Recommendations for a development board

[Jon Taylor]

Hi all,

I just discovered that the simulation target doesn't support SMP, and I need SMP support for the project I am working on (Controlix OS, see controlixproject.org).  So, I need to ask this forum which development board they would recommend I get.

Requirements:

* High quality, mature NuttX support.  I am new to NuttX and can't tell off the point whether or not a given directory in boards/ is mature and stable.  The fewer hassles the better.

* Cost: $100 or less, although I can spend a little more if I have to.

* Flash of a decent size.  I have to stuff NuttX and quite a bit of library code into it, so 16MB would not be too much....

* Ethernet header on the board would be really nice, although I can technically live without it if I need to.

* Separate UART header if possible, if not then a decent UART-through-USB type of solution would be satisfactory.

* 32-bit ARM CPU.  No weird, hyper-restricted 8-bit stuff please.  Multiple cores for real SMP testing would be great.

* Linux tools support.  I really don't want to develop in Windows if I don't absolutely need to.  WINE support is fine if it works.

Don't need:

* Just for testing and development, not for production, so performance isn't too critical.

* GPIOs, DAC/ADC, PWM/timer/counter or other such "embedded" peripherals.

* 64-bit.  I gather that NuttX doesn't support 64 bit anyway...?

* VGA or HDMI - the UART will be fine for both input and output.

* Wierd GUI IDEs.  Command line tools I can easily integrate into my makefile system are highly desirable.

Thanks for any help you all can provide.

Jon

[patacongo]

There are only three options in the repository and I would recommend only one:  The On semiconductor LC823450.  The other two have various issues.  i.MX6 might be usable but it is not as mature.  A lot of work has been put into the LC823450.

 

Masayuki Ishakawa did a great analysis of the behavior of SMP that you can see at https://nuttx2019.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MIshikawa_nx2019.pdf

 

At $125 it otherwise meets your requirements, I think: https://www.mouser.co.cr/ProductDetail/ON-Semiconductor/LC823450XGEVK?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsYT5m9oD3%252BXBhmRrZETIZfMfICFdMQIFunBN8vx8jHZA%3D%3D

 

Greg

[patacongo]

There are only three options in the repository and I would recommend only one:  The On semiconductor .

Oops, there are four.  The ESP32 is another option.  The ESP32 architecture is so complex that I would still recommend the  LC823450 for ease of use.  The ESP32 is probably a lot cheaper, however.