Microcomputer Testing for IoT

First, consider the term “Internet of things”. Wikipedia will see the following definition:
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of a computer network of physical objects (“things”) equipped with built-in technologies for interacting with each other or with the external environment, considering the organization of such networks as a phenomenon that can rebuild economic and social processes, excluding the need for human participation from part of actions and operations.

Gates


A gate is a device in which there is a certain logic for collecting and processing information within a network. The purpose of this network may be to count the number of people in the building. Such a network, in the event of a fire, will help the fire brigade determine if someone has remained in the building or not.

The role of gates is handled well by microcomputers, which I would like to consider in more detail. For consideration, I selected several microcomputers of approximately the same price range and tested them.

Microcomputers


ASUS Tinker Board




A microcomputer from the well-known ASUS company, a board with open specifications and with the dimensions of the Raspberry Pi (which we will talk about later). Supports 4K / 30fps playback.
CPU: Rockchip RK3288 (4x Cortex-A17 @ 1.8GHz)
GPU: Mali-T760
RAM: 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM
Interfaces: GbE, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 4xUSB 2.0 plus microSD, micro-USB, HDMI, MIPI-CSI, MIPI -DSI, 40-pin connector

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B +




The most popular microcomputer, about which only the lazy did not hear about the company. Heir to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
CPU: Broadcom BCM2837B0 (4xCortex-A53, 64-bit @ 1.4GHz)
GPU: Broadcom Videocore-IV
RAM: 1 GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
Interfaces: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, GbE, 4xUSB 2.0, microSD, micro-USB, HDMI, MIPI -CSI, MIPI-DSI, 40-pin connector

Orange Pi PC 2



The Shenzhen Xunlong microcomputer is the same size as the Raspberry Pi.
CPU: Allwinner H5 (4xCortex-A53, @ 1 GHz)
GPU: Mali-450 MP2
RAM: 1 GB DDR3 RAM
Interfaces: 3xUSB 2.0, micro-USB OTG, HDMI, GbE, microSD, CVBS, audio, MIPI-CSI, 40-pin connector

Khadas Vim1



Fee from startup Khadas.
CPU: Amlogic S905X (4x Cortex-53 @ 1.5 GHz)
GPU: Mali-450 MP2
RAM: 2GB DDR3 RAM
Memory: 8 GB eMMC
Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Fast Ethernet, 2xUSB 2.0, Type C, HDMI 2.0a, IR, micro SD, 40-pin connector (not compatible with Raspberry Pi), IR receiver

PINE64 Rock64




The PINE64 microcomputer has the same form factor as the Raspberry Pi.
CPU: Rockchip RK3328 (4x Cortex A53 @ 1.3 GHz)
GPU: Mali - 450M2
RAM: 1/2/4 GB LPDDR3 RAM
Interfaces: HDMI 2.0a with HDR10, GbE, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0, 40- pin connector.

Let's move on to the tests.


CPU Speed ​​Tests


This is the built-in benchmark of the 7zip utility, it gives the average values ​​in MIPS, respectively, the more the better.



The test measures performance when dealing with real numbers.



The test consists in rendering, written in the C programming language, the output is an image with a resolution of 2048x2048.



The test transcodes the wav file to mp3.



RAM speed


The benchmark is that two operations are performed, this is copying to memcpy and filling the memory with the specified values ​​in memset.



Test for reading in blocks of one kilobyte.





Speed ​​with databases


The test creates a database of 1 million records in mysql and then various operations are tested in this table, transactions occur in the local mysql database.





Conclusion


Now, having examined microcomputers and conducted tests, we can draw conclusions for ourselves which microcomputer is more suitable for specific tasks. Well, in general, what I want to say: it’s absolutely pointless to choose microcomputers according to the declared characteristics from the manufacturer, because there are still a million nuances that need to be checked in practice either independently or to watch tests, and not one but several, compare them and watch, how a particular microcomputer model behaves in different tasks. So test, test, test ...

Also popular now: