Kurobox Hardware and Description
What is the Kurobox?
The Kurobox is a small-footprint Embedded Linux-based platform for a personal server.
The most recent incarnation of the Kurobox, the Kurobox HG/WR, sports a 266Mhz PowerPC processor, 128MB of RAM, two USB 2.0 Ports, and a 10/100/1000Mbit network interface. The Kurobox comes without a hard drive, but supports any standard IDE (Parallel ATA (PATA), not Serial ATA (SATA)) 3.5" drive. The Kurobox runs on a Linux kernel, and has multiple options for actual distribution. Actually, any Linux distribution that supports PPC will work, but so far the community has ported over Gentoo, Debian, Fedora and Sylver's Distro (which is an updated and modified version the Kurobox's original embedded distribution).
To give you a rough idea about the Kurobox HG's power, it can transcode (decode and then re-encode to another bitrate) MP3's using LAME at about 25% faster than realtime. While not as fast as today's modern PC's, this is coming from a box that uses only 17 watts of juice. The tiny onboard fan (used to dissipate the hard drive's heat) is ultra-quiet at 22dB.
The KuroBox is not for the faint of heart -- there is no graphical installer, no "click here to launch your web server" button. However, if you know a little about Linux, or are willing to learn, the Kurobox is an excellent platform for a small space server.
KuroBox Pro
The Kurobox Pro will be available in the US probably sometime in May. It is ARM based. Revolution has provided some documentation on the Kurobox Pro. This is preliminary documentation so translation errors may be fixed but the detail is good.
- KuroboxPro User's Guide in English
- Kurobox Prox specification document
- Kurobox Pro microprocessor interface specifications
And yes the PCI-Express 1X slot WILL drive a video card or disk controller!
Revogear
| 玄箱 |
|
Kanji for Kuro Box |
More details on the current Kurobox can be found at revogear.com. Revogear is a division of Buffalo Technology (USA) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Melco Holdings Inc.
Please email questions to John(at)revogear.com
Kurobox Specifications
| Kurobox | Kurobox HG | Kurobox HG WR | Kurobox PRO | |
| Case | 7.0” x 2.4” x 7.4” | 7.0” x 2.4” x 7.4” | 7.0” x 2.4” x 7.4” | 60x163.3x215.5mm |
| CPU Type | MPC 8241 (MPC8241LZQ200D) | MPC 8241 (MPC8241LZQ266D) | MPC 8241 (MPC8241LZQ266D) | Marvell88F5182(ARM9Core/400MHz) |
| CPU Speed | 200 MHz | 266 MHz | 266 MHz | 400MHZ |
| RAM | 64 MB (K4S561632D-TC75) | 128 MB (MT 48LC16M16A2-75) | 128 MB (MT 48LC16M16A2-75) | 128 MB |
| Hard Drive | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| IDE Host Controller | Sil 0680A | Sil 0680A | Sil 0680A | Sata - Marvell |
| Ethernet Controller | 10/100 (ADMtek AN983B) | 10/100/1000 (Realtek RTL8110S-32) | 10/100/1000 (Realtek RTL8110S-32) | 10/100/1000 Marvell |
| USB Ports | 1 x 2.0 Type A (Rear) | 2 x 2.0 Type A (1 Front & 1 Rear) | 2 x 2.0 Type A (1 Front & 1 Rear) | 2 x 2.0 Type A (Rear) + SATA + PCIExpressx1 |
| USB Host Controller | NEC μPD720101GJ-UEN | NEC μPD720101GJ-UEN | NEC μPD720101GJ-UEN | ?? |
| Flash ROM | 4 MB (Fujitsu 29PL32TM-90PFTN) | 4 MB (Fujitsu 29PL32TM-90PFTN) | 4 MB (Fujitsu 29PL32TM-90PFTN) | 256MB |
| Microcontroller | Atmel AVR (AT90S2313-4SC) | Atmel AVR (AT90S2313-4SC) | Atmel AVR (AT90S2313-4SC) | ? |
| Power supply | Internal 110V | Internal 110V | ?? |
