[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Debian on RP 3

Hi Jonas,

On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 8:39 AM, Jonas Smedegaard <dr@jones.dk> wrote:
Quoting yogesh powar (2016-09-20 20:39:31)
> I think RPis are famous but Debian has not endorsed it.
> Mainly because it requires Requires non-free blob [ref:
> https://wiki.debian.org/CheapServerBoxHardware]
>
> Apart from price another good point about RPi3 is it comes with WiFi
> on board.

It would still help tremendously if you could elaborate on what your
actual use case for such a device is.
There is no  formal requirement from the school as such but here is what I
think their basic requirement should be
  1. Libre-office
  2. Gimp/Dia
  3. Logic Games
  4. Internet
Unlike much personal hacking, school use often involve many concurrent
users, which means it is more likely reach bottlenecks. 
Do you mean the architecture where there is server and a few dumb terminals?

Schools that I know, currently run Windows and there is no concept of concurrent
users. So each system is independent and controlled/used by single user.
 
Serving web content likely needs low latency and fast network...

RPi2/RPi3 has a particularly bad ethernet performance due to using one
chip for both ethernet and USB:
https://netbeez.net/2015/10/21/network-monitoring-with-iperf-raspberry-pi-vs-odroid-vs-banana-pi-vs-utilite/

RPi3 has builtin wifi but of notably low quality so comparable to
cheapest dongles (crazypi.com has a 7$ dongle):
https://netbeez.net/2016/06/01/iperf-wifi-comparison-on-raspberry-pi-raspberry-pi-3-vs-asus-vs-hawking-vs-linksys-vs-tp-link/

Running a file server (NAS) likely need fast disk access.

RPi2/RPi3 does not have SATA, only USB (which is shared with ethernet,
so every read or write to disk steals attention from network access).

Running applications likely need lots of memory (especially if disk is
slow so swapping is extra painful).

RPi2/RPi3 has 1GB DDR2 memory.

Power outages are common in India.  RPi awkwardly draws more power than
a regular USB power supply, and require addon board to handle battery
backup.

I recommend OLinuXino LIME2 for such uses. At a price tag slightly above
RPi3, it has 1Gbit native ethernet, SATA, 1GB DDR3 memory, and natively
supports LiPo battery.  Raw computing power is slower, but also does not
overheat as easily (adding a fan means a moving part easier breaking).

I agree with you on all of these point. Mainly the Wifi (Buy a dongle)
and SATA point.

Only problem I have is OLinuXino's availability in India. Unlike RPis,
they are not available on Amazon/Flipkart ;)

BTW, LIME/2 doesn't seem to have support for VGA output. Need to find out
screens with HDMI input or HDMI-VGA converter.

Thanks
Yogesh


Only benefit I see in RPi is its name.  It is popular but no good.

...but for _tinkering_ use - the original aim of the RPi project - maybe
none of those qualities matter, and you can save a few bucks and be hip.


 - Jonas

--
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

 [x] quote me freely  [ ] ask before reusing  [ ] keep private



--
Reply to: