One of my Pi2 servers quit working last night. The
microSD card boots in my spare Pi2, swapping power
supplies makes no difference, so it's tempting to
think the Pi2 itself is the problem. Not sure yet,
but just in case I started looking around.

When I checked online, rpilocator.com doesn't even
mention the Pi2 and Amazon had only one, for ~150$.
Pi3 seems more available but even more expensive.
Raspberrypi.com claims the Pi2 will be in production
till 2026, but that looks like wishful thinking.

Anybody got an idea what's going on? At this point
a Pi4 kit is vast overkill for the job but looks
like the most available option. I'm using FreeBSD
to run BIND9 for an authoritative nameserver. No
display or keyboard, just storage, wired ethernet
and serial console.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

bob prohaska wrote:
> Anybody got an idea what's going on?

The global chip/component shortage. And possibly Raspberry Pi holding back
on the uninteresting maker market while preparing for an IPO.

You can read about the first idea here:
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2022/you-cant-buy-raspberry-pi-right-now
My wild second idea I sorta got from the comments there (e.g. "The RPi
foundation is not giving you the truth." It then goes on to predict their
imminent demise which seems way over the top).

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>
> When I checked online, rpilocator.com doesn't even
> mention the Pi2 and Amazon had only one, for ~150$.
> Pi3 seems more available but even more expensive.
> Raspberrypi.com claims the Pi2 will be in production
> till 2026, but that looks like wishful thinking.

Well you can back-order them for expected delivery at the end of
2023, so somebody believes they'll be back eventually:
https://www.newark.com/raspberry-pi/rpi2-modb-v1-2/sbc-raspberry-pi-2-model-b-v1/dp/54AJ2909

> Anybody got an idea what's going on?

Nothing much different to every other RPi model based on that
website where most of the other models are on back-order for 2023
or later as well (Farnell have some more options in the UK,
including Pi 1 Model Bs for delivery before the end of the year).

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote:
> bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>>
>> When I checked online, rpilocator.com doesn't even
>> mention the Pi2 and Amazon had only one, for ~150$.
>> Pi3 seems more available but even more expensive.
>> Raspberrypi.com claims the Pi2 will be in production
>> till 2026, but that looks like wishful thinking.
>
> Well you can back-order them for expected delivery at the end of
> 2023, so somebody believes they'll be back eventually:
> https://www.newark.com/raspberry-pi/rpi2-modb-v1-2/sbc-raspberry-pi-2-model-b-v1/dp/54AJ2909
>
>> Anybody got an idea what's going on?
>
> Nothing much different to every other RPi model based on that
> website where most of the other models are on back-order for 2023
> or later as well (Farnell have some more options in the UK,
> including Pi 1 Model Bs for delivery before the end of the year).
>

Looks like my problem is the power supply after all, so I kinda
lucked out.

Still, I wonder what's going on with the Foundation. It's clear they
had a vast success, but hanging fire in the middle of it seems a
bad thing.

Thanks for reading & replying,

bob prohaska

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> When I checked online, rpilocator.com doesn't even
> mention the Pi2 and Amazon had only one, for ~150$.
> Pi3 seems more available but even more expensive.
> Raspberrypi.com claims the Pi2 will be in production
> till 2026, but that looks like wishful thinking.

The Pi2 originally had its own chip (BCM2836) - with quad core Cortex A7.
When the Pi3 was launched the Pi2 was relaunched as v1.2 with a slower
version of the same chip as the Pi3 (BCM2837, quad core 64-bit A53). That
prevented them having to keep manufacturing the 2836 silicon. It then
became just a niche version of the Pi3.

While it's technically still in production, the only people who want it are
industrial folks who have some dependency on the particular Pi2 shape or the
A7. They have their own channels to buy it in volume - for the rest of us
the Pi3 is effectively the same hardware but faster and more widely
available.

You may find that FreeBSD needs updating, though, if you're still running an
old kernel that doesn't know about the Pi3.

Theo

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>> When I checked online, rpilocator.com doesn't even
>> mention the Pi2 and Amazon had only one, for ~150$.
>> Pi3 seems more available but even more expensive.
>> Raspberrypi.com claims the Pi2 will be in production
>> till 2026, but that looks like wishful thinking.
>
> The Pi2 originally had its own chip (BCM2836) - with quad core Cortex A7.
> When the Pi3 was launched the Pi2 was relaunched as v1.2 with a slower
> version of the same chip as the Pi3 (BCM2837, quad core 64-bit A53). That
> prevented them having to keep manufacturing the 2836 silicon. It then
> became just a niche version of the Pi3.
>

Ahh, now I'm starting to understand....

