The ZimaBoard is a small, fanless computer powered by a 6-watt Intel Apollo Lake processor with support for hard drives and SSDs. Apart from having an Intel CPU (vs an ARM processor) this computer also has 2x SATA III, 1x PCIe 2.0 and 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports to set it apart from a Raspberry Pi. So it is more readily usable with expanded storage capabilities and dual networking. It is also a lot cheaper than buying an Intel NUC with a single network port.
It can be used as a media server, software router, personal cloud, VPN and Firewall, smart home monitoring, file sharing and collaboration applications, embedded projects, or personal server applications.
Yes it will cost more than a Pi, and it is a Kickstarter project (with 20% off the final retail price), but I see DBTech has just received one to review on YouTube, so it does actually exist.
See https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/icewhaletech/zimaboard-single-board-server-for-creators
#technology #server #zimaboard #raspberrypi #hardware
Why market it as a server soltuon but add no IPMI?
Also there’s plenty of existing small footpeint x86 Intel soltuons around. It would be much easier to source an HP thin client like a T740 with pcie expansion. Those dont have ipmi either but whatever. They’re plenty of them around on eBay.
It seems like sometimes they make SBC solutions for problems that dont really exist. Also, what makes these boards more ‘hackable’ than anything else? Afaict they dont support coreboot or even have gpio.
Just like a Raspberry Pi SBC, this is not competing head-on with the likes of higher end servers. I doubt enterprises will be using this SBC. So yes, to reach a really affordable price point, it will always be a compromise to some extent. But looking at it’s funding targets, it is clear to see there is quite a demand for it, in the niche it is intended to ‘serve’.
