Loongson 2K1000LA dual-core LoongArch processor powers industrial SBCs and IoT gateways

Loongson 2K1000LA is a 1GHz dual-core 64-bit LoongArch processor designed for industrial applications with gigabit Ethernet, SATA, two PCIe interfaces, two digital video outputs, audio interfaces, USB 2.0, and others all in a 1 to 5W power envelop. It is found in Loongson’s own development board and Banana Pi BPI-5020 2K1000LA SBC.

The LoongArch architecture was first introduced in 2021 as an alternative to Arm, x86, and RISC-V, and heavily inspired by MIPS with extra instructions.  Some of the first LoongArch processors were the Loongson 3A5000 and 3C5000 SoCs for desktop computers and servers respectively, and now, the company has launched a lower-power processor for industrial applications, such as IoT gateways, with the 2K1000LA.

Loongson 2K1000LA specifications

We only have some basic specifications from the product page on Loongson’s website.;

• CPU – 2x 64-bit LoongArch cores clocked at 1GHz
• FPU – 128-bit vector unit
• Cache
  • 32KB L1 instruction cache
  • 32KB L1 data cache
  • 1MB shared L2 Cache
• Memory – 64-bit DDR3-1066 controller
• Storage – NAND flash support and 1x SATA 2.0
• Video Output – 2x DVO
• Audio – I2S, HDA
• Networking – GMAC
• USB – USB 2.0
• High-speed I/Os – 2x PCIe 2.0
• Other interfaces – SPI, UART, GPIO, SDIO, and I2C
• Power consumption – 1W to 5W (DVFS supported)

Loongson 2K1000LA development board

Loongson has designed its own 2K1000LA development board, but there’s no documentation in English that I could find, so it’s a bit tricky unless you can read the Chinese documentation shared on Baidu.

The LS2K1000LA processor is sold on Aliexpress for $62.73, and the development board for $342.71 on the same page, so not exactly low-cost…

That’s why I’d rather focus on the Banana Pi BPI-5202 single board computer below.

Banana Pi BPI-5202 SBC

The Banana Pi BPI-5202 SBC is more or less an adaption of the company’s earlier BPI-6202 industrial SBC powered by an Allwinner A40i quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC.

Banana Pi BPI-5202 specifications:

• SoC – Loongson 2K1000LA dual-core LoongArch procesor @ 1.0 GHz
• System Memory – 4GB DDR3
• Storage
  • 1GB NAND flash
  • M.2 2242 socket for SATA SSD
• Video Output – HDMI 1.4 port up to 1080p60
• Audio – Speaker connector, digital audio via HDMI output
• Networking
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port (that might only be 10/100M Ethernet since the documentation has some conflicts as per Banana Pi’s “tradition”)
  • Optional WiFi or 4G LTE/5G cellular connectivity via mPCIe module + Nano SIM card slot
• USB – 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
• Serial – 2x RS485 with isolation, 2x RS232 with isolation, and 2x CAN bus via 20-pin terminal block
• Expansion
  • 20-pin GPIO header for I/O modules (more on that below) with RS485 and SPI interfaces
  • 20-pin UART FPC connector
• HW Security
  • Software license authorization encryption chip (SMEC98SP)
  • Special encryption chip for (China) State Grid communication (SC1161Y)
• Misc – RTC, buzzer, 3x LEDs, 5V fan connector
• Power Supply – 9V to 36V DC isolated input
• Dimensions – 140 x 100 mm

The 20-pin 2.54mm pitch male header is used to connect I/O modules through ribbon cables c:

• 7x RS485 module with isolation
• 16x DI module (switch input module), passive input (up to 5 modules can be mixed)
• 16x DO module (switch output module), relay output (up to 5 modules can be mixed)
• 8x DI + 8x DO module (switch input/output module), relay output (up to 5 modules can be mixed)
• 8x AI + 4x AO module (analog input/output module), support 0-5V, 0-20mA input
• Customized Lora, ZigBee, 433M wireless transmission modules, power line carrier modules, and other functional modules,

All modules are connected through RS485 or SPI to the BPI-5202 SBC and enable the design of a full system that looks like the photos below.

OS support includes Loongnix Linux operating system with a desktop environment, LoongOS for industrial and terminal applications (probably Loongnix without graphics), LxAMP (server distributions with Apache, MySQL, and PHP?), and Kylinos V10 that is likely based on Ubuntu Kylin. Banana Pi also claims support for over 300 protocols ranging from “video access transmission/control/recording/linkage” to “edge computing programming ability” and “full-featured SCADA for C/S architecture”. The documentation provides more details, but no download link to OS images or source code. It also seems to focus on the mainland China market with references to it being a “domestic autonomous controllable platform”.

The 2K1000LA solutions are expected to be used by the military, utilities, oil and gas operations, factories, mines, and other IoT applications. Banana Pi sells the BPI-5202 board on Aliexpress for $218, but you won’t find the IO module, enclosure, etc… there.

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