Phishman – Tech

After doing extensive research on single board ARM-based computers I decided to build my own cluster. The purpose of the ultra low power cluster is to develop new applications with the most recent software technologies and host few production websites. Yes, I know, I’m crazy! 😀

My research showed that previous clusters lack significant calculating power and they’re based on performance limited (hardware) boards like Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 and PINE A64+. The main problems with those boards are the RAM, the limited I/O of the microSD cards (limited to 25 MB/s on Pi 2 and Pi 3), and the network speed (10/100).
Those boards are more suitable to be used as development boards. Often microSD card speeds are limited to 25MB/s (on Pi 3), which means that even if you buy UHS-II and UHS-3 cards you won’t be able to utilize them at their full speeds.

I’ve looked closely at the ODROID single boards – those have powerful CPU (Quad and Octa-core A53 and A15), fast Gigabit network (10/100/1000) , 2GB RAM USB 3.0, eMMC support.

For my build I’ve chosen the following hardware

Parts and single-boards – www.ameridroid.com

Web and Caching Nodes:
ODROID-C2:

Web Server Nodes:
ODROID-XU4:

We benefit from faster more capable CPU, eMMC (up to 400MB/s capable eMMC5.0) speeds, USB 3.0, Gigabit network and 2 GB of LPDDR3.

Database Nodes:
ASUS H110S2/CSM Mini-STX (Installing Percona With TokuDB MySQL Server)

For our cluster we will start with:

• 1 proxy node
• 2 load balancer nodes
• 2 web server nodes
• 1 database server node

Our final goal is a cluster with:

• 1 proxy node
• 2 cache nodes
• 8 nodes in web cluster
• 10 nodes in MySQL cluster and 2 nodes in NAS cluster. Total 23 nodes.

We may not be able to fit that many nodes in this printer case, because the power supplies needed to power all the nodes will require a lot of space.

Hardware Prices:
$90.75 – 2 x ODROID C2
$53.90 – 2 x 16GB eMMC Black Module C2 Linux
$133.05- 2 x ODROID-XU4Q with Passive Heatsink
$54.90 – 2 x 16GB eMMC 5.0 Module XU3/XU4 Linux (Blue Dot)
$20.15 – 2 x 5V/4A US Type Power Supply
$30.00 – 1 x Raspberry Pi B+
$39.00 – 3 x MicroSD Sandisk 16 GB UHS-I
$3 – 1 x Display flat cable 22 pin to 15 pin Pi (China)
$29.99 – 20 x 3 ft CAT6 patch cable – MAXIMM 3 Feet |20 Pack | Red| Snagless Cat6 Ethernet Cable With Cable Ties
$15 – 1 x SABRENT SSD Enclosure USB 3.0 EC-UASP
$20 – 2 x SABRENT SSD Enclosure USB 3.0 EC-UK30
$14.99 – 1 x KEEPING 5V/12A 5-Port USB Hub 60W Wall Power Charger Sation for Tablet, iPhone,Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Kindles, HTC, LG
$100 – 2 x SSD PNY 120 GB
$74.36 – 1 x NETGEAR 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Desktop/Rackmount Switch (GS324)
$8.63 – 1 x M3 25+6mm Male Female Thread Nylon Hex Standoff Spacer Pillar 50pcs
$8.90 – 1 x HOBBYMATE 180Pcs Assorted M3 Nylon Screws Nut Standoffs Spacers for DIY
$5.89 – 1 x Orion 3d Black Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap – Outdoor Rated for Automotive Use – 12″ x 60″
$5.90 – 1 x Pwr+ Short 3 Ft 3 Prong AC Power Cord Cable Plug L-Type
$1.00 – 1 x Mesh organizer
$81.49 – 1 x ASUS H110S2/CSM LGA1151 DDR4 Dual GB LAN DP HDMI LVDS Mini-STX
$50.00 – 1 x Intel Pentium G4400 SkyLake 3.3 GHz LGA 1151 Boxed Processor (for BIOS update)
$50.00 – 1 x Intel Pentium G4560 Kaby Lake 3.50GHz LGA 1151
$216.98- 1 x G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16G) Ripjaws Series DDR4 PC4-17000 2133MHz Laptop Memory Model F4-2133C15D-32GRS
$135.00- 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Series 250GB NVMe M.2 Internal SSD
$26.56 – 1 x Oneda 120W 19V 6.32A AC Power Adapter Laptop Charger for Asus
$14.99 – 1 x Cable Matters (2-Pack) 4-Outlet AC Power Cord Y-Splitter – 1.5 Feet
$7.99 – 1 x HUACAM HC05 3 Pack USB to 5.5 mm/2.1 mm 5 Volt DC Barrel Jack Power Cable
TOTAL: $1292.29

Case enclosure used is old broken Canon printer, which I liked for the project.

