Low power specialist enters ARM SBC market

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Jul. 14, 2005

Peplink has entered the SBC (single-board computer) market, shipping two low-powered ARM boards previously available only in its network appliances. Additionally, the company will ship in six weeks what could be the smallest SBC ever to run Debian Linux. A mini-ITX board is also under development.

In total, Peplink's board offerings will comprise four models, all of which will be binary-compatible, the company says. Each will be available with Peplink's cross-development tools for x86, and will also be capable of running a standalone Debian ARM development environment.

All four Manga boards are based on a Micrel KS-8695P network processor, an SoC (system-on-chip) with a 166MHz ARM9 core, memory management unit (MMU), five-port managed switch, and 33MHz PCI bridge. The boards all feature very low power requirements, while also supporting high-powered mini-PCI cards such as the 400 mW Ubiquiti SR-2 and the latest cards from Senao.

Manga Classic

Peplink originally marketed its Classic board as part of its Manga access point appliance (pictured at right). One hacker used the Manga appliance platform to build a general purpose access router and file server said to draw just 3.1 Watts, including energy dissipated by the Manga's wallcube power supply.

Features of the Manga Classic SBC include:

Measures 9.2 x 6 inches (233 x 154 mm)
Two mini-PCI slots
Five 10/100 LAN ports
Internal and external USB 2.0 ports
DB-9 serial console port
Hardware watchdog
9-Volt power
Requires 9.2 Watts with two Ubiquiti SR-2 cards
Priced at $193 for 1-100 units, plus tax/shipping

WINTI SBC

The Winti SBC was originally used in Peplink's Manga Surf, positioned as a cost-effective, versatile CPE (customer premises equipment) for wireless ISPs. Features include:

One mini-PCI slot
One 10/100 Ethernet port
Hardware watchdog
5-Volt power
Requires 5.9 Watts with SR-2
Measures 4.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches (121 x 107 x 22 mm)
$175, plus shipping and tax, with volume discounts for more than 10 units

Manga Mini SBC

The Manga Mini is a playing-card sized version of Peplink's SBC design measuring 3.4 x 2.7 inches (88 x 68 mm). It will ship six weeks from now, Peplink says. The company will market the Mini primarily as a carrier card for prototyping, and as a general purpose Linux engine for the data acquisition and control system markets.

The Manga Mini (photo not available at this time) will support up to four USB 2.0 ports, and five Ethernet ports. Peplink's director Philip Stevens, regional manager for EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Asia), said, "The Manga Mini may not be the smallest Debian device around, but it must be close . . ."

Indeed, several smaller boards on our list of tiny SBCs appear capable of running Debian, and Nokia's Debian-based 770 Internet Tablet, based on a 220MHz ARM9 processor, appears to be nearly as small.

Manga Mini-ITX

According to Stevens, Peplink is currently developing a mini-ITX version of its board. However, no further details are available at this time.

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