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A slightly cheaper option would be to get a bunch of Pi Zero W devices. They're $10 + SDcards. They would rely on WiFi which might be acceptable if the use case
by sxp 6y ago
A slightly cheaper option would be to get a bunch of Pi Zero W devices. They're $10 + SDcards. They would rely on WiFi which might be acceptable if the use case allows having a few dozen radios chattering next to each other. If not, then a $5 Pi Zero + $5-10 ethernet adapter might work.
Since the goal isn't to achieve maximum performance, the slow CPU & RAM (comparable to a 20th century desktop) might not be an issue. And the lower price would allow more devices so you could test more complex configurations and server management options.
- numpad0 6y agoZero/Zero W at $5/$10 are promotional price, for first unit per person only. For second unit and after you have to order case kits or other high(positive) margin options.
- ikaruswill 6y agoI actually have had a cluster of Raspberry Pi 1Bs before this current cluster. Though the specs are very much similar to a Zero W, the performance wasn't great. I agree that it would cost much less, but I would also get much less utility out of it. At this point, the cluster is doing quite a lot, even the site itself is hosted on it. My point here is that having room for future utility at not much additional cost, would be best.
- rcarmo 6y agoZeros are borderline unusable for actual compute due to having a single core and only half a gig or RAM. They make for great beefy microcontrollers and single-purpose boards, but are not the kind of thing where you want to run various network services. (I have a cluster running Pi 2s, which have 4 cores apiece, but are still too short on RAM)
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]