Building

It’s January 2017 and so many people are waiting for the new AMD CPU release. In matter of fact, I was configuring different low end (cheap) platforms to upgrade my current PC to. No GPU is included in those configs for giving a chance and personal choice to choose from between FreeSync and G-Sync monitor per person’s desire and appropriate GPU.

With what’s being promised by AMD and the new RYZEN CPU, I can wait few more weeks. Hopefully they keep their promise this time.

The new CPU is promised to deliver extreme performance and same TDP over previous AMD CPU releases. It’s said to be much faster than previous AMD CPUs, based on 8-Core 16-Threads chip. The new chip will be better in design than the Bulldozer based CPU.

According to some rumors the release of the new chip is being delayed, because the production of the new chipset is being delayed. Hopefully anything that delays the release is being resolved sooner, so we can all enjoy new AMD CPU, hardware, performance improvement and Intel price breaks.

I would really love to own new Ryzen based system.

I will update this article and my upgrade plans during Q3 2017.

2017-01-05 update: AMD announces X300 and X370 AM4 chipset motherboards for Ryzen processors
The “Zen” Core Architecture

2017-01-06 update: AMD ZEN 8-core Summit Ridge To Launch January 17th 2017 (Guru3D)
It seems that we might have an actual date for the new AMD ZEN release.

2017-01-09 update: AMD will not do paper launch. The new ZEN CPUs to arrive in January and lower segment in March 2017.
AMD claims that the ZEN architecture will have 4 years roadmap.

I had a problem with my router (D-Link DIR-655) when introducing a new wireless device to the network. I found this to be caused by the automatic transmission rate setting in my router.

I did search everywhere for any kind of information about this problem without success. No one could tell where exactly was the problem coming from. I found other people reporting the same problem with other router makes and models.

Here’s how I will explain the problem.
When connecting different devices with different wireless adapter capabilities the router is trying to find the best and fastest for all devices transmission rate when set to auto. After choosing new transmission rate setting the router needs to be reloaded. In most cases this will not affect your wired connected devices, but only your wireless. In some cases might have to reboot the whole system, which will lead to network downtime.

How changing the “Transmission Rate” affects my router?
For example on a 54 Mbps router, changing the Transmit Rate allows the device to work at a specific speed for wireless transmissions.  The default Transmit Rate is usually Auto with a range of 1 to 54 Mbps.

To solve this problem you need to define custom transmission rate.

In the D-Link Router (D-Link DIR-655) Firmware (Hardware Version: B1; Firmware Version: 2.11NA) this is located in “SETUP” > “Wireless Settings” > “Manual Wireless Connection Setup” > “Transmission Rate”.

Change it to different option value, save, reboot and test it out.

After three years since I posted about Nokia 808 PureView on my blog my Nokia N8 died and I recently bought the Nokia 808, so I thought to continue with my blogging about this camera, audio beast.

I won’t hide it, I am a Nokia fan, it is obvious. But not with today Nokia, but the real deal – the Symbian Nokia. Let’s get this straight, I don’t write the below lines because, I am a Nokia fan but because I do care about quality not apps quantity with mediocre hardware.

This is THE BEST CAMERA PHONE EVER as of May 2015!
WARNING: Not your average gadget! This is a MUST HAVE gadget! Especially now when it’s under $200 (from $700), buy until there are still quantities!

I don’t write long and descriptive reviews about a lot of products on websites, but this is my review for an extreme quality cell phone.
I will not repeat someone else’s reviews or comments, I will just write few words about the product that are important to me and share a pretty big list with bookmarks to resources, I found helpful for choosing this amazing device. Then you decide for yourself!

Product:
Nokia 808 PureView Unlocked GSM Phone with 41MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Optics and Symbian (Belle FP2) OS – Black
Support for Nokia 808PV support continued until the end of 2017 (what I heard).

Accessories:
1. ArmorSuit MilitaryShield – Nokia 808 PureView Screen Protector Shield + Black Carbon Fiber Film Protector & Lifetime Replacements (Amazon)
2. CellCase Octopus style Portable Adjustable Tripod Stand with Retractable Holder for Apple iPhone 3G 3GS 4 4s iPhone 5 5c 5s Samsung Galaxy s3 i9300 s4 (Amazon)
3. ( Black + Earphone ) LG G3 stylus Protective Stylish Fitted Faux Magnetic Button Pull Tab Pouch Skin Case Cover With Premium Quality in Ear Buds Stereo (There are no leather cases for Nokia 808 that I like, so I went with LG3 one). (Amazon)
4. Jetpack Battery Pack, 5100mAh (http://wordpressswagstore.tictail.com/product/jetpack-battery-pack).

