New post

Signed-off-by: Joachim Wiberg <troglobit@gmail.com>

Author: troglobit

_posts/2024-08-13-router-boards.md

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+---
+title:  Infix Compatible Boards
+author: troglobit
+date:   2024-08-13 10:06:42 +0100
+categories: [showcase]
+tags: [boards]
+---
+
+Much thanks to the solid foundation curated by [Buildroot][1], Infix can
+quite easily be ported to any system that that supports Linux.  The only
+real hardware requirement is "enough" RAM and storage, and if the board
+has a built-in switch, that it is supported by switchdev.
+
+Currently the following boards are fully supported.  Other boards have
+been known to work, but have not been updated or tested continuously.
+
+ - [Marvell CN9130][7] CRB (ARM)
+ - [FriendlyELEC NanoPi R2S][9] (ARM)
+ - [StarFive VisionFive2][8] (RISC-V)
+ - [Qemu][0] (x86_64)
+
+> Although not really a "board", Qemu can be quite useful for anyone who
+> just want to understand what Infix is.  All releases, as well as the
+> [*latest*][2] (nightly) builds, have an x86_64 image that can be run
+> on any Linux PC with Qemu installed.
+
+
+### Marvell CN9130 CRB
+
+This *Customer Reference Board* is really expensive and not really
+suited to everyone, even if you can get hold of one (!), but it remains
+*the* main reference for Infix so far and has seen multiple customer
+specific board spin-offs.
+
+![](/assets/img/cn9130-crb.png){: #fig1}
+_**Figure 1**: Marvell CN9130 CRB._
+
+The CN9130 is a quad-core Cortex-A72 coupled with a Marvell 88E6393X
+11-port switchcore (one port connected to the SoC).  Only 9 of the
+remaining switch ports are accessible, however.
+
+Thanks to Linux switchdev, when Infix runs on this board, all bridging
+(switching) configuration, including VLANs, is fully offloaded to the
+switchcore.  Allowing full wirespeed switching between switch ports.
+
+
+### FriendlyELEC NanoPi R2S
+
+In stark contrast to the CRB, the tiny little R2S is *very* cheap and
+available from many sources.  It's nowhere near as powerful, of course,
+but gives you much bang for [the buck][5]!
+
+![](/assets/img/nanopi-r2s-board.png){: #fig2}
+_**Figure 2**: NanoPi R2S._
+
+Only two 1 Gbps Ethernet ports and no WiFi (on this version), and the
+SoC is "only" a quad-core Cortex-A53.  Still, considering its size and
+cost, a very capable little device.
+
+Infix supports *all* features of this device:
+
+ - routing between interfaces
+ - usb port, for storage/logging
+ - reset button, incl. factory reset at power-on
+ - system LEDs to indicate bootup, factory-reset, and operating mode
+
+The board has become so popular that they've now made an R2S *Plus* with
+onboard eMMC, and WiFi over SDIO.  Support for the Plus is coming very
+soon to Infix.
+
+![](/assets/img/nanopi-r2s-overview.jpg){: #fig3}
+_**Figure 3**: NanoPi R2S Plus Overview of functions._
+
+> There are also spin-offs on the same theme with more powerful CPUs and
+> 2.5 Gbps Ethernet.  All of which could easily be supported as well on
+> Infix with a little bit of time and patience.
+
+
+### StarFive VisionFive2
+
+One of the most exciting things to witness, over past decade or so, is
+the rise of RISC-V.  StarFive decided to make a follow-up to the first,
+very popular VisionFive, with a bit more powerful CPU, quad-core U74
+called [JH7110][3], yet keeping with the values of the original.  Not as
+cheap as the R2S, it still brings a [lot of value][6].
+
+The board is actually very similar to the RaspberryPi family, with the
+distinct difference of having two Ethernet ports, making it suitable
+for use as a home network router.
+
+![](/assets/img/visionfive2-overview.png){: #fig4}
+_**Figure 4**: StarFive VisionFive2._
+
+Infix supports only a subset of all the features of this board.  As
+always, the focus is on networking, but [PoE][4], eMMC support, and
+the M.2 slot stand out as candidates for exploration.
+
+[1]: https://buildroot.org
+[2]: https://github.com/kernelkit/infix/releases/tag/latest
+[3]: https://www.cnx-software.com/2022/08/29/starfive-jh7110-risc-v-processor-specifications/
+[4]: https://bootlin.com/blog/power-over-ethernet-poe-support-into-the-official-linux-kernel/
+[5]: https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-nanopi-r2s-metal-case.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.search.0
+[6]: https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-visionfive2.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.search.0
+[7]: https://www.marvell.com/content/dam/marvell/en/public-collateral/embedded-processors/marvell-infrastructure-processors-octeon-tx2-cn913x-product-brief.pdf
+[8]: https://doc-en.rvspace.org/VisionFive2/Landing_Page/VisionFive_2/introduction.html
+[9]: https://wiki.friendlyelec.com/wiki/index.php/NanoPi_R2S
+[0]: https://www.qemu.org/