Lonnie Abelbeck
2014-02-28 03:43:46 UTC
Hi,
We have added a new addition to our "Generic x86 Boards and Appliances" hardware list...
OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC (MINIX) Atom D2550
http://doc.astlinux.org/userdoc:board_oem_2550l2d-mxpc
Also known as: MINIX Mini HD PC Intel Atom D2550 Barebone
The key features of this system (referred to as "MINIX" herein) are the *price*, Broadcom NIC's and 13 Watts when idle .
Executive summary:
- Intel Atom D2550 (1.86 GHz, 2Cores, 4 Threads)
- 2x Broadcom 57788 PCIe NIC's
- SATA 3.0 Gb/s
- Metal case with power button
- Power Adapter
- Price: $130 USD
OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC Intel NM10 2 x 204Pin Intel GMA 3650 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856205007
Add a stick of RAM and SATA flash storage, you have a powerful AstLinux system. BTW: AstLinux 1.1.2 or later is required which supports the latest "tg3" Broadcom NIC driver from source.
Details:
In my testing lab, for well over a year I have used a Jetway NF99FL-525 / M350 case / 2 GB SATA Flash Module, to test full AstLinux builds containing Asterisk 11. I decided to replace this box with the MINIX for comparison. Fortunately both the RAM and SATA Flash Module worked equally well in the MINIX (remembering to remove 70-persistent-net.rules and enabling "tg3" in rc.modules before the switch). On first boot I had the exact same system running on the MINIX !
I have eth0 on the external interface, and three internal interfaces, eth1 (untagged), eth1.10 and eth1.50 . Performing iperf tests (Mac -> eth1 -> eth0 -> Mac) were at Gb line speed, (920 Mbps) at 78% idle (via top), essentially the same as the Jetway NF99FL-525 Intel 82574L NIC's, and somewhat interesting the Broadcom NIC's slightly outperformed the Intel NIC's when handling tagged (VLAN) frames.
Another difference, the Jetway NF99FL-525 total idle power was 21 Watts, the MINIX is only 13 Watts.
The MINIX steel case is of lighter weight than the M350 case, but solidly riveted and easy to remove top, plenty sturdy. The board looks professionally designed and manufactured.
Quite surprising, comparing the Intel Atom D525 vs. D2550 in a PHP benchmark script, the D2550 is 6% faster...
++
== D525 (Jetway NF99FL-525) ==
Start : 2014-02-24 08:36:03
Server : @
PHP version : 5.3.28
Platform : Linux
--------------------------------------
test_math : 8.887 sec.
test_stringmanipulation : 9.351 sec.
test_loops : 6.641 sec.
test_ifelse : 4.398 sec.
--------------------------------------
Total time: : 29.277 sec.
== D2550 (MINIX) ==
--------------------------------------
test_math : 8.193 sec.
test_stringmanipulation : 8.624 sec.
test_loops : 6.406 sec.
test_ifelse : 4.266 sec.
--------------------------------------
Total time: : 27.489 sec.
++
The MINIX comes with a small CPU fan, typical 5000 RPM annoying small fan. It appears for typical AstLinux applications (no video, flash storage) in a climate conditioned location the fan is not necessary, you decide. The MINIX contains a Winbond W83627DHG-P chip for hardware monitoring (not the Fintek F71808 as the docs suggests), and "coretemp" provides accurate results. My system (at idle) with the fan removed shows the following:
----------------
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +59.0 C (crit = +100.0 C)
coretemp-isa-0002
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 1: +61.0 C (crit = +100.0 C)
w83627dhg-isa-0a00
Adapter: ISA adapter
CPUVCORE: +1.23 V (min = +0.20 V, max = +2.04 V)
12V: +12.14 V (min = +10.82 V, max = +13.20 V)
3VCC: +3.33 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
5V: +5.09 V (min = +4.51 V, max = +5.50 V)
1.5V: +1.58 V (min = +1.35 V, max = +1.65 V)
Vbat: +3.50 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
SYS Temp: +43.0 C (high = +90.0 C, hyst = +85.0 C) sensor = thermistor
----------------
The MINIX works as expected in every way except for a small detail, for fun I attached a cable to use the serial port header on the board to access the console... started getty on /dev/ttyS0 and properly get my terminal characters echo'ed back but no other output. It seems the MINIX is not handling the "Data Set Ready" pin input (which is set). Either something is electrically wrong or the BIOS is not setting the UART properly. Of course the video console works fine using either the VGA or HDMI port on the back panel. I suspect all users will use the "geni585" (video console) image for the MINIX.
The MINIX BIOS is from AMI, but not as complete (fewer options) as the Jetway BIOS is.
In my testing environment I find it very useful to define ALERT_SOUNDS, so I added a small piezo speaker to the speaker header, works perfectly. The board does not include a piezo speaker.
Summary:
The MINIX is not a "fits all" AstLinux hardware solution, but leveraging on it's high-volume, generic PC design, the performance per cost value is excellent. The build quality seems quite good, time will tell. The missing CF card slot or third/fourth NIC can be overcome with SATA adapters and VLAN's if desired. Overall an AstLinux hardware solution that should be considered, particularly for price sensitive applications.
Unlike the general mini-ITX from scratch solutions, the MINIX is ready to go except for RAM and flash storage. Adding a 2.5" SSD is the simplest as that is the default configuration.