As I saw in some previous reviews, this is the old extreme high quality build phone from Nokia (quality matters for me, not some mid-range, mediocre phones like Samsung galaxies, iPhones or HTCs, etc. with most of their low end hardware).

The phone quality is as always the best, beautiful, different as it is in all Nokia phones before. I love heavier phones with extreme quality hardware as we had in Nokia N9, N8, E7, N97, N96, N95, N90, N86, N85, E63… .. . 3310 🙂
But this model exceeds the hardware quality in any previous models (and in most current ones) – camera, sound, GPS, etc. (on that later).

PROS:

Camera:
41Mpx sensor, should I say more?
This is one of the best photo and video cameras I’ve ever owned on a cell phone. It easy exceeds my Sony DSC-R1 and Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX100V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS, the Nokia 808 phone camera is easy comparable to Canon EOS 5D Mk III, Nikon D800 and Sony Alpha 85/77 photo cameras in some cases exceeds color and clarity of the photo cameras. (See links at the bottom)

Live like colors, excellent sharpness and detail! Tweakable settings, few different point and shoot modes, PureView (PV) technology (the best on this phone only). Colors not over saturated and pumped up and you still have control over that. No matter which resolution you choose 2Mpx, 5Mpx, 8Mpx, 34Mpx it does a great photos at any resolution!
Beautiful HRD photos with 41Mpx sensor: http://smartcam.club/node/2983 (See links at the bottom)

Video at 1080p is live like, detailed and beautiful! (see for yourselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy6QSQCCUo turn on the 1080 quality)

Audio, Sound and Podcast:
This is the part I’d like to discuss in more detail. I do podcast and this is a great device to have at any time in my pocket, when I meet new people, go to conferences decide to interview someone on the go, I just pull out my phone, my juice pack and start audio recording at any place, any time, any situation I’d like. The audio recorder is there always for me. The audio quality is the highest possible with high quality hardware (huge mobile audio chip). On the go, I have surround sound capable system with Rich Recording Stereo Sound with Dolby Digital sound quality. (See links at the bottom)
Rich Recording Stereo Sound technology, in development since 2007, was called Rich Recording, made possible by the special mics that Nokia created alongside its partners, which could take a sound pressure up to four times stronger than your average phone microphone. They are called High-Amplitude Audio Capture (HAAC) mics, and solve the typical disadvantage that the tiny diaphragm of your run-of-the-mill handset microphone has – to avoid clipping the sound at high 120 dB levels, which introduces distortion, a high-pass filter gets applied, which makes the sound very thin, as the low frequencies become non-existent.

GPS:
As with all Nokia Symbian devices the Nokia 808 PureView comes with Nokia Maps Suite, with free global, offline maps from NavTeq, voice guidance with text-to-speech street names, live traffic updates and speed limit and safety camera warnings.
The Suite includes the basic Maps app which provides either walking navigation, or switches to the Drive app for vehicular Sat Nav functionality.

Destinations can be found by text searching, Point of Interest (POI) browsing, location selection from the map screen or direct integration with the Contacts app.
Other apps within the Maps Suite are Weather, Guides and Map Loader which each do what their names imply.

The final two apps are Check In, which provides locational geo-status updates, and Public Transport, which provides scheduled public transport information for 87 cities around the world.

GPS acquisition is fast and GPS fix is stable with the help of Assisted GPS, Wi-Fi/Network and Network Based Assistance.

A little testing proved that even with all assistance turned off the fix was still stable although, as expected the initial acquisition took longer.

Settings:
Setting up GPS (enable), location tracking, connectivity and priorities for connection types takes a bit more than any other, but it’s all great ones it is setup. In order to use all that you need to manually enable it. Which is the way I like it anyway. That way, I know what is working and how it is working.

Coverage and call quality:
Nokia (Symbian) never had any issues with connecting you at any place at any time with a good carrier. Sound quality during call can’t get any better. Clear, loud sound that is easy understandable with the best coverage possible. Any Nokia user that had different phones will tell you the difference in the phone call quality.

HotSpot:
Easy to create a hotspot with Nokia 808 and JoikuSpot.

