On 17 Jul 2016, at 02:37, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl@lkcl.net wrote:
Thanks for this - a very helpful answer.
On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 11:13 PM, Nick Hardiman nick@internetmachines.co.uk wrote:
What is the simplest way to hook up a card like this to the Internet?
$5 USB-Ethernet dongle. okay, $5 if you're happy to get onto amazon :) if you investigate what thinkpenguin is selling, those are the kinds of products you will know will "just work" - no firmware needed, they're "pure hardware" usb-eth dongles. i'm using a qca9600 and axis ones, they work out-of-the-box with the right linux kernel module compiled.
you'll also need one of the cable kits... you don't necessarily need the HDMI cable... you could pick up the original one on amazon that we ordered and tested…
...
depending on how many of these you're looking to get, it might be easier to get a micro-desktop housing simply so that you are in a position to investigate things (pop out the "Server" SD Card, put in the "Desktop" SD card, check that the hardware's okay).
So if I got this right, I can set up a card with network access in three ways - a minimal standalone setup, a full desktop setup, or a PCB for many cards. First two are linked to the current crowdsourcing campaign, third one is a future enhancement.
Here’s what I understand about the first two. This look right? Please excuse my rough ASCII connections diagrams
a minimal standalone setup
power socket | power plug, $6 delivering at least 3 watts, so thats practically any USB charger https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Wall-Charger-Outlet-Output/dp/B005CG2ATQ... | USB OTG cable, $1.63 (!) https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Cable-Power-Samsung-Player/dp/B00CXAC1ZW/ or USB + HDMI Cable Set, $15 https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop | | | USB to Ethernet adapter | This one seems to contain an ASIX chip (AX88178) | $25 | http://plugable.com/products/usb2-e1000 | | | Network cable, to the network, say $10 | Libre Tea Computer Card, $65
a full desktop setup, for seeing boot loader and kernel messages
Libre Tea Computer Card $65 https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop | Micro Desktop Housing $55 https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop | | | | | Network cable, to the network, say $10 | | | Keyboard, Video, Mouse, say $100 | power plug (a USB charger?)
well, if you're considering using them as space-saving 3 watt rack-mounted blade servers, the idea was discussed in-depth a number of years ago and keeps resurfacing on a regular basis. ... but, a special PCB for doing rack-mounted EOMA68 blade servers is exactly what i want to do at some point.