I came up with the board layout shown to indicate how we might arrange the millicomputer modules, interface bridge, USB network and microSD card holders on a conveniently sized board. Its just under half the size of a typical enterprise server motherboard. The total size is about 5.5” Wide x 12” Deep x 0.4” High. The Ethernet network bridge increases the idle power consumption to no more than 3 Watts, and fully active power consumption is unlikely to exceed 20 Watts, so I don't think heat sinks will be needed.
Showing posts with label module layout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label module layout. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Enterprise Millicluster Board Layout
I came up with the board layout shown to indicate how we might arrange the millicomputer modules, interface bridge, USB network and microSD card holders on a conveniently sized board. Its just under half the size of a typical enterprise server motherboard. The total size is about 5.5” Wide x 12” Deep x 0.4” High. The Ethernet network bridge increases the idle power consumption to no more than 3 Watts, and fully active power consumption is unlikely to exceed 20 Watts, so I don't think heat sinks will be needed.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Vertical and Horizontal Module Arrangements
Modules are available with edge connectors that can be mounted in bulk on a mother board as shown in the image below. The dimensions match the standard motherboard found in 1U Enterprise server designs, about 12x13 inches. The diagram shows 120 modules, but its quite likely to be possible to pack them in more densely than this.
The alternative is to mount modules flat on the boards as shown in the second diagram. This has the same 12x13 inch area, but is a very thin board, and at least four of them could be stacked in a 1U package, which also comes out to 120 modules.
In practice these board sizes and layouts will need to be adjusted to take into account the mechanical problems of flexing, mounting, cable routing etc. In each case the power and cooling management should be relatively simple, since there is a total peak power of around 100 watts for the entire 1U package, and no localized hot spots.
Some of the module designs have built-in temperature sensors and they all have power voltage sensors, so they can detect and report on environmental conditions across the motherboard.
The alternative is to mount modules flat on the boards as shown in the second diagram. This has the same 12x13 inch area, but is a very thin board, and at least four of them could be stacked in a 1U package, which also comes out to 120 modules.
In practice these board sizes and layouts will need to be adjusted to take into account the mechanical problems of flexing, mounting, cable routing etc. In each case the power and cooling management should be relatively simple, since there is a total peak power of around 100 watts for the entire 1U package, and no localized hot spots.
Some of the module designs have built-in temperature sensors and they all have power voltage sensors, so they can detect and report on environmental conditions across the motherboard.
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