Battery:
The Symbian OS is one of the most efficient, lightweight OS in the world. Nokia uses single core, battery last days, and that is because the OS has the most efficient OS.
So far I take 2 full days of usage with web browsing, few photos per day, podcasting and music listening.
CONS:
– No up to date apps (not a problem for me and my device usage, I am not an app junkie). If you want to be up to date with all market apps go with Android phone!
– Discontinued for now OS, end of support in 2017.

Still in doubt? See the links below…

LINKS:

Device:
– Official Nokia 808 PureView Documentation: http://download.fds-ncom.nokia.com/supportFiles/phones/files/guides/Nokia_808_UG_en.pdf
– Full tech details: http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_808_pureview-4577.php

Video & Photo:
– Video at 1080p: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy6QSQCCUo (turn on the 1080 quality)
– The world of the big – Nokia 808 PureView vs Canon EOS 5D Mk III vs Nikon D800 vs Sony Alpha 85/77: http://mynokiablog.com/2012/06/18/nokia-808-pureview-vs-canon-eos-5d-mk-iii-nikon-d800-sony-alpha-8577
– Mystery Camera Revealed: Nokia 808 PureView Test Shots in the Face-Off (Nokia 808 PureView vs Canon EOS 5D Mk III vs Nikon D800 vs Sony Alpha 85/77): http://www.digitalversus.com/mobile-phone/nokia-808-pureview-p13536/mystery-camera-revealed-nokia-808-pureview-test-shots-face-off-n24775.html
– Nokia 808 PureView ushers in a revolution in smartphone imaging: http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2012/02/27/nokia-808-pureview-ushers-in-a-revolution-in-smartphone-imaging

Audio Recording & Dolby Digital Plus Sound:
– Nokia 808 PureView Rich Recording Stereo Sound: http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2012/03/23/nokia-808-pureview-and-nokia-rich-recording-brings-true-stereo-sound
– High Quality Recording in Nokia Phones: http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/3160090/data/1/-/High-quality-audio-recording-in-Nokia-Lumia-smartphones.pdf
– Dolby and Nokia putting Hollywood magic in your hands – and ears (Nokia 808 PV): http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2012/05/04/dolby-and-nokia-putting-hollywood-magic-in-your-hands-and-ears
– Dolby Showcases New Nokia Smartphone at MWC: http://investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=651541

– Nokia 808 on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_808_PureView

Hope you guys remember the Nokia PureView teaser video, we published a few days ago. The 808 PureView is Nokia’s imaging flagship phone, a true successor to the N8. The 808 PureView runs Symbian Belle OS, powered by 1.3GHz single-core chip and 4-inches corner to corner display with a resolution of 360 x 640 (nHD). It also includes 512MB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage expandable via microSD. A Pentaband modem increases the chances of getting a signal while globe-trotting, while data speeds will top out at plain HSPA 14.4Mbps. Lets go to the highlighted portion, the Carl Zeiss-lensed camera. The Nokia 808 PureView features a large, high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology. At standard resolutions (2/3, 5 and 8 megapixels) this means the ability to zoom without loss of clarity and capture seven pixels of information, condensing into one pixel for the sharpest images imaginable. At high-resolution (38 megapixel maximum) it means the ability to capture an image, then zoom, reframe, crop and resize afterwards to expose previously unseen levels of details.

In addition to superior still imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView, also includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and the world’s first use of Nokia Rich Recording. Rich Recording enables audio recording at CD-like levels of quality, previously only possible with external microphones. The Nokia 808 PureView also features exclusive Dolby Headphone technology, transforming stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones and Dolby Digital Plus for 5.1 channel surround sound playback.

Just to highlight some of the features of the best business phone ever:

• The Symbian Belle comes with MS Office Mobile 2012 Business edition for free
• Nokia Maps is free, turn-by-turn navigation for over 100 countries, and comes preloaded with Nokia 808 PureView. It works offline without a sim card unlike all android and iOS Phones.
• FM transmitter – Nokia the only company to include it so you can Listen to music through your car stereo without cables
• Nokia Rich Recording – the ability to record sound without distortion at around 140-145db. Most current smartphones record up to 110db. The Nokia 808 PureView records at volumes four times louder than conventional microphones. The lower bass sounds are also captured without distortion and by combining the upper and lower range together you’re left with the full range of sounds. The result is almost CD-like quality.
• Nokia is now comparing with the big guys in the photo industry and even beats some of them.

NOKIA 808 41Mpx Full Review

Nokia is sold on Amazon now  for $699