DisplayPort connectors, and offers five USB Type-A ports for expansion. Maiyunda M1 specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 15W System Memory – 16GB LPDDR5 4800 MHz upgradeable to 32GB Storage 4x M.2 M-key […]

April 3, 2024 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

$101+ CWWK X86-P1 fanless SBC and mini PC is powered by Intel N3050, N3160, or N3700 Braswell SoC

X86-P1 Development Board Version and Standard Edition

In a previous post, we wrote about the CWWK X86-P5, a $219 fanless mini PC powered by the Alder Lake N-series N100 SoC. However, during a recent search on AliExpress, I stumbled upon the CWWK X86-P1 fanless mini PC and SBC. This compact device offers three variants (N3050, N3160, and N3700) with a TDP of only 6W. It features dual GbE Ethernet, dual USB 3.0, HDMI, and a GPIO header. Additionally, it includes a built-in fan header for improved cooling. It supports Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04, and networking OS options like pfSense or OpenWrt along with all major x86-based operating systems. CWWK X86-P1 Fanless Mini PC Specification SoC options Intel Celeron N3050 – Dual core Braswell processor @ up to 2.16 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 – 6W TDP Intel Celeron N3160 – Quad-core Braswell processor @ up to 2.24 GHz with 12EU Intel HD graphics 400 – 4W […]

March 30, 2024March 30, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

INCTEL N100 fanless mini PC and micro firewall appliance comes with four 2.5GbE ports using Intel i226V controllers

INCTEL N100, also sold under the Partaker brand, is a fanless mini PC and “micro firewall appliance” powered by an Intel Processor N100 CPU and equipped with four 2.5GbE ports all using Intel i226V. It has features similar to the tiny, actively cooled iKOOLCORE R2 Alder Lake-N mini PC that combines Intel and RealTek controllers, but the INCTEL model has a larger yet thinner design. The device supports up to 16GB DDR5 memory, can take an M.2 NVMe SSD and/or a 2.5-inch SATA drive for storage, and also provides two video outputs through HDMI and DisplayPort, as well as a few USB ports, an RJ45 console port, and optional support for WiFi and 4G LTE connectivity. INCTEL N100 specifications: SoC- Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake N-series processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ up to 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory […]

January 3, 2024January 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Fanless Intel N100 mini PC supports PoE power input, provides four 2.5GbE ports

‎NEOSMAY is selling a fanless Intel Processor N100 mini PC with support for PoE power input, four 2.5GbE ports, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, and a choice of USB ports for $249 (after ticking the $150 coupon code) on Amazon with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SATA SSD. The mini PC also supports 12V DC power input if you don’t use PoE power input, and comes with an additional RJ45 port acting as an RS232 console. There’s no built-in wireless, but the mini PC can take a WiFi and Bluetooth module, as well as a 4G LTE or 5G module, and features a SIM card slot for the latter. Specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 8GB DDDR4-3200, upgradable to 32GB Storage 128GB M.2 SATA SSD, […]

December 19, 2023December 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

iKOOLCORE R2 (Core i3-N300) system review – Part2: Proxmox VE, Ubuntu 22.04, pfSense

iKOOLCORE R2 Ubuntu Promox VE dual display

In the first part of iKOOLCORE R2 mini PC & router review, I had a look at the hardware with an unboxing and a teardown of the Intel Core i3-N300 Alder Lake-N computer and also noticed the device booted to a UEFI shell. So for the second part of the review, I will report my experience installing Proxmox VE on the iKOOLCORE R2 and setting up and using Ubuntu 22.04, pfSense 2.7.2, and OpenWrt 23.05 virtual machines, making sure I can still use a physical display, keyboard, and mouse with Ubuntu while pfSense firewall is running. As a side note, the previous generation iKOOLCORE R1 mini PC that was sent to Ian for review with Proxmox VE and various virtual machines preinstalled OpenWrt, Debian 11, and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC set to Chinese language by default. As I understand it, iKOOLCORE still does that for the Chinese market, but not […]

October 25, 2023October 25, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

AOOSTAR R1 – An Intel N100 2-bay NAS, mini PC, and 2.5GbE router

AOOSTAR R1 Intel N100 mini PC triples as a 2-bay NAS thanks to two bays for 3.5-inch SATA drives and as a router through two 2.5GbE network interfaces. It’s a lower-cost version of the Ryzen 5-powered AOOSTAR N1 Pro that was introduced last June. It ships with up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, an optional 512 GB NVMe SSD, offers WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, supports up to three displays via HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C ports, and comes with five USB ports. AOOSTAR R1 (also called WTR R1) specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – Optional 16GB DDR4-3200 via SO-DIMM socket Storage Optional 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD 2-bay NAS compatible with 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives MicroSD card slot Video Output 4Kp60 video output […]

September 30, 2023October 1, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

PALMSHELL NeXT H2 SBC and micro server offers 10GbE for $199 and up

Palmshell Next H2 10GbE 2.5GbE micro server

PALMSHELL NeXT H2 is an affordable AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G-powered micro server, also available as an SBC for developers, that features two 10GbE SFP+ cages and one 2.5GbE RJ45 port, as well as expansion sockets for wireless connectivity. The system supports up to 32GB RAM plus an M.2 NVMe SSD and two SATA drives for storage, offers several wireless connectivity options with WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and 4G LTE/5G, and is equipped with two 4Kp60-capable HDMI ports, and four USB ports. PALMSHELL NeXT H2 specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G dual-core/quad-thread processor @ 2.4GHz up to 3.3GHz with AMD Radeon Vega 3 graphics; TDP set to 25W System Memory – Optional 8GB or 16GB DDR4 @ 2400 MT/s via 2x SO-DIMM slots Storage Optional 256GB or 512GB NVMe (PCIe 3.0) SSD via M.2 Key-N 2280 socket 2x SATA III connector MicroSD card socket Video Output – 2x HDMI […]

September 26, 2023September 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

ACEMAGIC S1 – A Processor N95 mini PC with a built-in LCD information display

ACEMAGIC S1 is a mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N95 Alder Lake-N processor whose main highlight is its LCD information display that shows CPU and memory usage, CPU temperature, fan speed, and other information, and works in both portrait and landscape modes. The mini PC also comes with 16GB RAM and an SSD with either 512GB or 1TB capacity, as well as two HDMI video outputs up to 4K resolution, two gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity, and four USB ports. ACEMAGIC S1 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N95 quad-core Alder Lake N-series processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel HD graphics @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 15W (up to 20W) System Memory – 16GB RAM Storage – 512GB or 1TB “dual-channel” M.2 SATA+NVMe SSD (whatever that means) Video Output – 2x HDMI ports up to 4Kp60; dual independent display […]