> While it's technically still in production, the only people who want it are
> industrial folks who have some dependency on the particular Pi2 shape or the
> A7. They have their own channels to buy it in volume - for the rest of us
> the Pi3 is effectively the same hardware but faster and more widely
> available.
>
> You may find that FreeBSD needs updating, though, if you're still running an
> old kernel that doesn't know about the Pi3.

I've two Pi3's, and aarch64 is a _very_ tight fit unless it's a binary-only
install.

If the Pi2 is extinct for practical purposes I guess the Pi4 is the logical
next step. It works much better than either Pi2 or Pi3 but is overkill for
my application (name, mail and webservice for private domains). It's also
several times the cost. Power consumption is higher too.

Thanks for writing!

bob prohaska

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> I've two Pi3's, and aarch64 is a _very_ tight fit unless it's a binary-only
> install.

I don't get it, do you mean space? Just get a bigger sd card, obviously.

A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
> bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>> I've two Pi3's, and aarch64 is a _very_ tight fit unless it's a binary-only
>> install.
>
> I don't get it, do you mean space? Just get a bigger sd card, obviously.

No, RAM. With 4 GB it would be ok. Self-hosting takes a lot of RAM when
building LLVM. Swap helps, but then USB becomes a narrow bottleneck.
For a binary only installation it isn't an issue, but I've been in the
habit of self-hosting on my servers.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
> > bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> >> I've two Pi3's, and aarch64 is a _very_ tight fit unless it's a binary-only
> >> install.
> >
> > I don't get it, do you mean space? Just get a bigger sd card, obviously.
>
> No, RAM. With 4 GB it would be ok. Self-hosting takes a lot of RAM when
> building LLVM. Swap helps, but then USB becomes a narrow bottleneck.
> For a binary only installation it isn't an issue, but I've been in the
> habit of self-hosting on my servers.

LLVM isn't small, I agree. Although can't you run a 32-bit FreeBSD on the
Pi3? You could try the RPI-B image:
https://download.freebsd.org/releases/arm/armv6/ISO-IMAGES/13.1/
which is armv6 but should still boot on a Pi3 I think?

Theo

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> Anybody got an idea what's going on? At this point
> a Pi4 kit is vast overkill for the job but looks
> like the most available option. I'm using FreeBSD
> to run BIND9 for an authoritative nameserver. No
> display or keyboard, just storage, wired ethernet
> and serial console.

Just the other day, I scored a Compute Module 4 when pishop.us got a few
hundred of them in. Price is about the same as a comparable Raspberry Pi 4,
they're available with onboard eMMC storage (no SD card needed), and there's
a wide variety of carrier boards that bring out whatever I/O is needed.
Mine will be set up with a minimal carrier with power and UART pins
populated on the GPIO header to run OctoPrint. I've had another one running
OctoPrint on another printer for a few months, and it's worked like a champ.
The new one will replace a RPi Zero 2 W, which is noticeably
slower...thinking of turning that into a dedicated serial terminal.

--
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(IIGS( https://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us wrote:
> bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>> Anybody got an idea what's going on? At this point
>> a Pi4 kit is vast overkill for the job but looks
>> like the most available option. I'm using FreeBSD
>> to run BIND9 for an authoritative nameserver. No
>> display or keyboard, just storage, wired ethernet
>> and serial console.
>
> Just the other day, I scored a Compute Module 4 when pishop.us got a few
> hundred of them in. Price is about the same as a comparable Raspberry Pi 4,
> they're available with onboard eMMC storage (no SD card needed), and there's
> a wide variety of carrier boards that bring out whatever I/O is needed.

Just how much extra hardware is required to make a CM4 a stand-alone host?
I'll need some sort of enclosure, too.

Another option is to get a Pi400 and use it to free up a Pi4B for other
uses. Overkill, again, but readily available.

Thanks for writing!

bob prohaska

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us wrote:
>> Just the other day, I scored a Compute Module 4 when pishop.us got a few
>> hundred of them in. Price is about the same as a comparable Raspberry Pi 4,
>> they're available with onboard eMMC storage (no SD card needed), and there's
>> a wide variety of carrier boards that bring out whatever I/O is needed.
>
> Just how much extra hardware is required to make a CM4 a stand-alone host?

