MiniNodes is launching a “5 Node Raspberry Pi 3 CoM Carrier Board” that supports clusters of up to 5x RPi Compute Module 3 boards and integrates a switched GbE port.

MiniNodes has launched $259 pre-orders for a carrier board that supports up to 5x Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 modules. The 5 Node Raspberry Pi 3 CoM Carrier Board provides a switched Gigabit Ethernet port to provide networking availability to each of the modules. There’s also an DC jack for power.

5 Node Raspberry Pi 3 CoM Carrier Board
(click images to enlarge)

The Raspberry Pi and its CM3 sibling are popular choices for compute clusters, enabled by cluster expansion products like the Bitscope Quattro Pi. The hacker board cluster craze has spread to other platforms, such as the NanoPi Fire3.

MiniNodes recommends its 5 Node board for edge computing in remote rural communities, factory and building automation, smart city devices, renewable energy deployments, and edge AI projects. The board can also “be used right on your desk as a great way to learn compute clustering, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, or general purpose development of Python, Arm, Linux, and more!” says MiniNodes.

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3

No detailed specs were available for the simple, 8.0 x 4.0 x 4.0-inch board, which offers five slots that fit the RPi CM3’s edge connector. Each 67.6 x 31mm RPi CM3 module supplies the same 1.2GHz quad-core -A53 SoC as the RPi 3 Model B SBC (but not the faster 1.4GHz 3B+). You also get 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM and on the standard model, 4GB eMMC.

As noted in the CNXSoft story that alerted us to the product, the board sports a Gumstix Geppetto logo, indicating that it had been designed and manufactured using the Geppetto D2O online development platform. Earlier this year, Gumstix launched its own RPi CM3 based Chatterbox Alexa Voice Service board that was developed in Geppetto.

 
Further information

The 5 Node Raspberry Pi 3 CoM Carrier Board is available for pre-order for $259., with shipments due in December or January. More information may be found on MiniNodes’ 5 Node Raspberry Pi 3 CoM Carrier Board shopping page.