OpenZFS has released versions 2.2.2 and 2.1.14 to address a critical data corruption issue.

The bug, which was discovered due to changes in cp in coreutils 9.x, could cause data corruption due to an incorrect dirty dnode check. While it is unlikely that the bug was encountered on EL7, EL8, or EL9 when running cp, it is still recommended that users upgrade to either version 2.2.2 or 2.1.14 to ensure the fix is applied.

In addition to the data corruption fix, the release includes several other bug fixes and improvements. These include fixing ZFS so that snapshots under .zfs/snapshot are NFS visible on FreeBSD, addressing compatibility issues with Linux 6.6, and fixing build and shell-init errors on FreeBSD.

For a full list of changes and bug fixes, refer to the release notes.

Sixfab has introduced a 5G Modem Kit designed for the Raspberry Pi 5, featuring the Quectel RM502Q-AE 5G Sub-6GHz M.2 module, a proprietary internal antenna for Sub-6 frequency bands, and a USB 3.0 bridge connector. The Sixfab 5G Modem Kit for Raspberry Pi 5 includes a variety of specifications:

• Sixfab 5G Modem HAT for Raspberry Pi 5
  • M.2 socket for 5G module
  • Nano SIM card holder + embedded SIM
  • USB 3.0 port and 40-pin GPIO header for connection to the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC
  • Misc
    • User button
    • Status, power, and user (GPIO21) LEDs
    • EEPROM for Raspberry Pi HAT compliance
    • 2-pin fan connector
  • Power Supply – 5V via USB Type-C port (on HAT itself)
  • Dimensions – 88.1 x 57.7 x 21.7 mm
  • Approvals – FCC, IC, CE, UKCA are in progress
• Quectel RM502Q-AE M.2 module
  • 5G NR: 3GPP Release 15 NSA/SA operation, Sub-6 GHz
  • LTE Category: DL Cat 20/ UL Cat 18
  • Max data rates
    • 5G SA Sub-6 – Max. 4.2 Gbps (DL)/Max. 450 Mbps (UL)
    • 5G NSA Sub-6 – Max. 5 Gbps (DL)/Max. 650 Mbps (UL)
  • Host interfaces – USB 3.1 or PCIe 3.0
  • Dimensions – 52 x 30.0 × 2.3mm
  • Weight – 8.4 grams
• Extra tall 40-pin GPIO stacking header
• Power Supply – 5.1V 3.0A DC power adaptor with universal plugs
• Plastic spacer kit

The kit, priced at $450, is compatible with various boards and computers, including the NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit, Beaglebone SBC, Asus Tinkerboard, NXP i.MX 8 devkits, and regular PCs, offering drivers and tools for both Windows and Linux. Additional components required for operation include a Raspberry Pi 5, a microSD card for the OS, a 5G SIM card (unless using the eSIM is an option), and an extra 5V USB-C power supply to separately power the Raspberry Pi 5 and Sixfab HAT.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.

NixOS has released version 23.11 of its Linux distribution, named “Tapir”. This release will receive bugfixes and security updates for seven months.

The release saw 9147 new packages and 18700 updated packages in Nixpkgs, while also removing 4015 packages to maintain the package set. The release brought 113 new modules and removed 18, adding 1565 options and removing 362 in the process. Some of the highlights of this release include FoundationDB and PostgreSQL now defaulting to major versions 7 and 15 respectively, GNOME being updated to version 45, support for WiFi6 and WPA3-SAE-PK in the hostapd package, LXD now supporting virtual machine instances, and updates to systemd, sudo-rs, glibc, and more. Additionally, new services have been added, such as MCHPRS, acme-dns, frp, river, wayfire, mautrix-whatsapp, hddfancontrol, GoToSocial, Castopod, Typesense, NS-USBLoader, Mobilizon, Anuko Time Tracker, Prometheus MySQL exporter, LibreNMS, Livebook, sitespeed-io, stalwart-mail, tang, Jool, Home Assistant Satellite, Apache Guacamole, pgBouncer, Goss, trust-dns, osquery, ebusd, systemd-sysupdate, eris-server, forgejo, infiniband, zwave-js, Honk, ferretdb, MicroBin, NNCP, FastNetMon Advanced, tuxedo-rs, certspotter, audiobookshelf, ZITADEL, exportarr, netclient, trunk-ng, virt-manager, Soft Serve, Rosenpass, c2FmZQ, preload, and more.

There have been a number of backward incompatibilities, as well as additions and improvements to the Nixpkgs library. Overall, this release brings a number of updates, new features, and improvements to the NixOS Linux distribution.

Last week saw the release of OpenZFS 2.2.1, which was initially believed to have fixed a data corruption issue attributed to a block cloning bug in a new feature introduced in the v2.2 release. However, further investigation over the US holiday weekend revealed that the block cloning feature was not the root cause, and both v2.2.1 and pre-v2.2 releases remain susceptible to data corruption.

It has been discovered that the data corruption bug affects not only the v2.2 release but also older versions of OpenZFS. While real-world instances of data corruption are believed to be limited, scripting can reproduce the issue. Additionally, it is now understood that the OpenZFS 2.2 block cloning feature increases the likelihood of encountering the problem.

The FreeBSD project has issued an advisory regarding the OpenZFS data corruption issue and recommends a workaround involving setting sysctl vfs.zfs.dmu_offset_next_sync=0 to “drastically reduce the likelihood” of experiencing the problem.

A pending pull request on GitHub is anticipated to address the OpenZFS data corruption issue. Hopefully, a new OpenZFS point release will be available soon, effectively resolving the data corruption problem.

Source: Phoronix.

