Raspberry Pi
- 1. Single Board Computers Prof. Anish Goel
- 2. Contents Introduction to SBCs Evolution Parts of SBC 2 Prof.Anish Goel
- 3. What is a Single Board Computer? A single board computer, or SBC, is a type of computer where all of the computer components are built onto a single circuit board. Desktop computers and laptops usually have separate components that are connected by cables to a central circuit board. A single board computer contains the microprocessor, storage and memory, as well as other necessary components, in a single circuit board. 3 Prof.Anish Goel
- 4. Types of Single Board Computers There are several different kinds of single board computers. Many of the most common types are categorized by CPU Manufacturer, Processor Speed and Packaging Type. 4 Prof.Anish Goel
- 5. Applications for Single Board Computers: Single board computers are found embedded in larger devices including: ATM machines Industrial computers Medical equipment Automation equipment Cash registers Touch screen kiosks 5 Prof.Anish Goel
- 6. Evolution Single Board Computers (SBCs) have changed dramatically over the years. Initially the selection factor was based primarily on the CPU and its associated peripheral chips. Twenty years ago that meant Intel, Zilog, or Motorola were the silicon vendors for microprocessor systems. As the density, complexity and capability of the silicon improved, so did the choice and selection methodology for SBCs. Today software, board size, and time-to-market are the key decision factors in addition to just the power and speed of the CPU. 6 Prof.Anish Goel
- 7. When to use an SBC. Reduces development time for faster Time-to-Market Proven design by vendor increases reliability and reduces risk Multiple vendors provide a variety of different size, functions, and price options Component-level design is too complex for in-house engineers Lack of internal company resources Lack of internal manufacturing expertise 7 Prof.Anish Goel
- 8. When not to use an SBC. Not cost effective for very large volumes Application requires a special size or format A special CPU or configuration is needed for the application Non-commercial environment because of shock, vibration, heat, humidity, radiation, or power requirements Special I/O interface needs 8 Prof.Anish Goel
- 9. Underlying Technology behind Single Board Computers Main features of single board computers include a single or dual microprocessor, RAM, IO, and any other features to complete a computer on one board. As the technology of SBCs increased, the demand for PC compatibility in embedded applications increased. The current primary use for SBCs is for embedded technology. One aspect of embedded technology is the capability to perform dedicated functions in an embedded environment. An embedded environment refers to a part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. One common environment used with single boards is for network adapters. 9 Prof.Anish Goel
- 10. Technology Network adapters provide an interface between a computer and the physical medium comprising the network connection; they usually consist of a single board. Network interfaces support one or more communications protocols, which specify how the computers use the physical medium to exchange data. Regardless of the environment, a SBC will usually have the appropriate tools necessary for any embedded system. 10 Prof.Anish Goel
- 11. Implementation of Single Board Computers for Embedded Systems Implementing software onto single board computers has become increasingly simple as the technology now supports linux on the SBCs. Software for different systems will do different things.An example of how software is implemented on SBCs was found in an article about implementing a SBC for robot control. In this scenario, the software consisted of an operating system, communication with the host computer, and an interrupt driven control part. All programming was done in the C language. For the majority of embedded systems, programming in the C language is all that will be necessary to control the device with the single board computer. 11 Prof.Anish Goel
- 12. Implementation As the complexity of embedded systems grows, higher level tools and operating systems are migrating into machinery where it makes sense. The result is that any programming language can be used on a single board computer granted the software on the board will support it. 12 Prof.Anish Goel
- 13. Raspberry Pi-Based Beowulf Cluster a Beowulf cluster is simply a collection of identical, (typically) commodity computer hardware based systems, networked together and running some kind of parallel processing software that allows each node in the cluster to share data and computation. Typically, the parallel programming software is MPI (Message Passing Interface), which utilizes TCP/IP along with some libraries to allow programmers to create parallel programs that can split a task into parts suitable to run on multiple machines simultaneously. 13 Prof.Anish Goel
- 14. Building the System There are really only five major components needed for a working cluster: computer hardware, Linux OS, an MPI library, an ethernet switch, and possibly a router. RPi is the computer hardware. Figure shows the overall network architecture. The system design includes 32 RPi nodes, 48-port 10/100 switch,Arch Linux ARM, and MPICH3. 14 Prof.Anish Goel
- 15. The Architecture 15 Prof.Anish Goel
- 16. The RPI Cluster 16 Prof.Anish Goel