Linux 5.16 to bring mainline support to Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module – and the nifty devices built around it
(2021/11/09)
- Reference: 1636445232
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/11/09/linux_pi_compute/
- Source link:
While folks straddling the worlds of both Windows and Linux will appreciate the shiny NTFS support in [1]version 5.15 of the open-source kernel, Arm device users may find more to appreciate in the following release.
Linux kernel 5.16 will include [2]mainline support for the Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module, as well as the Apple M1 chip's PCI Express controller as Linux inches its way towards a full Linux desktop on M1 Macs.
This means it should be possible to run a mainline 5.16 kernel on a Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module without any extra build steps or patches.
[3]
The Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module is targeted more at system integrators than end-users. Even tinier than the credit-card sized Pi 4, the Compute Modules are designed to plug into larger IO boards, enabling the Pi to power [4]specialist gadgets . The Raspberry Pi Foundation naturally [5]offers one of these boards, and third parties are free to design and flog their own.
[6]
As an example, your humble scribe's Pi 4 drives a handful of desktop USB 3 hard disks and runs as a fileserver. It's not ideal, though – even with a USB 3 hub powering the Pi, the cable spaghetti is quite considerable.
[7]Bullseye! Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS scores an update with 'less closed-source proprietary code'
[8]Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W: Nippy stocking filler for the nerd in your life – if you can get one
[9]Chip shortage forces temporary Raspberry Pi 4 price rise for the first time
[10]A Raspberry Pi HAT for the Lego Technic fan
Enter the [11]Wiretrustee SATA Pi Board . This custom IO board uses the Pi Compute Module 4's single 1x PCIe lane to drive a SATA controller, turning it into the [12]main board for a dedicated NAS server.
Arm-SBC-powered NAS boxes already exist, of course, such as the [13]Kobol Helios64 , though the advantage of using a Pi is the number of OSes the device supports… and given that Pis sell in the millions, how long they are likely to continue supporting it.
Another interesting use of a Pi Compute Module (although currently only the older, slower Pi 3 version, alongside Clockwork's own, faster boards) is the [14]ClockworkPi DevTerm . This is a single-piece, hingeless laptop computer with a letterbox 1280×480 display – albeit a bit smaller, but nonetheless very much the sort of thing this hack has [15]wanted for a decade. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/01/linux_515_kernel_lts/
[2] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ae45d84fc36d01dcb1007f4298871eec37907904
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YYpU8L2b73bnUHk5SiPFlQAAANQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/16/review_five_ninjas_slice_not_raspberry_pi/?page=3
[5] https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4-io-board/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YYpU8L2b73bnUHk5SiPFlQAAANQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/08/raspberry_pi_os_bullseye/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/28/pi_zero_2_w/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/21/raspberry_pi_price_rise/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/19/pi_build_hat/
[11] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2021/wiretrustee-sata-pi-board-true-sata-nas
[12] https://www.crowdsupply.com/wiretrustee/wiretrustee-sata
[13] https://kobol.io/
[14] https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm
[15] https://www.theregister.com/Print/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Linux kernel 5.16 will include [2]mainline support for the Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module, as well as the Apple M1 chip's PCI Express controller as Linux inches its way towards a full Linux desktop on M1 Macs.
This means it should be possible to run a mainline 5.16 kernel on a Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module without any extra build steps or patches.
[3]
The Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module is targeted more at system integrators than end-users. Even tinier than the credit-card sized Pi 4, the Compute Modules are designed to plug into larger IO boards, enabling the Pi to power [4]specialist gadgets . The Raspberry Pi Foundation naturally [5]offers one of these boards, and third parties are free to design and flog their own.
[6]
As an example, your humble scribe's Pi 4 drives a handful of desktop USB 3 hard disks and runs as a fileserver. It's not ideal, though – even with a USB 3 hub powering the Pi, the cable spaghetti is quite considerable.
[7]Bullseye! Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS scores an update with 'less closed-source proprietary code'
[8]Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W: Nippy stocking filler for the nerd in your life – if you can get one
[9]Chip shortage forces temporary Raspberry Pi 4 price rise for the first time
[10]A Raspberry Pi HAT for the Lego Technic fan
Enter the [11]Wiretrustee SATA Pi Board . This custom IO board uses the Pi Compute Module 4's single 1x PCIe lane to drive a SATA controller, turning it into the [12]main board for a dedicated NAS server.
Arm-SBC-powered NAS boxes already exist, of course, such as the [13]Kobol Helios64 , though the advantage of using a Pi is the number of OSes the device supports… and given that Pis sell in the millions, how long they are likely to continue supporting it.
Another interesting use of a Pi Compute Module (although currently only the older, slower Pi 3 version, alongside Clockwork's own, faster boards) is the [14]ClockworkPi DevTerm . This is a single-piece, hingeless laptop computer with a letterbox 1280×480 display – albeit a bit smaller, but nonetheless very much the sort of thing this hack has [15]wanted for a decade. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/01/linux_515_kernel_lts/
[2] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ae45d84fc36d01dcb1007f4298871eec37907904
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YYpU8L2b73bnUHk5SiPFlQAAANQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/16/review_five_ninjas_slice_not_raspberry_pi/?page=3
[5] https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4-io-board/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YYpU8L2b73bnUHk5SiPFlQAAANQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/08/raspberry_pi_os_bullseye/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/28/pi_zero_2_w/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/21/raspberry_pi_price_rise/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/19/pi_build_hat/
[11] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2021/wiretrustee-sata-pi-board-true-sata-nas
[12] https://www.crowdsupply.com/wiretrustee/wiretrustee-sata
[13] https://kobol.io/
[14] https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm
[15] https://www.theregister.com/Print/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Because of its eMMC and its PCIe slot, the compute module 4 makes a better Pi than a standard Pi for normal users, I use an 8GB/32 one with a 1TB NVMe in the PCIe as my main desktop.