IEI’s compact “Puzzle-IN003B” networking appliance runs Ubuntu on a quad- or octa-core Atom C3000 with up to 128GB DDR4, 32GB eMMC, SATA, 2x M.2, mini-PCIe, 6x GbE, and 2x 10GbE SFP+ ports.

Intel just announced a 10nm, up to 24-core Atom P5900 “Snow Ridge” successor to the server-class, networking-oriented Atom C3000, but we’re likely to see more C3000 “Denverton” based products for a few more years. The latest is IEI’s compact, 225 x 206 x 44.2 Puzzle-IN003B, a more compact, desktop form-factor alternative to its higher-end Puzzle series of 1U rackmount network appliances.

Puzzle-IN003B, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

Last month, we covered the 1U rackmount Puzzle-IN001 and Puzzle-IN002, both with 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs including the hexa-core, 3.3GHz/4.5GHz Xeon E-2136. IEI also offers rackmount Puzzle-A001 and Puzzle-A002 appliances that run Ubuntu on an AMD Epyc Embedded 3000.

Other rackmount models include a “new” Puzzle-IN004 that runs Ubuntu on an Intel 6th Gen Skylake-D Xeon D-2100. There’s also a Puzzle-M801 model that runs Ubuntu on a quad-core, Cortex-A72 Armada 8040 (or A8040), which is also found on SolidRun’s ClearFog CX 8K SBC.

The new Puzzle-IN003B offers standard SKUs that run Ubuntu 18.04 on the quad-core Atom C3358 and the similarly 2.2GHz, octa-core C3758. However, models up to the 16-core C3958 are also supported. IEI touts Denverton’s Intel QuickAssist technology for “providing up to 20 Gbps of crypto performance, ensuring secure data transfer while reserving valuable processor cycles for other tasks.” (See chart below.)

Puzzle-IN003B and an IEI chart showing the Atom C3000’s QuickAssist performance on crypto operations
(click images to enlarge)

You can load up to 64GB UDIMM or 128GB RDIMM DDR4 2133MHz ECC or non-ECC RAM via 4x sockets. You also get 32GB eMMC, an M.2 M-key 2260/2280 slot for an SSD, and a SATA DOM interface with 5V SATA power.

Like Advantech’s C3000-based, desktop FWA-1012VC appliance, the Puzzle-IN003B combines 6x GbE ports with 2x optical SFP ports. In this case, however, they are 10GbE SFP+ ports instead of 1GbE. Most of the other desktop C3000 appliances we’ve seen offer either 6x GbE or 4x GbE with 2x SFP. Axiomtek’s higher-end NA362 provides 6x GbE and 4x 10GbE SFP+.

The GbE ports use a combination of a 1GbE Intel I211-AT NIC, a 1GbE Marvell 88E1512 PHY, and a 10GbE controller built into the C3000. For wireless communications there’s an M.2 A-key 2230 slot and a mini-PCIe slot with SIM card slot. Both offer USB 2.0 and PCIe x1 support. Dual WiFi antenna mounts are also available.

The Puzzle-IN003B is further equipped with USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB 3.0), USB 2.0 and RJ45 based serial console ports, as well as a TPM 2.0 header. There’s a 12V DC input and 60W supply with power and reset buttons. Fanless and fan-cooled models are available, both with 0 to 40°C support and 5% ~ 90% non-condensing humidity tolerance.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the Puzzle-IN003B. We found a placeholder shopping page from Germany based ICP that lists a Puzzle-IN003B-C1/8G-R10 model that it says is a 1U rackmount design. It’s unclear if that’s a mistake or if there’s also a rackmount version available. More information may be found in IEI’s announcement and product page.