Dual Gigabit Ethernet Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4

as the title says we have a new hardware release https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/03/15/raspberry-pi-cm4-boards-offer-dual-ethernet-4g-lte/#dual-gigabit-ethernet-carrier-board-for-raspberry-pi-compute-module-4
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see also https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/03/27/raspberry-pi-cm4-iot-router-carrier-board-mini-offers-dual-gigabit-ethernet

Just get a RockPro64 and a dual port PCIe NIC, will do things a lot better in every way and it's cheaper.

you're probably right in terms of price but I'm unsure about the software support and availability

It should be fine in 5.10+ and given the much more open hardware I'd also expect support to last longer. I know at least user running it using OpenWrt and I haven't heard about any issues. Can only vouch myself that it runs fine on FreeBSD :slight_smile:

why can't I see a dual port PCIe NIC available in their store ?

Just buy one off Amazon or any other general market pcie is standardized

yeah..I would still choose the rpi over any other SBC brand (I own RPIs since the original 256mb of ram 2012 version) - I've tried one or two of the alternatives over the years but found RPI software support/docs incomparable the best there is...

The only flaw for me is, they use usb interface to connect the second gbit connector.

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as answered in https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/03/15/raspberry-pi-cm4-boards-offer-dual-ethernet-4g-lte/#comment-581479 - there's support for ONLY 1 built-in GMAC in BCM2711

They could use the pcie for the second gbit and forget about the usb3 interface (which i personally don't need on a pure router)

there's probably a cost related reason behind this decision (LAN7800 for port 2)

Rockpro64 + Intel I350-T4 actually works good, even on kernel 5.4. Perhaps I've been lucky, but I've been using it for many weeks now as a my daily driver, working from home.

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What docs? Everything is pretty much unobtainable so you're more or less solely relying on the RPi Foundation. Both Allwinner (which is about as suitable as a router as RPi) and Rockchip RK3399 are very good alternatives. RK3399 performs even better and supports hardware crypto which RPi4 lacks, the only "issue" I can think of is possibly video decoding but I haven't followed development for quite a while regarding that area while Allwinner works well in that regard.

The design is debatable, but it is normal for a raspi-based thing.

OpenWrt has the driver for the LAN7800 ethernet enabled in kernel config, so this dual gigabit board should 100% work out of the box already, if there is an image for the new Raspi compute module at all.

As long as you are using their own OS/firmware, yes. If you use a different OS, no.

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It's a USB 3.0 gigabit adapter on a USB 3.0 port, so while it's not amazing it should be true gigabit at least and not a scam like with older raspi that had """"Gigabit""""" ethernet aka a gigabit adapter on USB 2.0 that can't run it at anywhere near Gigabit speed.

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Although it's slightly debatable where the advantage is with this new carrier board compared to the option of taking a normal RPi4 and attaching a second USB3 ethernet card. Yes, the form factor is neater, but from a functional point of view it doesn't really provide any advantage, but a quite different price tag. Personally I'd rather put up with the ugly USB3 card hanging (hot glue to the rescue) from a normal RPi4, than buying this thing…

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Disclaimer: So far I've avoided the RPi universe myself, as it simply was unfit for my needs before the RPi4 and still has a few warts too many for my taste, even though it has gotten some unique selling points that trigger my interest.

this is meant for the kinds of customers that buy a SoM (the raspi module), so a more businness-ish embedded-ish segment that likes to use raspi ecosystem but does not want the product to look like a raspi in a custom case.

Somewhat to my dismay, it's a thing to develop embedded prodcuts on a raspi and then when it's time to actually market the thing they build they just transition to the compute module + custom base board instead of shotgunning hotglue around to stick the board and cables inside a box.

I do understand that, but I'm merely looking at it from the tangible-benefit-for-the-enduser point of view. Without a doubt it's nicer to look at (better to integrate, better mechanical stability), but from a purely functional ("I want a 1 GBit/s capable router able to do SQM at line-speed for my home") point of view, there is no (hard-) advantage with this, just a considerably higher price tag.

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no-usb version (pci-based) released https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/03/27/raspberry-pi-cm4-iot-router-carrier-board-mini-offers-dual-gigabit-ethernet
openwrt - recommended

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