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I remain surprised that there don't seem to be any of the shelf "blade centers" for raspberry pi compute modules. It seems like they're the ideal hobbyist and s

I remain surprised that there don't seem to be any of the shelf "blade centers" for raspberry pi compute modules. It seems like they're the ideal hobbyist and small business expandable computing resource. Someone did make this at one point: https://hackaday.com/2016/01/25/raspberry-pi-zero-cluster-packs-a-punch/ https://hackaday.com/2016/01/25/raspberry-pi-zero-cluster-pa... But it was never commercialized as far as I know.

timthorn 8y ago
You mean the BitScope Cluster? http://cluster.bitscope.com/solutions http://cluster.bitscope.com/solutions
- jsight 8y ago
  Those use the regular raspberry pi rather than the compute module, though, don't they?
  - Sir_Substance 8y ago
    Yeah, those are for the regular pi's and are very large as a result.
jsight 8y ago
The board that you are pointing to is a cluster of Pi Zeros. I've sometimes had the same question, and have also wondered what industrial applications the compute module is being used for?
- siffland 8y ago
  I use the sopine cluster modules and a clusterboard for my docker swarm. The sopine modules have a quad core and 2GB of ram and a sd card slot. It is a cheaper way of having a docker swarm (you could run kubernetes, but that is overkill). As for the Raspberry pi module, it is the same price as the sopine module and half the RAM. One could argue the pi is better supported, but the sopine modules support armbian (and are actually in stock). So is it worth it, well not right now. If you buy the module and the base board it is just cheaper and better to by a pi 3+. I saw a pi compute module backplace to hold 5 (i think it was 5) modules for like $250 (a pine64 clusterboard for 7 modules and a built in Gb switch is $100). There are probably uses for it, maybe custom embedded devices, but i am not 100% convinced. I was a lot more excited about the Raspberry Pi 3+ Model A. That is nice for the price, but even then nano pi's have comperable devices for simliar cost (and are actually in stock). I still love Raspberry Pi's though and can't wait until the 4 comes out. But as my Rock54 screams with a quad core and 4GB of emmory and usb3 for $45, i am questioning what a raspberry Pi 4 could bring to the table for the same price (M.2, 8GB of ram, etc...).
bradfa 8y ago
miniNodes makes a 5 socket Raspberry Pi compute module "cluster" board which seems decent: https://www.mininodes.com/product/5-node-raspberry-pi-3-com-carrier-board/ https://www.mininodes.com/product/5-node-raspberry-pi-3-com-...
- Sir_Substance 8y ago
  Hey, neat. Looks like they're still in pre-order mode, but I'll def keep an eye on them.
  - mininodes 8y ago
    We're actually about to run a production batch. Should take about 3 to 4 weeks to turn them around from manufacture to shipping.
detaro 8y ago
Outside of hobby purposes of "I made a cluster, that's cool!", I'm not sure why many people would want such a thing compared to bigger machines.
- akhilcacharya 8y ago
  Right, I'm sure even using the AWS ARM instances would be faster/cheaper for its performance.
technofiend 8y ago
There's the cluster hat which supports 4 Pi Zeros on a Pi Hat. Good for hobbyist tinkering anyway. https://clusterhat.com/ https://clusterhat.com/

timthorn 8y ago

You mean the BitScope Cluster? http://cluster.bitscope.com/solutions http://cluster.bitscope.com/solutions

jsight 8y ago
Those use the regular raspberry pi rather than the compute module, though, don't they?
- Sir_Substance 8y ago
  Yeah, those are for the regular pi's and are very large as a result.

jsight 8y ago

The board that you are pointing to is a cluster of Pi Zeros. I've sometimes had the same question, and have also wondered what industrial applications the compute module is being used for?

siffland 8y ago
I use the sopine cluster modules and a clusterboard for my docker swarm. The sopine modules have a quad core and 2GB of ram and a sd card slot. It is a cheaper way of having a docker swarm (you could run kubernetes, but that is overkill). As for the Raspberry pi module, it is the same price as the sopine module and half the RAM. One could argue the pi is better supported, but the sopine modules support armbian (and are actually in stock). So is it worth it, well not right now. If you buy the module and the base board it is just cheaper and better to by a pi 3+. I saw a pi compute module backplace to hold 5 (i think it was 5) modules for like $250 (a pine64 clusterboard for 7 modules and a built in Gb switch is $100). There are probably uses for it, maybe custom embedded devices, but i am not 100% convinced. I was a lot more excited about the Raspberry Pi 3+ Model A. That is nice for the price, but even then nano pi's have comperable devices for simliar cost (and are actually in stock). I still love Raspberry Pi's though and can't wait until the 4 comes out. But as my Rock54 screams with a quad core and 4GB of emmory and usb3 for $45, i am questioning what a raspberry Pi 4 could bring to the table for the same price (M.2, 8GB of ram, etc...).

bradfa 8y ago

miniNodes makes a 5 socket Raspberry Pi compute module "cluster" board which seems decent: https://www.mininodes.com/product/5-node-raspberry-pi-3-com-carrier-board/ https://www.mininodes.com/product/5-node-raspberry-pi-3-com-...

Sir_Substance 8y ago
Hey, neat. Looks like they're still in pre-order mode, but I'll def keep an eye on them.
- mininodes 8y ago
  We're actually about to run a production batch. Should take about 3 to 4 weeks to turn them around from manufacture to shipping.

detaro 8y ago

Outside of hobby purposes of "I made a cluster, that's cool!", I'm not sure why many people would want such a thing compared to bigger machines.

akhilcacharya 8y ago
Right, I'm sure even using the AWS ARM instances would be faster/cheaper for its performance.

technofiend 8y ago

There's the cluster hat which supports 4 Pi Zeros on a Pi Hat. Good for hobbyist tinkering anyway. https://clusterhat.com/ https://clusterhat.com/