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Best Embedded Linux Development Kits?
curious-embed asks: "I'm currently involved in a project which is moving towards using Linux in an embedded environment. However, I am having a lot of trouble finding a reasonably priced dev kit to tinker with and move towards something more production ready. Linuxdevices.com has a guide The Linux-friendly Embedded SBCs Quick Reference Guide but most of the listed manufacturers won't talk to you unless you are buying 100+ kits. I'm specifically looking for something ~$200 with USB/Audio/Video that is Linux friendly. Ideas anyone?"
Using uClibc and busybox and your own Linux kernel.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
I've not used it myself, but tonight at our local LUG in Raleigh there's going to be a presentation on White Dwarf Linux. From what I've heard they have a pretty nice embedded linux setup as well as some neat embedded hardware platforms they target out-of-the-box.
WWJD? JWRTFM!!!
If you're just looking for an embeddable PC, just use a standard PC and then migrate to a small-form-factor PC...
If you're talking about hand-held Linux development, a PDA might be the right way to go.
If you're going to roll your own, I've personally had good experiences with an AMD Alchemy processor.
And uclibc and busybox are definitely the way to go for embedded linux.
The provide a Linux distro for their devices which one of the engineers there rolled up from LFS. It works pretty well.
just my 2 bits....
but then again, commenting on a katz story is almost as self-serving as the katz story itself. -tensionboy
Unfortunately, "embedded" covers everything from headless PCs controlling industrial systems to system-on-chip devices that need to run on the same battery for 3 years.
On the large end, as others have suggested, you can just use a standard PC for development and prototyping. At the other extreme, you're probably going to want to just buy a packaged system like a uCdimm -- LinuxDevices has a good list.
In the middle, though, I've had good experiences with the OpenBrick; it's basically just a low-env VIA EPIA system, with onboard graphics, Ethernet, USB, etc. I actually ran one for lightweight web and MP3 serving for about a year, with it stuffed in between stacks of books on a shelf, and just the network and power cables running out the back.
*pffbt* to you!
Seriously, it would help if the guy was more clear about what he wants to embed linux for. He says he wants USB+Video+Audio, but I don't know if he wanted something that is meant to be a large ATM/Kiosk or something hand-held.
As for the AMD processor -- with a little bit of work, you can take an Au1100 and turn it into a device that will do USB + Audio + Video with a BOM cost of probably around $50 *if* he's making a bunch...
Because the mini-itx form factor systems fit the bill technically and pricewise.
And at 17cm x 17cm, they aren't as tiny as some SBC solutions, but they are a fair sight smaller than an ATX motherboard.
spreer
OK, I have to ask - why not just use a PC?
In other words, what will a more traditional single-board computer (SBC) get you over a PC for your development needs?
Are you wanting something with on board Flash to boot from, are you wanting something that isn't an x86, are you wanting a particular form factor?
In short, what are the needs that preclude using a PC.
www.eFax.com are spammers
O'Reilly has a book out by Karim Yaghmour called "Building Embedded Linux Systems". (ISBN number: 0-596-00222-X) I'm about half way through it now, and it has answers to most of the stupid mistakes I made early on involving tool-chain setup. The book's worth the price just for that chapter.
I'm also in the early stages of a project using Linux in an embedded system. I'll probably be going with either a PC/104 or ARM7 based solution.
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
Here it is at Amazon.
Arcom
Or you might want to try
ZFx86
check out soekris engineering, I buy single units all the time: website
If you need USB, audio and video, just build a mini-itx computer. Cheap, small, and it's a fully functioning computer. The VIA EPIA 5000 is only 7 by 7 inches, pretty small, while it's bigger counterpart is still only a few inches bigger. Plus, you can get small cases, fairly cheap memory, optical drives like CD burners, DVD, etc, thin versions of the optical drives, hard drives, and more. If you need so much functionality, then mini-itx is better.
If you're concerned about paying SCO's license fees ($32 for embedded devices, $699 for single CPU's), don't worry: that offer expired October 1. You're in the same boat as the rest of us, buddy!
I'm programming the ARM7 Eagle dev board at work right now.
It's great for quick prototyping - has flash, RS232s, network and all.
They sell it for ~$400.
When the prototype is done, I just hand it over to my hardware collegues;
they trim it down to matchbox size.
No sig to see here. Move along.
100,000 to 300,000 pps? No, unless the gigabit MAC's do a lot of hardware assist. I have no experience with gigE MAC's, so I have no idea.
The LART is perfect - its cheap (okay, 200UKP+) and the design is completely open - including schematics - so you've got the best hardware combo for your Linux software:
... so you could spend a few hundred bucks and easily get yourself a nice little board for experimenting with.
... yes, Linux.
... and the Motorola Coldfire team love Linux.
The LinuxDevices page on LART
The LART home page
Last I checked (2 months ago) they still had LART boards available from a 'community-production run' of boards made for other LART hackers
That said, I'll give you another bit of advice for eval boards for Linux: GO DIRECTLY TO THE CHIP VENDORS. Do not pass google. Do not spend $200.
Chip vendors (Motorola/Intel/HP/AMD/etc.) make evaluation boards for their embeddable CPU designs, and you can guess which OS is the most commonly supported, at the engineering level
Pick your CPU, check if there's a port for it (there probably is), then go to the CPU vendor and get their eval board for it...
Samsung have some good ARM920T-based designs which are cheap and supported by eval board vendors around the world (check www.mizi.com for example)
Slashdot won't give you a good answer. Go for the CPU vendors...
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
What about 299$ ? Axis 82 - Developer Board
delete free(system.gc);
This is just the basic spec
* Board size 4.85" x 5.7"
http://www.soekris.com/
$180 for 1 board.
* 100/133 Mhz AMD ElanSC520 * 16-64 Mbyte SDRAM, soldered on board * 1 Mbit BIOS/BOOT Flash * CompactFLASH Type I/II socket, 8 Mbyte FLASH to 1Gbyte IBM Microdrive * 1-3 10/100 Mbit Ethernet ports, RJ-45 * 1 Serial port, DB9. (optional 2nd serial port) * Power LED, Activity LED, Error LED * Mini-PCI type III socket. (t.ex for optional hardware encryption.) * PCI Slot, right angle 3.3V only. (t.ex for optional WAN board.) * 8 bit general purpose I/O, 14 pins header * Hardware watchdog * Power either 5V DC fixed or 7-20V DC, max 10 Watt * Operating temperature 0-60 C