Radxa has released the ROCK 3B, a “PI-CO ITX” single-board computer (SBC) that combines the benefits of Pico-ITX and Raspberry Pi form factors. The board, measuring 100x72mm, features all main ports on the rear side and supports expansion through a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header and several M.2 sockets for storage and wireless modules. The ROCK 3B is the larger brother of the ROCK 3A, a business card-sized SBC introduced in 2021. Both boards are powered by the Rockchip RK3568 SoC and support up to 8GB LPDDR4. The ROCK 3B features two gigabit Ethernet ports, an M.2 B Key socket for 4G LTE/5G cellular modules, an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x1 socket for an M.2 2280 SSD, and an M.2 Key-E socket for WiFi 6.

The specifications of the ROCK 3B include:

• SoC: Rockchip RK3568 (J)
  • CPU: Quad-core Cortex A55 processor at up to 2.0 GHz
  • GPU: Mali G52 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1
  • VPU: 4Kp60 H.264/H.265/VP9 video decoder, 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder
  • AI accelerator: 1 TOPS NPU; INT8/INT16/FP16/BFP16 MAC hybrid operation; support for TensorFlow, TF-lite, Pytorch, Caffe, ONNX, MXNet, Keras, Darknet
• System Memory: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB LPDDR4
• Storage: Pluggable eMMC module, MicroSD card slot, M.2 M key socket for NVMe with PCIe 3.0 x2
• Video Output: HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60, 2x MIPI DSI connectors (4-lane and 2-lane), eDP connector, Touch Panel connector
• Camera: 1x MIPI CSI connector
• Audio: 3.5mm audio jack, digital audio via HDMI
• Connectivity: 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6 via M.2 E key socket with PCIe 2.0 x1/SDIO/UART, 4G LTE/5G cellular via M.2 B key 3042 socket with PCIe, SATA, USB interfaces, and a SIM card socket
• USB: 2x USB 2.0 ports, 2x USB 3.0 ports (1x OTG+1x HOST)
• Expansion: Color-coded 40-pin GPIO header mostly compatible with ROCK Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 3/4, exposing 5x UART, 1x SPI, 2x I2C, 1x PCM/I2S, 1x CAN bus, 6x PWM, 1x ADC, 6x GPIO, 1x USB 2.0, and 5V, 3.3V, and GND power signals
• Misc: RTC with connector for backup battery, IR receiver, RGB LED, Fan header, Power and recovery buttons
• Power Supply: 6V to 20V DC via USB-C port with USB PD 2.0, QC 3.0, or fixed voltage support, 5V via GPIO pin 2 or 4
• Dimensions: 100 x 75 mm (Pico-ITX and PI-CO ITX form factors)
• Certifications: CE/FCC

The Rock 3B was first unveiled in 2021 with a slightly different design, which was modified based on user feedback. The board is now available for purchase, with prices starting at $45 for the 2GB RAM version, $55 for the 4GB RAM version, and $75 for the 8GB RAM version on Arace Tech. However, it may be challenging to find compatible accessories as the website’s accessories section is not clear, and some accessories are missing.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.

Olimex has recently released the STMP157-BASE-SOM-EXT system-on-module (SoM) powered by an STMicro STM32MP157 dual-core Cortex-A7 microprocessor. The SoM is accompanied by the STMP157-BASE-SOM-EVB evaluation board, which is open-source hardware designed in KiCAD. The CPU module features 1GB RAM, an EEPROM for configuration, and power management circuitry. The carrier board provides various interfaces and features including HDMI video output, LCD display interfaces, a 2MP camera, gigabit Ethernet, USB ports, CAN bus terminal block, audio jacks, and several GPIO headers.

The specifications of the STMP157-BASE-SOM-EXT System-on-Module are as follows:

• Microprocessor: STMicro STM32MP157DAA1 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 800 MHz with Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core @ 209 MHz, and Vivante 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 2.0 support
• System Memory: 1GB DDR3
• Storage: Linux configuration EEPROM
• Host interface: 6x 40-pin board-to-board connectors with 1.27mm pitch for I/Os
• Misc: User LED, 24 MHz oscillator
• Power Management: AXP209 PMIC, LDO, DCDC power management
• Dimensions: 72 x 48 mm

The STMP157-BASE-SOM-EVB carrier board is compatible with the STMP157-BASE-SOM-EXT CPU module and offers the following specifications:

• Storage: MicroSD card slot
• Video Output: HDMI output, MIPI LCD connector, RGB LCD connector compatible with LCD-OLinuXino-5CTS, LCD-OLinuXino-7.0CTS, LCD-OLinuXino-10CTS
• Camera: 2MP MIPI CSI camera (OV2640-120 sensor)
• Audio: 3.5mm headphones jack, 3.5mm microphone jack
• Networking: Gigabit Ethernet port
• USB: 2x USB 2.0 Type-A host ports, 1x USB OTG port
• Serial: 2x CAN Bus terminal blocks
• Expansion: UEXT connector, EXT1 and EXT2 GPIO connectors
• Debugging: 3-pin UART connector, optional JTAG connector (not populated)
• Misc: Reset button, Power LED, flash module connector, boot configuration slide switch
• Power Supply: 5V/2A via power barrel jack, 2-pin connector for LiPo battery with built-in charging circuit
• Dimensions: 122 x 106 mm

Olimex provides a minimal Debian 11 image with Linux 6.x for both the module and EVB. User manuals, PDF schematics, and a Linux user guide can be found on the product page for the SoM, while the KiCAD hardware design files, PDF schematics, and user manual for the EVB can be found on GitHub. Pre-orders for the STM32MP157 SoM and EVB are now available for 30 Euros each, with shipping scheduled to begin on November 30. More documentation and the option to purchase can be found on the respective product pages.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.