AMPCOM 8-port 2.5GbE managed switch with 10GbE SPF+ cage sells for less than $60

8-port 2.5GbE switch with 10GbE SFP cage

AMPCOM has launched an inexpensive, fanless 8-port 2.5GbE managed switch with one 10GbE SFP+ cage that sells for less than $60 on Aliexpress with free shipping and before taxes (if you live in Europe). Upgrading your local networking to 10GbE (10 Gbps Ethernet) can still be relatively expensive, and when I look at 10GbE switches on Amazon, most are sold for $200 to $400, and the cheapest models cost around $120. But if you don’t need multiple 10GbE ports on your switch, I’ve been informed about an inexpensive 8-port 2.5GbE managed switch with a single 10GbE SFP+ cage. And as we’ve just seen it’s possible to purchase a dual 10GbE mini PC/router for $299 (barebone), so it’s becoming more affordable than ever to switch to 10GbE networking even though not everybody may benefit from the higher speeds. AMPCOM ZX-SWTGW218AS managed switch specifications: Ports 8x 100M/1000M/2500M RJ45 ports 10GbE SFP+ port […]

iKOOLCORE R2 Max 10GbE mini PC review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Dual 10GbE Dual 2.5GbE Intel N100 mini PC soft router

iKOOLCORE R2 Max is an Alder Lake-N mini PC, server, and soft router equipped with two 10GbE and two 2.5GbE ports and offered with either an Intel Processor N100 quad-core CPU, or a more powerful Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor. When iKOOLCORE offered me an R2 Max sample for review, I explained I did not own any 10GbE networking gear. So the company decided to send me two samples for testing 10 Gbps Ethernet networking: a fanless Intel N100 model and an actively-cooled Core i3-N305 model. Since we’ve already gone through the specifications in the first article, I’ll start the iKOOLCORE R2 Max review with an unboxing, a teardown, and a first boot. In the second part of the review, I’ll use Proxmox, OpenWrt, Ubuntu, and/or other operating systems to test the devices using one as a DUT (Device Under Test) and the other as a 10GbE server. iKOOLCORE R2 […]

Forlinx launches NXP i.MX 95 SoM and development board with 10GbE, CAN Bus, RS485, and more

NXP i.MX 95 board with 10GbE, CAN Bus, RS485

Forlinx FET-MX95xx-C is a system-on-module (SoM) based on NXP i.MX 95 SoC with up to six Cortex-A55 cores, an Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core clocked at 800 MHz, an Arm Cortex-M33 “safety” core clocked at 333 MHz, and equipped with 8GB LPDDR4x and 64GB eMMC flash. The company also provides the feature-rich OK-MX95xx-C development board based on the i.MX 95 module with a wide range of interfaces such as dual GbE, a 10GbE SFP+ cage, terminal blocks with RS485 and CAN Bus interface, three USB Type-A ports, two PCIe slots, and more. Forlinx FET-MX95xx-C system-on-module Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 9596 CPU 6x Arm Cortex-A55 application cores clocked at 1.8 GHz (industrial) with 32K I-cache and D-cache, 64KB L2 cache, and 512KB L3 cache Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core clocked at 800 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 safety core clocked at 333 MHz GPU – Arm Mali-G310 V2 GPU for 2D/3D acceleration with support […]

iKOOLCORE R2 Max Alder Lake-N mini PC/server features two 10GbE and two 2.5GbE ports

iKOOLCORE R2 Max

The iKOOLCORE R2 Max is an Alder Lake-N-powered firewall/gateway/server/mini PC that is offered with either an Intel Processor N100 or Core i3-N305 CPU, and equipped with two 10GbE ports and two 2.5GbE ports. It builds upon the iKOOLCORE R2 mini PC and router which we reviewed with Promox VE, Ubuntu 22.04, and pfSense and features four 2.5GbE ports in a smaller form factor. The new R2 Max model uses the N100/Core i3-N305 CPU instead of the N95/Core i3-N300, supports up to 48GB SO-DIMM memory, features a wider yet thinner design, and provides support for both 10GbE and 2.5GbE networking. iKOOCORE R2 Max specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 15W System Memory – 8GB, […]

Altera’s 7nm Agilex 3 SoC FPGA features Cortex-A55 cores, AI Tensor Block, DSP, 10 GbE, and more.

