Cluster on the table: Mini-ITX Turing Pi 2.5 board combines up to four single-board computers

Turing Pi 2.5 is a four-node Mini-ITX board with a built-in 1GbE switch. The board supports Turing RK1, Raspberry Pi CM4 and NVIDIA Jetson compute modules with SO-DIMM connector, which can be combined. The solution is compact, silent and energy efficient. It is suitable for creating home labs, hosting, working with cloud stacks (for example, Kubernetes or Docker Swarm), and also for running AI applications.

The board is equipped with a built-in BMC based on the Allwinner T113-S3 chip with 256 MB of flash memory. BMC provides remote management capabilities, with nodes remaining active when the BMC is rebooted. There’s also a built-in UART to USB-C converter for debugging, a FEL button for quick recovery from failed firmware updates, a four-pin PWM header for controlling the case fan, and a real-time clock powered by a CR2032 battery.

Image source: Turing Machines

The board is equipped with a microSD slot, two SATA-3 ports, as well as four M.2 2260/2280 M-Key ports for connecting NVMe SSDs. Four USB 3.0 ports are available (two Type-A + a header for two more) and one USB 2.0. A built-in L2 switch with VLAN support is connected to each module, and two RJ45 ports are connected to the rear panel. It is separately noted that now each board has its own MAC address.

Two Mini PCIe slots connected to nodes No. 1 and No. 2 allow the RK1 and Jetson modules to use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or 4G/5G adapters (there is a slot for a SIM card), including via USB. An internal USB hub allows you to simultaneously connect to the storage of all modules in MSD (Mass Storage Device) mode, and there is a separate USB-C port for uploading images to modules. There is also a DSI interface for displays and a 40-pin GPIO pad compatible with Raspberry Pi. There are also eight-pin connectors for I²C-connection of screens, buttons, speakers, etc.

The first node has an HDMI 4K port and one of the USB Type-A ports (details not specified), which allows you to use it as a desktop computer by connecting a keyboard, mouse and monitor. The board is powered by a standard ATX 24 connector, and the total system power consumption does not exceed 80 W. The new item costs $279.

The board is offered with a Turing Pi mini-ITX case (240×240×100 mm) costing $149. The case is made of aluminum and is compatible with Turing Pi 2 and 2.5 boards. It is equipped with magnetic covers to simplify the replacement of modules and accessories, supports the installation of up to three SFF drives, one 120 mm fan and Flex ATX PSU or Pico PSU power supplies with an external adapter. The case has an LED indicator, a power button, two USB Type-A ports, as well as holes for external antennas.