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World's Smallest Linux Box Fits in RJ-45 Jack
An anonymous reader writes "German electronics company Kleinhenz is shipping a network-enabled Linux system built into an RJ-45 Ethernet jack. "Picotux" has a 55MHz ARM processor, 2MB of Flash, 8MB of RAM, a serial port, and five lines of GPIO. It measures 0.75 x 0.75 x 1.4 inches (19 x 19 x 36mm), and weighs 0.64 ounces (18 grams), packaged in a metal housing. A wireless 802.11 version appears to be on the horizon, too. So, if you've ever wanted to network-enable, say, a robot, boombox, or model airplane, this could be the system for you." Is this really the world's smallest? It looks a bit chunkier than a tiny gumstix machine.
99€?! Okay, so it's not that expensive. 55Mhz processor, 2MB flash, 8MB RAM, serial port, 10/100 Ethernet... but I can go buy a cheap desktop for that. I hope it gets substantially cheaper with volume. If not, they're making a killer profit.
Note the article doesn't tout it as world's smallest, but it is smaller than the gumstix
That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
For only Eur 99, though, a fair deal if you need a whole lot of tiny servers for something. Who needs virtual servers, when you can stick real ones at the end of each ethernet cable?
Good going. However, can't you get it as small as an RFID chip? The average sweater section in a Wal-Mart containing 300 Linux servers. Now, that's cool.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I wonder if the Airport Express is hackable enough to give you similar results.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
First thing I thought, if you could power it with ethernet, you could put this in remote locations for sensors. But 250mA is pretty efficient.
I could see a use for the wifi+serial setup, you could put this on older serial based nodes and remotely access them. Big market for HVAC when everyone wants them to replace hardware. Our schools here in the Washington state is saving millions by using linux and other technology than going with Honeywell or some other company to rip out the entire system and replace with modern (aka expensive) controls.
A wifi serial setup would be cool, to pop in a router, and then access via my laptop, so I dont have to run a wire when I'm testing or racking it up.
Lots of uses. Very cool idea.
Somebody (Gordon Bell?) predicted that in the future the computer will be "just a bump in the cable". Looks like we're there. Can anybody find the original quote?
It doesn't have to store much if it can open an outbound network connection to something with logging.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Though you were joking, it might be possible to embed a SOC on a LARGE FPGA, and include a micro linux on-chip...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
My first thought is that this could do something for infrastructures security and control. Years ago when I was in the IT department, we occasionally had rogue computers on the Intranet. I thought having an intelligent panel in each cubicle could reduce the cable-chasing in the partitions and other places.
I realize that others by now may have made products to do what I figured would be the smarter way to deal with massive amounts of wired hardware. But, since many companies and individuals are not encrypting nor using Wi-Fi out of fear of rogue waves going out anyway, does it make sense for the smart panels idea to take off again?
IF that happens, and if these Linux jacks could be sort of like nano-bot security bots, these could ensure that NO rogue wired hardware could be easily planted on the local net. Of course, I realize that someone with skills could do some sort of man-in-the-middle hijacking of packets and obtain service or illicitly move company secrets off-site, but for IT departments such dealing with less secure data, but which need to keep rogue machines at bay, would these devices make sense? (This assumes that wireless is either forbidden, jammed, or just not being used at all...)
But, will these Linux Jacks play a role in distributing and deprecating the expensive Cisco-type routers, firewalls, and switches? Not that Cisco hasn't already thought about and quietly stashed away a response plan, but isn't it inevitable that devices like these will begin to erode the market for the big, expensive companies which have a motive to push/sell large quantities of expensive iron?
Seems to me, programmable, managable things like these, provided they have few exploitable pieces of code in them, could act as very intelligent, distributed ports, monitoring, reporting, and even honey-netting and more. With a little secure wireless feature set, though, imagine all the Cat 5/Cat 6+/e/n wiring that no longer has to be purchased. I guess then Belkin and others will band with the Ciscos/Redbacks, and others.
David Syes
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Then it truly will be a "bump in the cable" as one person said.
Digi already makes a wireless version too:
http://www.digi.com/products/embeddeddeviceservers /digiconnectwime.jsp
A common application for this sort of device is that you can just plug it into an existing device that doesn't have ethernet or wireless ethernet and voila! Ethernet connected device!
For example, say your company makes heart monitors with an RS-232 interface or some other serial or GPIO controllable bus. You can just sit this device in your design and instantly have an Ethernet-enabled heart monitor running with a command line or a web-interface, etc. It's a pretty cool way to upgrade old hardware designs cheaply.