Keep in mind I have tested this box for less than a week.
Lonnie
We have added a new addition to our "Generic x86 Boards and Appliances" hardware list...
OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC (MINIX) Atom D2550
http://doc.astlinux.org/userdoc:board_oem_2550l2d-mxpc
Also known as: MINIX Mini HD PC Intel Atom D2550 Barebone
The key features of this system (referred to as "MINIX" herein) are the *price*, Broadcom NIC's and 13 Watts when idle .
Executive summary:
- Intel Atom D2550 (1.86 GHz, 2Cores, 4 Threads)
- 2x Broadcom 57788 PCIe NIC's
- SATA 3.0 Gb/s
- Metal case with power button
- Power Adapter
- Price: $130 USD
OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC Intel NM10 2 x 204Pin Intel GMA 3650 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856205007
Add a stick of RAM and SATA flash storage, you have a powerful AstLinux system. BTW: AstLinux 1.1.2 or later is required which supports the latest "tg3" Broadcom NIC driver from source.
Details:
In my testing lab, for well over a year I have used a Jetway NF99FL-525 / M350 case / 2 GB SATA Flash Module, to test full AstLinux builds containing Asterisk 11. I decided to replace this box with the MINIX for comparison. Fortunately both the RAM and SATA Flash Module worked equally well in the MINIX (remembering to remove 70-persistent-net.rules and enabling "tg3" in rc.modules before the switch). On first boot I had the exact same system running on the MINIX !
I have eth0 on the external interface, and three internal interfaces, eth1 (untagged), eth1.10 and eth1.50 . Performing iperf tests (Mac -> eth1 -> eth0 -> Mac) were at Gb line speed, (920 Mbps) at 78% idle (via top), essentially the same as the Jetway NF99FL-525 Intel 82574L NIC's, and somewhat interesting the Broadcom NIC's slightly outperformed the Intel NIC's when handling tagged (VLAN) frames.
Another difference, the Jetway NF99FL-525 total idle power was 21 Watts, the MINIX is only 13 Watts.
The MINIX steel case is of lighter weight than the M350 case, but solidly riveted and easy to remove top, plenty sturdy. The board looks professionally designed and manufactured.
Quite surprising, comparing the Intel Atom D525 vs. D2550 in a PHP benchmark script, the D2550 is 6% faster...
++
== D525 (Jetway NF99FL-525) ==
Start : 2014-02-24 08:36:03
Server : @
PHP version : 5.3.28
Platform : Linux
--------------------------------------
test_math : 8.887 sec.
test_stringmanipulation : 9.351 sec.
test_loops : 6.641 sec.
test_ifelse : 4.398 sec.
--------------------------------------
Total time: : 29.277 sec.
== D2550 (MINIX) ==
--------------------------------------
test_math : 8.193 sec.
test_stringmanipulation : 8.624 sec.
test_loops : 6.406 sec.
test_ifelse : 4.266 sec.
--------------------------------------
Total time: : 27.489 sec.
++
The MINIX comes with a small CPU fan, typical 5000 RPM annoying small fan. It appears for typical AstLinux applications (no video, flash storage) in a climate conditioned location the fan is not necessary, you decide. The MINIX contains a Winbond W83627DHG-P chip for hardware monitoring (not the Fintek F71808 as the docs suggests), and "coretemp" provides accurate results. My system (at idle) with the fan removed shows the following:
----------------
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +59.0 C (crit = +100.0 C)
coretemp-isa-0002
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 1: +61.0 C (crit = +100.0 C)
w83627dhg-isa-0a00
Adapter: ISA adapter
CPUVCORE: +1.23 V (min = +0.20 V, max = +2.04 V)
12V: +12.14 V (min = +10.82 V, max = +13.20 V)
3VCC: +3.33 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
5V: +5.09 V (min = +4.51 V, max = +5.50 V)
1.5V: +1.58 V (min = +1.35 V, max = +1.65 V)
Vbat: +3.50 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
SYS Temp: +43.0 C (high = +90.0 C, hyst = +85.0 C) sensor = thermistor
----------------
The MINIX works as expected in every way except for a small detail, for fun I attached a cable to use the serial port header on the board to access the console... started getty on /dev/ttyS0 and properly get my terminal characters echo'ed back but no other output. It seems the MINIX is not handling the "Data Set Ready" pin input (which is set). Either something is electrically wrong or the BIOS is not setting the UART properly. Of course the video console works fine using either the VGA or HDMI port on the back panel. I suspect all users will use the "geni585" (video console) image for the MINIX.
The MINIX BIOS is from AMI, but not as complete (fewer options) as the Jetway BIOS is.
In my testing environment I find it very useful to define ALERT_SOUNDS, so I added a small piezo speaker to the speaker header, works perfectly. The board does not include a piezo speaker.
Summary:
The MINIX is not a "fits all" AstLinux hardware solution, but leveraging on it's high-volume, generic PC design, the performance per cost value is excellent. The build quality seems quite good, time will tell. The missing CF card slot or third/fourth NIC can be overcome with SATA adapters and VLAN's if desired. Overall an AstLinux hardware solution that should be considered, particularly for price sensitive applications.
Unlike the general mini-ITX from scratch solutions, the MINIX is ready to go except for RAM and flash storage. Adding a 2.5" SSD is the simplest as that is the default configuration.
Keep in mind I have tested this box for less than a week.
Lonnie