It depends on what you want to do. The official I/O board brings out lots
of extra I/O, including things like PCI Express that aren't available from
the RPi 4 without hacking it, but is a fair bit larger. At the other
extreme are boards barely large enough for a GPIO header and one of those
100-pin connectors the CM4 uses. There are even some that adapt the CM4
into the normal Raspberry Pi form factor, making it somewhat of a drop-in
replacement. There are also other companies adopting the CM4 form factor to
roll out boards with other SOCs that can use the same ecosystem of add-ons.

For my 3D printer OctoPrint hosts, I'm using the Waveshare Nano Base Board
A:

https://www.pishop.us/product/nano-base-board-a-for-raspberry-pi-compute-module-4/

It breaks out a USB 2.0 port, MicroSD slot (not used if the CM4 has eMMC),
camera, and GPIO, and uses USB-C for power. Of those, I only need four GPIO
pins (power and UART) to connect to a printer running Marlin. This board is
the same size as the CM4.

I also have a router built around a CM4, running OpenWRT. That one uses the
DFRobot IoT Router Carrier Board Mini:

https://www.dfrobot.com/product-2242.html

It provides two Gigabit Ethernet ports (one built-in to the SOC, one as an
add-on over PCI Express), a MicroSD slot, a 26-pin GPIO header, and two
USB-C ports (one for power, one (2.0) for data). This board is a little bit
larger, but the total system size still easily fits in your hand.

Neither of these include HDMI because I don't need it for the intended
applications.

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(IIGS( https://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
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scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us wrote:
> bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
>>
>> Just how much extra hardware is required to make a CM4 a stand-alone host?
>
> It depends on what you want to do. The official I/O board brings out lots
> of extra I/O, including things like PCI Express that aren't available from
> the RPi 4 without hacking it, but is a fair bit larger. At the other
> extreme are boards barely large enough for a GPIO header and one of those
> 100-pin connectors the CM4 uses. There are even some that adapt the CM4
> into the normal Raspberry Pi form factor, making it somewhat of a drop-in
> replacement. There are also other companies adopting the CM4 form factor to
> roll out boards with other SOCs that can use the same ecosystem of add-ons.
>

I'd probably want all but HDMI. From the pricing it appears that a CM4 + I/O
combo will cost somewhat more than a standard Pi4, other things being equal.
Some sort of enclosure would also be helpful, but I didn't see any in a
cursory search.

For the moment I'll wait and hope the supply situation improves.

Thanks for the heads-up!

bob prohaska

> For my 3D printer OctoPrint hosts, I'm using the Waveshare Nano Base Board
> A:
>
> https://www.pishop.us/product/nano-base-board-a-for-raspberry-pi-compute-module-4/
>
> It breaks out a USB 2.0 port, MicroSD slot (not used if the CM4 has eMMC),
> camera, and GPIO, and uses USB-C for power. Of those, I only need four GPIO
> pins (power and UART) to connect to a printer running Marlin. This board is
> the same size as the CM4.
>
> I also have a router built around a CM4, running OpenWRT. That one uses the
> DFRobot IoT Router Carrier Board Mini:
>
> https://www.dfrobot.com/product-2242.html
>
> It provides two Gigabit Ethernet ports (one built-in to the SOC, one as an
> add-on over PCI Express), a MicroSD slot, a 26-pin GPIO header, and two
> USB-C ports (one for power, one (2.0) for data). This board is a little bit
> larger, but the total system size still easily fits in your hand.
>
> Neither of these include HDMI because I don't need it for the intended
> applications.
>

bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:
> I'd probably want all but HDMI. From the pricing it appears that a CM4 + I/O
> combo will cost somewhat more than a standard Pi4, other things being equal.

True. OTOH, the CM4s have been somewhat more available lately, so it comes
down to how long you want to wait.

> Some sort of enclosure would also be helpful, but I didn't see any in a
> cursory search.

There's a laser-cut acrylic enclosure for the router I'm using. Beyond
that, I have a couple of 3D printers and can roll my own cases in any
configuration needed. :)

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/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( https://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

On Monday, October 17, 2022 at 9:03:43 a.m. UTC-4, Theo wrote:
>
> While it's technically still in production, the only people who want it are
> industrial folks who have some dependency on the particular Pi2 shape or the
> A7.

It has a small but dedicated following amongst national security contractors. It's a multi-core computer that is guaranteed to have no wifi. When I worked for a reseller, we got calls for them surprisingly often.

Technically, you can still get every 40-pin GPIO Raspberry Pi. The same reseller had an integrator who wanted roughly 1,000 B+ (single core ones) per year. We could get them, eventually.