-AP
The development kit/toolchain/support may be $250, but single unit quantities of the computer itself are $55 from Nu Horizons.
Test your net with Netalyzr
I mean 2 ethernet ports, making it look like a cross-over connector, and you've have a great firewall gizmo.
-Charles
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of those! No, really. All you'd need is a switch and some ethernet cables and you could have yourself a nifty 8 node cluster for under a grand... and bragging rights for probably having one of the worlds smallest clusters.
No need for a second RJ-45, that'd just waste space. There's enough connectors in a single RJ-45 to run 2 ethernet cables out of it. On the other hand, having two separate connectors would probably be easier to manage (physically) and would allow those spare wires to be used for power over ethernet, which this thing is just screaming out for.
(With a few exceptions) I think most of the comments made are missing the point...generally is type of device is for TCP/IP enabling- existing hardware for example...and that's about it. To build a 'device' around it you still need 'control' (read: uController, processor, etc, etc)-
As a previous poster pointed out to take something that already can communicate via serial this just webenables quickly and easily for you...(or even I2C, 1-wire, etc)- this is just communications on a chip, not computer in a plug.
You have to look at what these types of devices are designed for...
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams."
a: For the wired version: Support for Power over Ethernet. This way, separate power isn't needed in many installations.
The development board and DCME itself break out pins from the PHY for this purpose. No problems here. You just need to hook up something like a MAX5941 and you're set. (I haven't been interested in this yet, tho.)
b: A single USB port for both versions
The FTDI FT232BM is what you're looking for. RS232 to USB, with drivers for Windows, Mac, and a linux usbserial driver to boot. $5/chip in one-offs. Great chip for interfacing with any serial device, microcontroller, etc. Mouser sells this chip on a nice backpack board with all the external logic you need -- just connect the power, tx, and rx, and you're done!
Of course, this won't get you USB HOST (which is probably what you want), so in that case you may have to pursue another design.
This is *exactly* what I've been thinking of for a weather station. Add the processor to the sensor, place one on the anemometer at 10m, another on the temp sensor at 10m, but have it tightly networked to the 2m temp/humidity sensor. Presto! intelligent heat flux calculations. Tie the 10m anemometry to the 2m wind speed, voila`, 3d wind data.
Lose a sensor, no problem. The rest of the site's up. Lose a data collector? No problem. It's the same as losing a sensor.
Wow! This is great!
Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by tenure.
Plus, it only has 1 network socket. Something that has a male and female RJ45 could plug onto a cable already in use by another system.
We're only a few short steps away from the computer-security paranoid's worst nightware - cat 5/usb cables with computers built into them.
Anyone ever think to maby put a second RJ-45 jack on the other side? it would still be small enough that it looks like a simple coupler, while you could haqve it sniffing network traffic, and if a internet connection is availible, it could send data back to you!
>>>> Package it in a metal case with RJ-45 at *both* ends and flash a minimal Linux+FW into it.
>> I smell best damn firewall ever.
better yet, stick it in a cheap beige plastic case.
It would look just like a crossover or cable extender and no one would pay it any attention...
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PLCs are also integral components of avionics and flight control systems. I can imagine an individual picotux unit wired directly to each cluster of sensors or actuator drivers in a giant network of tiny pieces, all broadcasting their respective data chunks over 100bt. Instead of having a single computer driving the whole contraption, you'd have a swarm of little guys.
Wired ethernet exists. 802.11 version coming soon.
And a combination of the two would make a great way to clandestinely introduce outside access to the corporate LAN. Especially if you can use power-over-ethernet.
Just find a windowed office with a network hidden behind the credenza...
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A quote posted to Usenet, in 1995.
My favorite idea for this (which I pictured as wired, but wired wireless works too) is as a mini firewall. Get smoothwall or something lighter working on one of these, and you could drop a firewall anywhere you need in your network, just as easily as a cable extender!
"Life is tough but we're tougher. You only get what you give, so give all that you've got." --Tony LaRussa
Maybe I'm thinking too much into it, but I can think of a half dozen good ways to put some indirection between you and the device.
From free webmail services, to a laptop in your car that connects to the device via 802.11 that isn't controlled by the company. All people really need to do is think.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Although 5 GPIO lines and an RS232-style serial connection does allow for connecting other interesting kit, what would have been really nice here, would have been a larger number of such general digital IO lines, and perhaps some additional peripherals, such as a timer/counter, ADC, and DAC.
SIGBUS @ NO-07.308