Altera Agilex 3 AI SoC FPGA

Altera, an independent subsidiary of Intel, has launched the Altera Agilex 3 SoC FPGA lineup built on Intel’s 7nm technology. According to Altera, these FPGAs prioritize cost and power efficiency while maintaining essential performance. Key features include an integrated dual-core Arm Cortex A55 processor, AI capabilities within the FPGA fabric (tensor blocks and AI-optimized DSP sections), enhanced security, 25K–135K logic elements, 12.5 Gbps transceivers, LPDDR4 support, and a 38% lower power consumption versus competing FPGAs. Built on the Hyperflex architecture, it offers nearly double the performance compared to previous-generation Cyclone V FPGAs. These features make this device useful for manufacturing, surveillance, medical, test and measurement, and edge computing applications. Altera’s Agilex 3 AI SoC FPGA specifications Device Variants B-Series – No definite information is available C-Series – A3C025, A3C050, A3C065, A3C100, A3C135 SoC FPGAs Hard Processing System (HPS) – Dual-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A55 up to 800 MHz that supports secure […]

reServer Industrial J501 – An NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin carrier board with 10GbE, 8K video output, GMSL camera support

reServer Industrial J501 Carrier board

Seeed Studio’s reServer Industrial J501, a Jetson AGX Orin carrier board designed for building Edge AI systems. With up to 275 TOPS of exceptional AI performance, this carrier board is designed for advanced robotics and edge AI applications for industrial environments. The carrier board features GbE and 10GbE LAN via RJ45 ports, three USB 3.1 ports, an HDMI 2.1 output, and multiple M.2 slots for expansion, including support for wireless connectivity via the M.2 Key B socket. Additionally, it has support for 8K video decoding and up to 8 GMSL cameras via an optional extension board. reServer Industrial J501 Jetson AGX Orin carrier board specification System-on-Module (one or the other) SoM –  NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 64GB with CPU – 12-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit processor with 3MB L2 + 6MB L3 cache GPU / AI accelerators NVIDIA Ampere architecture with 2048 NVIDIA CUDA cores and 64 Tensor Cores @ […]

Vecow EVS-3000 AI computing systems combine 14th Gen Intel Core CPUs and MXM Graphics for Edge AI applications

EVS 3000

Vecow has introduced the EVS-3000 series, a new line of AI computing systems powered by Intel Core i9/i7/i5/i3 (14th Gen) processors with embedded MXM graphics. These systems deliver high computing power, come with multiple PCIe slots for expansion, and support remote monitoring making them ideal for edge AI applications such as autonomous robotics, public security, and machine vision. The EVS-3000 series includes both fan and fanless models: EVS-3100, EVS-3200, EVS-3300, EVS-3400 without fans, and EVS-3100(F), EVS-3200(F), EVS-3300(F), EVS-3400(F) with fans. All systems are powered by Intel R680E chipsets and feature compact NVIDIA or AMD MXM graphics, with support for 2.5GbE LAN, Out-of-Band (OOB) management, and multiple PCIe Gen 4 slots. These systems deliver high performance for AI computing at the edge for applications such as machine vision and robotics. As you may know, we’ve previously covered several Vecow AI computing systems, including the TGS-1000 Series, SPC-9000 fanless embedded system, ECX-3200, […]

MW-100-NAS Intel N100 motherboard features six SATA ports, two M.2 PCIe sockets, 2.5GbE and 10GbE interfaces

MW-100-NAS motherboard

The MW-100-NAS mini-ITX motherboard is powered by an Intel Processor N100 Alder Lake-N CPU and seems especially suited for NAS (networked-attached storage) applications with six SATA connectors, two M.2 Key-M sockets for NVMe drivers, one 10GbE port, and two 2.5GbE RJ45 jacks. The motherboard supports up to 32GB DDR5 memory, features HDMI and DisplayPort video output ports, a COM port header, and plenty of external and internal USB interfaces. It takes power from a standard ATX connector. NW-N100-NAS motherboard specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ up to 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – Up to 32GB DDR5-4800 via SO-DIMM socket Storage 2x M.2 sockets for NVMe SSDs onboard 6x SATA connectors MicroSD card slot Video Output – 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort  Networking 2x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports via Intel i226-V controllers 1x […]

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